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Lastly in the sculptures of Nemigiri (Neminatha) group of temples, the intermixing of religious and secular scenes may be more attributed to the Rastrakuta period. In the other Jain caves Ek-Patthar-ki-Bavdi, Namigiri and even in those of Urwahi group, no secular scenes are associated. This is a tradition that migrated to Gopachal with the influence possibly of Rastrakuta craftsmen, during their brief period. This is avoided in the Jain. sculptural tradition of Tomar kings.
In this connection, it has to be stated that the regions of Nimar, Dasarna and possibly upto Gopachal, and parts of Malwa as their records profess, that the Rastrakuta kings Dhruva, Govinda III and Indra III, carried successful compaigns to the north at the expense of Pratihara contemporaries Vatsaraj, Nagbhatta and Mahipala.
There is, however, no inscriptional evidence at Gopachal as regards the presence of Rastrakutas. However, their influence can be inferred from the structural features of Telika-mandir and more prominently in the sculptural tradition of the Neminatha group of temples. Incidentally, very near this group of Jain caves, there is a temple built in single rock with an inscription attributed to the period of Mihira Bhoja of 9th century A. D. From this, it could be concluded that during the short period of Rastrakutas, a few craftsmen that worked on stone medium were assigned the work at Teli-ka-mandir and the Jain group of temples. Even after the region was taken over by the Bhoja-Pratiharas from Rastrakutas, possibly the craftsmen were allowed to continue their work in their taditional styles, for some time.
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