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Jain Thought and Culture
of the Sunga period It is full of alotus design, fabulous animals and fish-tailed monsters which are all in accordance with the account of Padmavara Ved130 found in the Rajaprasniya Sutra of the Jains
In producing of the art monuments in the Kusana period, however, the Jainas built a new stupa with lithic torana and sculptures on railing pillars A number of specimens, have been found which might have been associated with this stupa A number of ayagapattas31 which may or may not have been used in the body in this stupa, also illustrate its outline 'In conırast to the preceding stupa, its elongated cylindrical drum is conspicuously high enough to give the stupa a somewhat tower like appearance It is in two terraces, both having carved railings around At the crown of the hemispherical dome is a square two barred railing, from the centre of which rears up an umbrella with floating garlands An innovation in this stupa is its high platform, presumably square The terrace over the platform served as a processional path It is enclosed by a threebarred railing, the latter pierced by a gateway (torana) Access to the terrace from the ground is provided by a balustraded staircase of eight steps right in front of the gateway The facade of the platform is relieved with arched niches simulaling makara torana and containing standing figures above pedestals The lavishly carved torana has an affinity with those of Bharhut and Sanchi It consists of two oblong carved posts supporting three horizontal curviform architraves with ends simulating makaras Between the architraves are supporting blocks, while the two rolled ends of the bottom architrave are sustained by two lion-shaped brackets Crowning the top architrave is a honey-suckle motif flanked on either side by a tri-ratna (or nandipada) symbol, as in the eastern gateway of the stupa of Bharhut '32
Apart from this reconstruction of Jain Stupa in the Kusana period, archaeologically speaking, all the antiquities found from Mathura constitute three groups 1 Ayagapattas, 2 Architectural parts of a torana or railing and 3 Tirthankaras and other images
30 Raya paseniya Sutta, Vaidya (ed), pp 172-73 For illustrations, see Agrawala Mathurakala, pl , Indian Art, p 222, pl LXIII Smith, op cit, pl 31 See, Journal of UP Historical Society, XXIII, 1950, pp 69-70, AMM, Q2 (Lucknow Museum, No J 225) 32 Debalamitra in Jain Art and Architecture, Vol I, pp 55-56, and pls I-II
