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rendering the Tirthankara images in the sanctuaries of Gopachal, under religious injunctions they are obliged to make them nude without any exception. They are however content with the age old tradition of mixing up amorous scenes and mithunas in the earliest Neminatha group of sanctuaries. But even this was disallowed in the later reliefs of the Urwahi valley and in Naminatha groups. In Ek-Patthar-ki-Bavdi series, such scenes are completely absent. Thus, the sanctuaries have out and out nude reliefs as such they were sculptural ventures under the instructions of the chiefs of kastasangha.
What Mahavira had experienced and preached personally, was adopted for demonstrating the power of auserities, inherent in the Jain traidition of nudity.
It may be agreed that by nudity, the wordly human body becomes immune to the powerful urge for the desire of sex. Possibly, the heavenly agents like wind, water, light etc. have marvellous power of demoralising bodily sex instinct. They make them unworldly , which results in 'desirelessness.'
To keep the body covered under the garment becomes once again, a wordly phenomenon. But, when the mind is turned up for austerities with garments on, the worldy desires persist and retard the progress of sramana-sakti. On the other hand, the garment free body quickly responds to the influence of heavenly agents that make it 'desire free' and at that stage the austerities undertaken are better poised for enlightenment, relieving the human soul from the karmic influx of samsara. Finally, the unwordly phenomenon of nudity, enhances the purity of thought process which takes one to a place of permanent 'Heavenly Bless.' This is the message hidden in the numerous nude images of Tirthankaras in the sanctuaries of Gopachala.
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