Jaina Archaeological Heritage of Tamilnadu

Author(s): A Ekambarnathan
Publisher: Bharat Varshiya Digambar Jain Mahasabha

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JAINA ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE OF TAMILNADU
ardhaparyankasana without any decorative design on the background. The head of Parsvanatha is an excellent piece of plastic art illustrating the best traditions of the 10th century Chola style. The curvilinear contour of the serpent canopy, smiling countenance of Parsva, arrangement of the curly hair in small circles, half-closed contemplative eyes etc., add beauty and serenity to this fragmentary specimen. Figures of chauri-bearers, carved upto the middle part, which once adorned the niches of the temple, also belong to the same school of art.
The images of Parsvanatha and Bahubali found in the Karantai termple near Kanchipuram are illlustrative of the 11th century Chola style. True to the appellation, "Tirumerrisai Perumal"18 (west-facing deity), the figure of Parsvanatha with the usual iconographic features, occupies the western niche of the shrine. The idol of Bahubali, absorbed in deep meditation, stands motionlessly, unaccompanied by his sisters on either side. Interestingly, locks of hair are shown falling on his shoulders in this specimen and it is rather a rare feature in the sculptures of Tamilnadu.
Twelfth and thriteenth-century Jaina sculpures are found in the Ponnur, Pundi, Perumandur and Tirumalai temples. These images are generally sturdier than the earlier sculptures and contain more decorative elements on the prabhavali and on the accompanying chamradaris. The damaged figure of Ambika yakshi from Perumandur and the Tirthankara images housed in subsidiary shrines at Tirumalai are the best examples of this period.
Sculptural works of the Vijayanagara style are seen in a number of temples as at Chittamur, Pundi, Vilukkam, Vijayamangalam Tirůpparuttikuram,
Tiruppanamur, Tirumalai etc. These specimens, no