Jaina Archaeological Heritage of Tamilnadu

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

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JAINA SCULPTURAL ART
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doubt, follow the usual iconic pattern, but lack the aesthetic beauty of the Pallava, Chola and Pandya sculptures. Rigid anatomical features, angular profile of the limbs, minute carvings on the background and elaborate ornamentation of the trichatra are commonly seen in them. As a result, the Vijayanagara and Nayak sculptures are bereft of the serene and sublime qualities of the earlier styles of art.
PROBLEM OF IDENTIFICATION:
In Jaina art, the Tirthankaras except Parsvanatha and Suprasvanatha are represented more or less identical, either seated in ardhaparyankasana or standing in kayotsarga pose. Distinctive personal attributes, as in the case of Hindu deities, have not been provided to the Tirthankaras. However, they are attributed with a congnizance each inorder to facilitate their identity. Moreover, each Tirthankara is attended by a pair of yaksha and yakshi, whose presence at the foot-level of the images also reveals the identity of Tirthankaras. The practice of carving emblems or attendant deities along with Tirthankaras is very common almost through out India. But in Tamilnadu, such a practice had not been followed till about the 18th century A.D., in consequence of which the possibility of identifying earlier images is rather very difficult. Under such circumstances, literary evidence, epigraphical documents, local traditions, art-conventions etc., may provide some clue for identifying some of the Tirthankara images.
For instance, single represntations of a Tirthankara carved on the overhanging boulders of the caves at Panchapandamalai, Valutalangunam and Arittapatti can be safely identified with Adinatha on
the basis of epigraphical corroboration. The 8th century