________________
CHAPTER 32]
WOOD-CARVINGS
is a special feature of the Gujarati Jaina community and almost every house of any means has a shrine of its own. Although in Gujarat and south India even Hindu houses have home-shrines, the Jaina derasars have their own distinct characteristics. Those are the exact small replicas of their wooden and stone prototypes which are reproduced in a miniature form for familyworship. Most of these are embellished with minute carvings which varied with the richness of the family.
One of the earliest dated derasar is the Santinatha derasar in Haja Patel's Pol, Kalupur, Ahmedabad. According to a stone inscription, the temple was completed in Vikrama-samvat 1446 (A.D. 1390) by one Sheth Somji. The entire temple is a wooden structure with a mand apa enclosed by a dome, 3.35 m. square, which has seventeen concentric layers of carvings, made of two hundred and forty-eight pieces. Though the pillars supporting the dome are plain, they are adorned by brackets and architraves which are richly carved with animals, chariots, Dik-pālas, celestial musicians and dancers in classical poses. Many more early derasars exist in Jaina houses in Gujarat, but most of them are unpublished so far and their exact date is not known. In fact, periodical repairs bar any guess on their exact date. The Sri Pārsvanatha derasar in Śri-Sameta-Sikharaji's Pol, Mandavi Pol, Ahmedabad, is said to be about three hundred years old, i.e. of the seventeenth century. Ahmedabad, being the hub of the Jaina community, has several noteworthy derasars: Śri-Ajitanatha derasar in Vaghan Pol, Zaverivad; Cintamani Pārsvanatha and Sahasra-phapa Pārsvanatha derasars in Nisha Pol; Śri-Väsupūjya-svāmi and Sri-Sitalanatha-prabhu derasars in Shekhpada, Zaverivad; Śri-Supārsvanatha derasar in Sri-Ramji's Pol; and Haja Patel's
Pol.3
Ghar-derasars are known from other parts of Gujarat as well. Patan is an important city having many Jaina residents and the family-derasar of Śri-Lalubhai Danti at Maniati Pada and Sri-Ṛşabhadeva-svami's derasar at Kumbharia Pada are famous examples of house-shrines in that city. Similar examples exist at Palitana, Ralhanpur, Cambay and other cities of Gujarat.
The National Museum, New Delhi, has an intricately-carved mandapa (accession no. 60-148) of some home-shrine which was, in all probability, made at or in the vicinity of Baroda, as is evident from th: Maratha influence on its
1 Ibid., p. 46.
* Ibid., p. 46. > Ibid., pp. 45-48.
431
