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Introduction
Age of Image worship
Orthodox Jainas seem to give very great antiquity to their religion,' but actual historical records do not go very far back beyond the age of Mahāvīra or utmost the age of Parsvanatha. Their early pontiffs may not be totally unhistorical beings; in fact, they lived, had a prominent career and left much of the greatness in carly Jaina Literature but sofar as tangible archacological documents are concerned, their lives only supply an unbroken chain of which the last two or three Tirthamkaras came into the historical period. The age of the whole body of the Jaina Litt. in the present form does not recede much further than the time of Mahavira, of the 6th century B.C. When did image-worship come into Jainism is rather difficult to say precisely but not impossible to determine in broad lines. Should we believe in recorded tradition of an inscription, we get an actual evidence to prove that images existed among the Jainas as early as the time of the Sisunaga or the Nanda kings i.c., some years after the birth of Mahavira. Mention is made in the Häthigumpha Inscription of King Kharavela of the recovery and reinstallation of an image of Sri Rṣabha-Deva removed from the country about 300 years previously.2 It may not be quite discreditable for subsequent to the death of Parsva, his statues evidently began to be made and adored. Otherwise, how was it possible to preserve the tradition of his association with Dharanendra and Snakes except in art. By the time, Pāráva, and Mahāvīra flourished, Brahmanic art was in full swing and had a much carlier history of Iconolatry. In all likelihood, this was immediately taken up by the new founders and adherents of Jainism, who necessitated the aid of imageworship in their ritualistic phase of religion. Kautilya, the author of Arthasastra mentions the image of Jaina Gods viz., Jayanta, Vaijayanta, Aparajita etc., the existence would naturally go
1. अरिष्टनेमिः स्वस्ति नः (यजुर्वेदे वैश्वदेवऋची) ; रक्षारिष्टनेमि स्वाहा ( वृहदारण्यके ); ऋपभ एव भगवान्त्रह्मा (आरण्यके ) ; स नेमिराजा (9,25) etc. are Vedic references
2. Hathigumpha Inscription, Vol. III., Pt. IV. pp. 461-467 from the Journal of the Bihar Orissa Society, 1. 12. The Khandagiri and Udaigiri caves are full of Jaina Images of very early date.
