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CHAPTER 36)
ARCHITECTURE the top one, has an eight-step flight facing each cardinal point. It is the third podium over which is centrally placed the gandha-kuți itself, which, attributive of its name, is ever fragrant with many kinds of incense, e.g. gasirsa, malaya-candana, kälāguru, etc. Flywhisks, rattles, strings of gems, banners and lamps are some of the decorative members of the gandha-kuti. On a grand sinhasana placed right in the centre of the gandha-kufi and embedded with all the precious stones and gems of the world and the heavens put together, sits the Tirthankara on a blossomed thousand-petalled lotusflower, without however touching it, but suspended in the air about four fingers above it. Shown near him is the asoka-tree and above him three white parasols. Sixty-four Yaksas attend on him with flywhisks in hand. Behind him shines the resplendent halo. In the sky rises the sound of celestial drums. He now fully deserves the epithet Tirtharikara to appear to be looking in all the four directions, though he only sits facing the east. When he speaks, he speaks in Sarvärtha-māgadhi language which resembles the roar of surging oceans. His speech is distinctly heard by every one present because it is produced independently of the movements of the glotis and is for that reason termed anakşari or without letters. The ganadharas, who interpret the speech to all assembled, arrange all his teachings under twelve main heads called dvadasānga or dvādasāra, the last of which, named pūrva, has fourteen sections. After the speech is over Saudharmendra summons his retinue of dancers to express his feelings. And, then the Tirtharkara proceeds on his divine mission, and the samavasarana is dispersed, to be planned afresh wherever his next halt is to take place.
The mythological symbols like samarasarana, māna-stambha, gandha-kutī, Astăpada, etc., the cosmographical ones like the Meru, Nandiśvara-dvipa and so on, as well as those of iconographic nature, do meagrely correspond to the canons, even to the classical texts which actually serve as canons particularly in the case of symbolism for some reason or the other. As a matter of fact, symbolizing even in a large structural form the vast and complex area like the samavasarana or Nandiśvara-dvipa is more or less impossible for an architect or a sculptor to achieve.
GOPILAL AMAR
* The line drawing illustrations in this chapter have been adapted from : Vatthu-sárapayarana, ed. Bhagwandas Jain (above, p. 495, n. 5); Dipärnava by Visvakarman, ed. P.O. Somapura (above, p. 495, n. 1); and Brn. Maktyanand Singh Jain, Moksa-sastra-kaumudi, Muzaffarpur, 1957. :
Sommpeca ce to Bhagwandas vali jad one thie
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