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Jaina-Rupa-Mandana
According to Hindu iconography, Ambika is generally seated up on a lion and has three eyes. She holds a mirror in her left hand. Her one right hand shows the varada pose. In her two other hands are carried the sword and the shield. 148 A four-armed figure of the Jaina Ambika, preserved in the State Museum, Lucknow, illustrated in Fig 173,149 represents her as holding the book and the mirror in her two upper hands while holding the amra-lumbi and the child with the two lower ones. Thus the mirror, which is a known characteristic symbol of the Hindu Gauri, is given here in one of the hands of the Jaina Ambikā.
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In the Yajnavalkya-smrti, chapter IX (acara adhyaya) on Vinayaka-puja, we find: Vinayakasya jananim upatisthettato Ambikam. Ambika was famous as the Mother of Vinayaka. This is remembered in the famous image of the Jaina Ambika in the Mathura Museum (no. D.7) where small figures of Ganesa and Kubera are shown on two sides of Ambika,150 The Anuyogadvara-sutra, a Jaina canonical text, has the following passage:
"... teyasă jalante Indassa va Khandassa va Ruddassa va Sivassa va Vesamaṇassa và Devassa vä Nagassa va Jakkhassa va Bhūyassa va Mugundassa vā Ajjäe vā (Duggãe vä) Koṭṭakiriyae va uvalevanasammajjaṇāsaṇavariadipupphagandhamallaišim durvavassaydim karenti..."
-Anuyogadvara-sutra, sû. 20 Commenting on this, Haribhadra suri writes: "... Arya prasantar upå Durgā, Koṭṭakiriya saiva mahiṣārudha..." The Curni on the above passage (possibly by Jinadäsa Mahattara, 7th cent. A.D.) reads: "Durgāyāḥ pūrvarupam Amra-Kuşmanivat (Amra-Kuṣmaṇḍivat) tadha thita Ajja bhannati, saiva mahiṣavyapadanakālātprabhṛti tadrupasthita Kottavya (Kottakiriya) bhannati..."
Thus the Anuyogadvara sūtra refers to the worship of Indra, Rudra, Skanda, Siva, Vaiśramaṇa, Deva, Naga, Yakşa, Bhuta, Mukunda (= Baladeva, acc. to Maladhari Hemaprabha), Arya and Kottakiriya. Arya is explained as a pacific (santa) form of Durga while Koṭṭakiriya (Koṭṭavi of the Cürni) is the terrific form of Durga, destroying the Mahişa demon (Mahişãsuramarddini). The author of the Curoi further adds that Arya, the original form of Durga, is like Amra (Ambā ?)-Kuşmaṇḍini. The close similarity of the Brahmanical Durga-Arya and the Jaina Ambika was obvious to the author of the Curni. This was also known to the Jaina writers like Haribhadra suri. Incidentally, an interesting point deserving investigation may be mentioned here. Svetämbara Jaina legends acknowledge Kodinira151 in Saurashtra as the place of origin of Ambika and also associate Mt. Raivataka (Girnar) with Ambika devi. Ambika as Kuṭṭanapară, worshipped in the place, might have led to the place-name Kuṭṭani-nagara-Kodinagara-Kodinara. Kodinara perhaps obtained its name from the ancient goddess Kotakiriya-Koṭṭavya-Kut anapară (Kuttani) of the Jaina references cited above. Girnar is well-known as an ancient Tirtha of Ambika worshipped by both the Jainas as well as the Hindus. Koṭṭavi-Korṛavai, in South India, is Vana-Durgā, giver of victory. Kotra Mahişa in Dravidian language.
In his Abhidhana-Cintamani-Kosa,152 Hemacandra acarya gives the following synonyms of the Brahmanical Durga: Gauri, Kali, Parvati, Matṛ, Aparṇā, Rudrāņi, Ambika, Tryambaka, Umā, Durgā, Candi, Simhayänä, Mrdāni, Katyayani, Dakṣaja, Arya, Kumári, Satl, Siva, Mahadevi, Sarvani, Sarvamangala, Bhavani, Mahişamathani, Bhūtanayikā, Menādrijā, etc. etc. In his own commentary on the above, Hemacandra quotes Seşa giving 108 names of the goddess. These include names like Prakuşmaṇḍi, Revati, Haimavati, Bahuputri, Skandamātā, Jaya, Vijaya, Jayanti, Sinivāli, Ekānasi (Ekānamśā), Sunanda, Nandă, Şaşṭhi, etc. Even in Brahmanical tradition Arya or Durga was known both as Ambika and Kuşmandi.
Kuşmaṇḍas are a class of Vyantaras according to Jaina accounts. The Digambara text Tiloyapannatti153 speaks of eight classes of Vyantaras, namely, Kinnaras, Kimpurusas, Gandharvas, Yaksas, Raksasas, Bhūtas and Pisacas. The Svetambara tradition speaks of the same eight classes.154 The Digambara Tiloyapanṇatti further divides Pisacas into 14 classes, namely, Kuşmanda, Yakṣa, Raksasa, Sammoha, Taraka, Aśucināmaka, Kala, Mahākāla, Suci, Satālaka, Deha, Mahadeha, Tuşnika, Pravacana. The Svetambara tradition gives 16 classes of Pisacas, namely, Kuşmanda, Palaka, Sujosa, Ahnika, Kala, Mahākāla, Cokṣa, Acokṣa, Talapiśāca, Mukharapiśāca, Adhastāraka, Deha, Videha, Mahadeha, Tuşnika, and Vanapiśāca. 155
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