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MONUMENTS & SCULPTURE A.D. 1000 TO 1300
(PART V
later in date. In each, one finds four Tirthankaras on four sides of a cubical block, the cube rising up with a curvilinear taper in the form of the sikhara temple of the Nāgara order. In the first the cognizances are all mutilated and it is not possible to identify any of the Tirthankara figures. In the second the figures of Pārsvanatha and Mahavira are recognizable on two contiguous faces of the block. In the second (plate 159B) the sikhara, though of stunted proportions, is complete with the āmalaka and finial. In the first the amalaka and finial are gone, despite this lacuna the śikharu may be seen to have an elegant and graceful appearance. Similar caturmukhas, each surmounted by Nāgara śikhara, of the earlier period have been found in different parts of West Bengal and may now be seen in the State Archaeological Gallery, West Bengal.
This particular Jaina motif may have some relevance to the evolution of a rare type of Indian temple, a type that may be found to have significant reverberations in south-east Asia. The caturmukha or quadruple image-block has been a very popular iconographic theme with the Jainas from fairly early times and has been described as pratimā sarvatobhadrikā in inscriptions of the early centuries of the Christian era. The name sarvatobhadrikā means pleasing' or 'auspicious from all directions'. It is important to observe that the Jainas had conceived and evolved a four-faced votive object which is naturally and logically expected to be approached from all cardinal directions. The motif itself suggests that the four-faced votive object requires to be confronted from four directions and a shrine with four entrances on four cardinal faces seems to be the most suitable design for the proper installation of such a quadruple image. A four-faced shrine appears to be the logical answer, hence, to the four-faced votive object conceived by the Jainas.
In this context it may be useful to mention that Indian literature on art frequently refers to a type of temple called sarvatobhadra. There are variations in the descriptions of the type in different texts. All the texts are agreed, however, that the fundamental design of a sarvatobhadra temple is that of a square shrine with four entrances in the four cardinal faces. As observed already, a four-entranced sarvatobhadra templc admirably suits the needs of a four-faced Jaina image, pratimā sarvatobhadrika, and it is not without significance that the term sarvatobhadra has been used as a qualifying designation in each case. The iconographic theme and the architectural design seem to go together, one being complementary to the other; the name sarvatobhadra for the architectural design has presumably some interesting connexion with the term sarvatobhadrikā used for the iconographic motif. It may not be unreasonable to suggest,
[See above, p. 66. ---Editor.)
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