Jain Temples of Rajasthan

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

Page 96

Low corbelled domes like that at Mount Abu are to be found in Jain temples in many parts of India. The domes are frequently surrounded by spacious pilaster halls, so that the eight columns below the octagonal architrave should not have to bear the thrust alone.
To bring the vertical pressure of the dome over the column, torana-arches are thrown between the columns.
On each of the lateral sides the rangamandapa is attached by a portico. Each portico comprises of six bays with its roof supported by a row of four pillars placed east-west on the floor of the courtyard. In addition, four squat pilasters placed right above the devakulikå columns on the one end and four nave pillars on the other support the roof of the portico. The bays have a variety of ceilings: shallow domical, sabhämandăraka or mandaraka variety, samautkşipta of the padmamandāraka variety. These ceilings have elaborate ornamentation and sculptural work, some of much iconographic significance. The Lunavasähi or The Tejahpāla Temple By year 1220 A.D. the political power had passed from the Caulukyas to the Vaghelas, whose ministers Vastupāla and Tejahpāla came to be considered amongst the great builders in the history of Indian art and architecture. The two brothers built well over fifty temples and restored and renovated numerous others. Vastupāla built the Vastupala-vihăra and Pårsvanātha temple at Girnar, Indra-mandapa and six other temples at Satrunjaya, Ādinātha temple at Dholaka and Aştapada-prāsāda at Prabhasa. His brother Tejahpāla built the Asarāja-vihāras at Patan and Junagadh, Neminātha temple at Dholaka, Adinātha temple at Prabhasa and the temples at Khambhat and Dabhoi. He also built temples at Tharad, Karnavati, Godhara, Pavagadh and Navasari. But the most famous, and the most distinguished of them all is the Lunavasāhi temple - also known as the Tejahpāla Temple - at Mount Abu. This temple is dedicated to the twenty-second tirtharikara Neminātha and was built in 1231 A.D.
Like the Vimalavasähi, the sanctum and gūdhamandapa of Lunavasähi are plain and have phāṁsanā-roofs.
The general plan of this temple is similar to the Vimalavasāhi, but the entrance porch, balanka, is absent here and the hastiśālā is built at the back of the temple, thus removing all devakulikās on the east side of the temple.
The temple is entered from the west and the main deity faces west. Inside the sanctum is a saparikara image in black stone of tirtharkara Neminātha installed on a high moulded pedestal made of white marble.