Jaina Archaeological Heritage of Tamilnadu

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

Page 74

JAINA PAINTINGS
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location for this cave temple was perhaps deliberate because it was convenient both for the ascetics and laymen to reach the cave. For the ascetics, it was far away from the settlement and there was a panoramic view of nature's abundant beauty below. For the sravakas and sravikas too, this cave is quite easily accessible if they wished to listen to discourses from the acaryas. The location of this cave temple is thus in contrast to the earlier cavern which was an exclusive area demarcated for the monks who spent their lives in extreme and austere conditions, typical of the early monastic phase of Jainism in the Tamil country.
This later cave temple was renovated in the 9th century A.D by Srimara Srivallabha at the instance of the monk Ilan Gautaman. Portraits of both the ascetic and his benefactor have been painted on the pillars suggesting their active involvement in the enterprise of embellishment of the cave.
The cave at Sittannavasal has a sanctum and an ardhamandapa. In the wall of the sanctum and portico outside, there are sculptures of a monk and Tirthankaras. The entire cave including sculptures was painted, of these, paintings are now found only on the pillars and ceiling of the porch.
Many scholars like Joveau Dubreuil, T.N.Rama chandran, Stella Kramrisch, S.R.Balasubramaniam and C.Sivaramamurti have all studied and analysed these paintings and have written on the style and content of the paintings. But, it was only K.R.Srinivasan who gave an entirely new dimension to the history of paintings, with his significant paper on the date of paintings.
In the Sittannavasal cave, there are a variety of paintings, like that of celestial nymphs dancing, For Private & Personal Use Only