Jaina Art and Architecture Vol 03

Author(s): A Ghosh
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

Page 27

MINIATURE PAINTINGS
Tinadatta-80ri patlis must have been painted in Rajasthan and are datable to the period 1122-54. They have a characteristic border of foliated loops and are very rich in colours (col.-ill. 22).
The hearkening back to the Ajanta tradition observed in the early patlis is seen not only in female faces. There are several patlis of this period with decorative meandering creepers forming roundels which enclose elephants, ducks (singly and in pairs), mythical aquatic creatures and other animals and birds (col.-ills. 23B, C, D). In one beautiful patir the roundels are absent but in the curves of the meandering creeper of flowering lotuses in a stream are seen an elephant, a leopard, a monkey, fishes, tortoises and men in running postures (plate 266A, B). This is perhaps the earliest of all the Jaisalmer pailis but not likely to predate the late eleventh century. In two other parlis, of which one is now very well-known and which also belongs to the Jaina Bhandara of Jaisalmer, we see a giraffe and a rhinoceros in the roundels of the meandering creepers, birds, aquatic monsters and bare-breasted girls in alluring poses (plate 267A, B and 268A), as also antelopes, a boar and a fluteplayer (plate 268B). The giraffe is not an Indian animal but an inhabitant of the African plains. It was no doubt seen by the illustrator of the parli when it passed through Rajasthan with a trading caravan from a foreign country or was sent as a present to some Indian potentate. We know that rare animals and birds were included as ambassadorial gifts. It may even have come by sea to one of the Gujarat ports in a big merchant-vessel. The inclusion of such a novelty in the parli indicates the freedom of expression which the painters enjoyed before their art became more formal in later times. The single-horned rhino is, however, found in India and though now cofined to the Terai it was in those days known to exist in other parts of the country, and a specimen, probably in captivity, must have been seen by the painter.
In yet another patli from the same Bhandara we see elephants, birds with foliated, tails and heraldic lions, all shown in roundels placed in squarish compartments (plate 269A, B). These decorative paintings take us back to the spirit of the painted ceilings at Ajanta with their wealth of floral, animal and foliage designs. Here again we have evidence of a lingering Ajanta tradition of decorative motifs as practised in Gujarat and Rajasthan where such patlis were painted. An inscription on this parli reads Nisthā-bhāsyapūjā Śrī-Vijayasimhäcärjānam. This would indicate that the patli, and probably
1 Sarabhai Nawab, Oldest Rajasthani Paintings from Jain Bhandars, Ahmedabad, 1959, plates 3A to 8A."
* Ibid, plates W and Y. • Ibid., plates 1 and 2.
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