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Iconography of 24 Tirthankaras
Belgaum district, while fig. 490 is a stone sculpture of seated Mahavira from Humcha, Shimoga district, Karnataka.
The Jaina cave at Badami has two more big relief panels of Mahavira standing. In addition to the läñchana, in the centre of the simhasana, are found, near the feet of the Jina, figures of a yakşa and a yakṣiņi. One of these panels is a big Caturvimśati-Patta assignable to c. 10th century A.D.
Sculptures of Mahavira are found at Annavasal and Marudar in Tiruchi district, at Villivakkam in Chingleput district, at Chettipatti in old Pudukkottai territory, Tamil Nadu, also at Mavilapatti in the same district, at Korkai and Tenkarai in Tinnevelly district, at Karadipatti in Madurai district, at Peddatumbalam in Bellary district, at Sailada in Ganjam district, and many other places in south India. In Karnataka at Sravana Belagola, Venur, Mudabidri, etc. sculptures of Mahavira standing with his yakşa and yakși by the sides are found amongst the groups of images of 24 Tirthankaras and even separately in temples as at Kambadahalli, Akkana-Basti, Sravana Belagola etc.
In Gujarat and Rajasthan there are several temples and images of Mahāvīra at Ośia, Ghanerao, Abu, Satruñjaya, Akoța, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bharatpur, etc. No. 279 in Ajmere museum is from Katara in Bharatpur district and is dated in 1004 A... Two-armed yakṣa and yakşi figure on two ends of the simhasana; there is a nude standing Jina on either side of Mahavira seated in the centre. There is an image dated 1186 in a niche on the wall of the Neminatha temple at Kumbharia. In devakulikā no. 24 of Pārsvanatha temple, Kumbharia, is an image of Mahavira dated 1179 A.D. An image of Mahavira was installed in v.s. 1212 in cell 47 of Vimala Vasahi, Abu, according to an inscription on the pedestal. There is an image of this Jina installed in v.s. 1394 in cell no. 50 of the same temple. Also in cell 57 an image of Mahavira was installed in v.s. 1394.
In the State Museum, Lucknow, there are about five images of Mahavira. No. J.808 has a yakşa and yaksi on the pedestal. No. J.880 in the same museum is dated in 1007 A.D. This is a Pañca-tirthi of Mahavira with Mahavira sitting in the centre with other Jinas standing. In no. J.782 we find a twoarmed goddess standing in the centre of the pedestal instead of the dharmacakra. This sculpture from Itava is dated in 1166 A.D. There is a figure of standing Kṣetrapala on the left end of the sculpture. According to Tiwari, figures of Cakreśvari, Ambika and Padmavati are also found in this sculpture.
At Devgadh there are a few sculptures assignable to c. 12th century A.D. They not only show the lion cognizance but also show the yakṣa and yakṣi on most of the pedestals. In temple 1, there is a sculpture of Mahavira assignable to c. 10th cent. A.D. In temple 11, on an image dated 1048 A.D. we also have figures of Ambika and Padmavati. Mahavira has hair-locks on his shoulders. Mahāvira sculptures here are also sometimes Pañca-Tirthika, or have also 2 or 4 or 8 or 15 or 20 more Jina images. There is a fine sculpture of Mahavira on a wall of the Maladevi temple, Gyaraspur.
At Khajuraho Mahavira is generally found in a sitting posture. Sometimes he has Sarvanubhuti and Ambika as the yakṣa and yakṣi. In temple no. 2 at Khajuraho, on a sculpture of this Jina dated 1092 A.D., we have a figure of a four-armed goddess (Santidevi ?) besides the four-armed yakṣa and yakṣi on the pedestal.
In the cave adjoining the Son Bhandar cave at Rajgir, Bihar, there is a relief sculpture of Mahavira on the back wall. Ravindra Nath Choudhari has noted a standing Mahavira figure at Dharpat temple in Visnupur, Bankura district. 389 Five bronze figures of Mahāvīra are preserved in the Aluara hoard in the Patna Museum. A Mahavira image from Carmpā, Orissa, is preserved in the State Museum, Bhuvaneshwar.390 In the Bārābhuji Cave, Khandagiri, we have a relief of Mahavira.391
A Dvi-Tirthi of Rṣabha and Mahavira is in the British Museum, London. It seems to have hailed from Orissa. A Dvi-Tirth of Santinatha and Mahavira (c. 12th cent. A.D.) from Narwar, M.P. is in the Shivpuri Museum, M.P. A standing Mahavira from Bilhari, Jabalpur district is in the Rani Durgavati Museum, Jabalpur.
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