Jaina Archaeological Heritage of Tamilnadu

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

Page 90

JAINA PAINTINGS
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Hence, elements like the worship of the Jina - sasanadevatas were emerging more strongly to strengthen the development of the religion. The paintings in Tirumalai of the 16th century A.D mark these developments artistically, by adopting as one of its themes, the story of Agnila who was supposed to have lived in Tirumalai and served 8000 monks who came from other areas. The worship of this yaksi, which had its beginnings in the 8th century A.D. was firmly established by this period, so much so, individual shrines were constructed in her honour, hence there was a necessity to make people aware of the extraordinary myth associated with this yaksi. Unlike sculptures which conveyed the tradition within a single panel, the painter had the opportunity to make use of a larger canvass for narrating each and every episode in an elaborate manner.
Thus, helping the people to understand the importance of Jaina tenets through a pictorial assay of stories of the Tirthankaras and later the yaksi too (as we see in Tiruparuttikunram).
Some scholars feel the Jains adopted painting as against sculptural dedications as it was more affordable and economical both in terms of cost and time. But, apart from being economical it was able to convey graphically, the stories associated with great souls in an intelligible manner. Unlike sculpture which demanded a much higher and harder range of skills for execution and comprehension, paintings could be easily understood.
Further, many artisans from Vijayanagar were already working on beautifying the Hindu temples, this aided the efforts of the Jains who also wanted to both educate their followers and embellish their temples with the exemplary stories of their great souls.