Jaina Archaeological Heritage of Tamilnadu

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

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JAINA BRONZES
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attest to the royal patronage enjoyed by the Jains between 3rd cent.B.C. and 3rd cent.A.D. Even in the subsequent Pallava and the Chola periods also the Jainism gained patronage, which is corroborated by the occurrence of its material evidences upto 13th cent.A.D. These vestiges, as stated above are in the form of natural caverns, beds, sculptures, bronzes, paintings and inscriptions. This paper is an attempt to survey some of the Jaina bronzes that are available in Tamilnadu.
TIRTHANKARAS
ADINATHA
Stone images of Adinatha alias Rishabhanatha are available right from 9th cent.A.D. However, his bronze images are rather rare in the medieval temples, but found in large number in the late medieval and modern temples. An inscribed bronze image found in the Brooklyn Museum at U.S.A. is said to be the earliest known Rishabhanatha. Dated to 9th cent.A.D. the specimen has a broad chest, rounded shoulders, oval face and slender waist. It is one of the best available specimens from Tamilnadu. The label inscription found on the pedestal has been deciphered as "eruputturudai irucha(bha)", which means Rishabhanatha belonging to the village Eruputtur, which is unidentifiable. In the Pudukottai District Museum, yet another specimen of Adinatha with a torana, containing 23 Tirthankaras, is found. Its body is slender and the head is oval in shape. The importance of the specimen is the depiction of jata falling on the shoulders. At the foot of the Adinatha, yaksha and yakshi are shown on either side. In this
connection scholars are of the opnion that portrayal of