Jain Temples of Rajasthan

Author(s): Sehdav Kumar
Publisher: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Art Abhinav Publications

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Besides the tirtharikaras and the sasanadevatās, the Jain pantheon has sixteen vidyādevis, eight dikpalas, goddesses Lakşmi and Sarasvati, vidyadharas – literally, 'carriers of knowledge', Vinayaka (Ganesa), Naigameşin, Kinnara and Pratihára. All these divinities are represented in various parts of temples as part of embellishment rather than as an object of worship. The vidyādevis,
goddesses of knowledge', in particular, are unique to Jainism. Sometimes they are shown as a group of sixteen, as in the rangamandapas in the temples of Vimalavasahi and Lunavasähi in Dilwara; at other times they are shown individually, or in smaller groups. On one of the corridor ceilings at Vimalavasāhi, a group of four vidyādevīs are shown along the diagonals of a square. The vidyādevis are generally presented on the walls, doorjambs, pillar-shafts, ceilings and the rathikās of the sikhara. 10
Goddesses Sarasvati and Lakşmi occupy an important place in the Jain pantheon. They are generally presented on the ceilings, but sometimes also on the pitha of the sanctum. Sarasvati has been given a special honour in both temples, at Vimalavasāhi and Lunavasāhi, as two ceilings are donated to her magnificent representation. In other Jain temples as well - Sambhavanātha temple at Kumbharia and Ajitanåtha temple at Taranga - Sarasvati has been portrayed on the ceilings in full splendour.
Goddess Lakşmi is portrayed even more frequently, either by herself or, as Gaja-Lakşmi, with elephants pouring water over her. In both temples, Vimalavasāhi and Lunavasāhi, Lakşmi is presented on a number of places.
The images of Vināyaka (Gaņeśa) are quite rare in Jain temples. In a small niche near the entrance of the Jain temple complex at Dilwara, there is an image of Gaņeśa which has probably been installed fairly recently. Elsewhere, on the pitha of the Neminātha temple at Kumbharia and in the Mahāvira temple at Kanthkot, there are small pieces of his representation. In the Caumukha temple at Ranakpur, however, Gaņeśa has been presented at a number of places.
The eight dikpālas - 'the guardians of the quarters' - are represented on the walls or ceilings of the temples. The Jain dikpälas are similar to the Brahmanical pantheon: Indra, Agni, Yama, Nisști, Varuna, Vāyu, Kubera and Isäna. In the Vimalavasāhi temple, the eight dikpalas are carved in standing attitude in a corridor ceiling. They are four-armed and appear in their correct order, from Indra to Isäna, with their distinctive attributes and vahanas. Here Yama holds a pen and Väyu carries banners.
Naigameşin, an attendant of Indra, has a special place in the Svetämbara tradition of Jainism for, according to the legend, he transferred the embryo of the future Mahavira from the womb of Brahmani Sunanda to a more propitious womb, that of royal
A musician and a six-armed Ganesa in the Adisvara temple, Ranakpur.