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Survey of Jaina Monuments of Orissa
105
of the image may be observed dimunitive figures of 24 Tirthankaras arranged in two each in standing posture. The two chauri bearers, a kneeling devotee in folded handsover the pedestal, heaps of offerings, the lāñchana, kevala tree, trilinear umbrella, Avind figures with garlands in hands and eliptical decorative halo are the other items of depiction along with the figure. This has been kept by Raja Vaikunthanatha De in his garden. But the image in question seems to be of the Tirthankara Rşabhanatha in view of the fact that the lāñchana bull, in stead of lion is visible below the pedestal.30
There are many ancient tanks in various parts of the village-one of them was very big: it is now dried up with a part of it under cultivation. Old residents recollect seeing in their youth the remnants of stone walls on two sides of the tank. These are now buried underground. Apart from the statue taken by N.N. De there is another beautiful image of Vardhamana Syamin in the middle of the village and by its sides there are other stone images and also s dhyāni Jina. The figure of Vardhamāna svāmi is 0.76m x 0.41 m. Strange to say that this naked Jina image is up to this day worshipped by the people of the village as Thakurāni. There is no lack of evidence to show that Jainism was at one time predominant here and that its tutelary deity was Vardhamanaswāmī31 The workmanship of the image is very fine. At Bhimpur some more images of Jaina pantheon are found which are wrongly worshipped by local people as figures of Sakta deities i.e. Durga. Local people believe that there are still more such Jaina figures lying under earth.
Traces of Jaina influence are also to be found at Vardhanapur near Bhimpur. The name Vardhanapur is perhaps a contraction of Vardhanmanpur and Vardhaman is another name of Mahāyira svāmin after whom the village was named. At the time of Jaina ascendancy the villages of Bhimpur and Vardhamanpur were known by the latter name.
The newly established Balasore branch Museum preserves three Jaina Tirthankara images which can be identified with Rşabhanatha. The sculptures of this Museum were mostly collected from the place of Sri Nisith Nath Deb, Manikhamb, Balsore and from local temples. Of the three Jaina Tirth ankara images two are in standing pose and one in sitting pose. The common attributes like lāñchana, the bull, the kevala tree, umbrella, devotees, heavenly music through cymbals and drum and flying figures with garlands in hands are depicted in all the three figures. One of the Tirthankaras (SI. No. 11) does not represent chauri bearers on its sides. It measures 0.90m x 0.56m x 0.24m. Figures of eight planets are found on the two sides of the Rsabha image brought from Bateśvara. It measures 1.12m x 0.59m x 0.23m and damaged at the lower parts of the legs.
The standing Rşabha image brought from the collection of N.N. De is damaged in the upper right side. It measures lm X 0.50m X 0.17m.
30. 31.
N.N. Vasu, Ibid, pl. 23. ibid, pp. 103-04.
