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Jaina-Rupa-Mandana Secondly, the form suggested by the author agrees more with the later dhyanas of the Cakreśvari vidya than with those of the yakși, and thirdly almost all the other goddesses invoked in the Caturvimśaţikā are vidyādevis. Lastly, the worship of vidyādevis in Jainism is older than that of the twenty-four śāsanadevatās since some of the vidyās are met with in earlier texts like the Vasudevahindi and in the still earlier Paumacariyam of Vimalasūri.
To revert to Cakreśvari, frequent occurrence of images of the various forms of the goddess in Jaina temples of both the sects shows that her worship was both ancient and widespread. Separate temples dedicated to Cakreśvari, though not common, were not unknown. According to Jinaprabhasūri, the author of the Vividha-tirtha-kalpa, a temple of the goddess Cakreśvari was in existence at Ayodhya 69 and at Kulpāka-tirtha in the C.P., there was an image of the goddess with discs in her hands.70
The goddess was invoked in various Tantric rites. She, however, could not attain the same exalted position as that of Padmavati, Ambika, Sarasvati or Jvālā malini, especially in the Jaina Tantra. It may be remembered, however, that she is one of the four chief yaksinis in Jaina pantheon, along with three others, namely, Ambikā, Padmavati and Siddhāyikā.71
The different iconographic tables for the various forms of Cakreśvari are given below.
Iconography of Cakreśvari, the Yakși of Rşabhanatha A. CAKRESVARI (SVETĀMBARA)
I. Two-Armed Variety No. Symbols
Váhana 1. cakra, x (not known)
Complexion
II. Four-Armed Variety
Vahana eagle
Complexion
eagle
eagle
golden
1. u. cakra 1. 1. sarkha 1. u. cakra 1. 1. sarkha 1. u. cakra 1. l. citron 1. u. -cakra 1. 1. citron 1. u. cakra 1. l. citron 1. u. cakra 1. 1. pot
tiger
eagle
eagle
Nos.
Symbols 1. r. u. cakra
r. l. varada 2. r. u. cakra
r. l. rosary r. u. cakra
r. 1. varada 4. r. u. cakra
r. 1. varada 5. r. u. cakra
r. l. abhaya 6. r. u. cakra
r. 1. varada 7. same as above
r. u. cakra
r. 1. rosary 9. r. u. and 1. u. cakra
r. 1. and 1. 1. varada 10. r. u. cakra
r. 1. goad? 11. r. u. noose
r. 1. varada 12. r. u. cakra
r. 1. rosary 13. r. u. club (gadā)
r. 1. varada 14 rokra in four hands
lotus tiger
1. u. cakra 1. 1. pot
tiger
eagle
eagle
1. u. noose 1. 1. varada 1. u. goad 1. I. conch 1. u. cakra 1. 1. vajra? 1. u. cakra 1. 1. conch
eagle
eagle
(? identification as a yakşi is doubtful)
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