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Tirthamkaras
37
vşkşa) treel both being connected with his images. Further, two other iconographic points by which Ajitanātha's statues may be differentiated from those of others are the figures of his particular Yaksa called Mahāyaksa and his Yakşiņi named Ajitabalā. Mention of these is made in the Jaina canonical Literature. His posture is what is technically known as Khadgāsana i.e., standing with two arms hanging on the sides. His chowir-bcarer is Sagaracakri.
In sculpture, the images of Ajitanātha fully answer to the above characteristic descriptions. Two noteworthy figures of Ajita, one in the Deogarh Fort, Jhānsia and another preserved under the old sculpturc-shed at Sarnath, Benares,' may be cited here as examples bearing his symbols. In both these representations, his main figure is standing in the so-called Khadgāsana; in the Deogarh statue, it is attended by two Chowri-bearers and two devotecs in front of them. The emblem of clephant is shown as usual under the seat of the Jina. The Yakșa and the Yaksiņi occupy the two corners of the pedestal.
The origin of his symbolism and his name can be traced to the Jaina books. The Jina's mother saw an elephant in her several dreanıs.4 An elephant in India is always connected with kingly power. After his birth all his father's enemies were conquered (Jita), hence his name the 'invincible' onc. The Sretāmbara author Hemachandra interprets his name as ‘not conqucrcd by excrement of the bowels etc.'s
The Digambara authoritative book, the Ullarapurāna
1. HTET HTfe faat qe ti feveri tattfanti ___सहेतुके वने सप्तपर्णद्र मसमीपगः ॥
l'ttara Purāņa. Parva 48. 2. Image of Ajitanātha, Dcogarh, No. 2526. List of Photo-negatives,
A.S.I.
Catalogue of the Sarnath Museum, No. g. 61. 4. The dream of an elephant admitting into the mouth of Ajita's mother is particularly mentioned in the undermentioned verse.
देवीं विजयसेनाख्यां षोडशस्वप्नपूर्वकम् । प्रविशन्तं विलोक्यात्मवक्त्राब्जं गन्धसिन्दुरम् ॥
Uttara, Parva 48. पूरीषहाऽदिभिर्न जित इत्यजितः ।
