Jain Spirit 1999 10 No 02

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 43

WORSHIP
TEMPLES ARE FOR
LIFE
cromwell Crawford Linvestigates the role and significance of temples in Jain spiritual life. He addresses the central question asked by young people today: do we need more temples, especially in places like India, where there are so many already?
railing posts of Mathura period even nude sura-sundaris are to be found. Such erotic figures appear mostly in medieval Jaina temples such as those in Khajuraho and Arang in Chhattisgarh district of Madhya Pradesh" (30). It is apparent that Tantric notions have influenced these sensuous depictions.
A boom in Jaina temple construction is under way. A source close to JAIN SPIRIT says: "temple- Joginder Chawla, whose work is building is rife in India, and is now featured in the February 1999 issue spreading in the U.S.A. and UK of INDIA PERSPECTIVES. where there are several different It must first be acknowledged that temple projects in different cities." In the art and architecture of Hindu, India, many young Jains have strong Buddhist and Jain temples share views about temple construction, common Indian motifs which are and feel that there is no need for elegantly portrayed in human, more temples. Instead, money
animal and floral forms. should be used for social welfare or other charitable causes. Furthermore, Beyond these generic features, Jain there are many Jain temples in
temples stand uniquely by themremote parts which are deteriorating selves, because of the distinctive as the community has moved on, so myths, doctrines, and concepts there is no-one left to care for them that have inspired their artistic and worship. It is therefore fitting to forms, giving Jainism a
leading edge in the creation If people do not come to the temple, of sculptures, wall-paintings the temple must go out to the people. and frescoes. This claim is
amply supported by such ask about the place of temples in the monuments as the Tirthankara image Jain tradition, and their role and
of Lohanipur (Patna), dating back to meaning in contemporary life. Should the Mauryan period. we instead concentrate our energies on building living temples of people? Bhattacharya observes that "from
very early times, art based on For answers, we take a 'temple tour Jainism depicts copulating artistic through the sketches and texts of figures in places of Worship. On
two artists, Dilip Bhattacharya and sculptured stupas (pillars) and 42 Jain Spirit . October - December 1999
More characteristic of the sacred orientation of Jain art and architecture are the images of Jinas or Tirthankaras. Our temple tour stops before the 10th century sculpture of Gomteshwara at Sravanbelagola in Karnataka. At 57 feet, this colossal sculpture, hewn from a rock on the summit of the 143-metre-high Indragiri hill, stands out as the world's highest and most impressive statue. Its exquisite workmanship and looks of compassion bear eternal witness to the profound faith of the artist who built it.
Our next stop is before the Ajanta and Ellora cave temples, built by Jain monks between the 5th and 12th centuries. Bhattacharya points