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Chapter VIII
Outside In/Inside Out
Nature and the Indian Arts
In the art of India, every form is the symbol of a
clear and conscious thought and of consciously directed feeling. Nothing is arbitrary or peculiar, nothing is vague or mysterious, for the very raison d'etre of all the imagery is to present concrete ideas in comprehensible and easily apprehended forms.
-Coomaraswamy
In addition to the portrayal of gods and goddesses and the members of the Jain pantheon, the Vimalavasāhi and the Lunavasāhi temples have a profusion of images of animals, birds, flowers, trees, and mythic creatures. Tree worship in India has been popular from very ancient times, as is evident from Indus valley seals and from Vedic and Smriti literature. Like the importance of bodhi tree for the Buddhists, caitya tree assumed a great significance for the Jains. It is believed that Mahăvira obtained enlightenment under caitya-vrksa. In addition to the caitya tree, the 'Tree of Life' and kalpavşkşa, 'wish fulfilling tree', are also integral to Jain iconography, as they are to Hindu and Buddhist.
One of the most pervasive icons in Indian temples is that of Kirttimukha; it is an icon that has travelled to many other lands in South and South-East Asia, including Sri Lanka, Burma, Bali, Java, Cambodia. Situated centrally in the temple, the kirttimukha, 'the face of glory', is the crown or the crest jewel of architectural features like doorways, arches, gavakshas, lintels, etc.
The Kirttimukha is a mythic figure; it is a variation on a lion's face, with boar's ears, cat's eyes, and buffalo horns. It may also have associations with Narasimha, Vişņu as half-lion, half-man.
The lion, as the king of the beasts, has long been the symbol of royalty; the throne on which Indian kings sat was called simhasan, 'the seat of a lion', and had representations of lions on the base of the throne.
In the Jain Kalpasūtras, Mahăvira is depicted as sitting on a lion throne in the Pushpottara heaven. Similarly, since the Buddha was the 'Lion of the Shakya clan', it is not unusual to see the Buddha figure with miniature lions at its feet.
The teachings of Buddha are compared to the roar of the lion which sends all other animals, the advocates of false doctrines, into hiding. His voice is the roar of the Awakened One to awaken others.
