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IV
SCULPTURAL ARTS
Andhra Pradesh possesses a fairly rich heritage of Jaina artistic traditions which found expression through various materials like stone, metal, stucco, etc., On a general look, Jaina art in Andhra seems to follow essentially the trends of Hindu art of the historical period. It is generally found that the style and idiom were conservative in the early stage i.e., heftiness of the body and suppleness of the face, which contained, suggesting a degree of monotony even upto the medieval times. The advent of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi heralded a new phase in Jaina art. It must be noted here that no craft or art can be labelled as Brahmanical, Buddhist or Jaina, for the technique of execution remained the same and the craftsmen were the selfsame, who worked for all the three religions and produced masterpieces in each faith. Countless images of Tirthankaras standing or seated, are reported from various parts of Andhra. Generally, all are carved in the stone that was locally available. The main medium was granite, while a plastic or soft stone, i.e., laterite was also employed in Andhra for the standing images. Several portable varieties of Chaumukha with four pillars inside a circular pitha, almost resembling the linga of Brahmanical temple, were noticed at several places. Among them the one at Danavulapadu in Cuddapah district, belongs to the period of Rashtrakuta Indra III (c. 914-928 A.D.).
As regards the distinctive features of Tirthankara, we learn from Hemachandra's Abhinandachintamani,2 that divinities of Jaina pantheon fall into two classes namely Devadidevas or higher-gods and Devas or ordinary-gods. The Tirthankaras were assigned the Devadidevas class, while the Hindu gods and goddesses who found place in Jaina pantheon
