Book Title: Jaina Philosophy Historical Outline
Author(s): Narendra Nath Bhattacharya
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi
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32 Jain Philosophy in Historical Outline
an inscribed figure of Pārsvanātha, dated G.E. 106.1 Some beautiful specimens of Jain sculpture of the Gupta age are preserved in different local museums. The Mathura museum preserves a nice torso of a standing Jina with two attendants and two seated images of Rşabhanātha. The Baroda museum preserves a good number of Akoța findings which include a wonderfully executed standing bronze image of Rşabhanātha, assigned to c. 450 AD and also the images of Jivantasvāmī, Sarasvati and others belonging to a later date. The Sarnath museum preserved a figure of Ajitanātha, belonging to the Gupta period, which is now in the Bhārata Kalā Bhavana museum of the Banaras University. Likewise the Luknow museum preserves a good number of Jain sculptures assigned to the Gupta period. A few Jain images of the later Gupta period are found in a temple within the Deogarh fort, Jhansi district. At Paharpur in North Bengal is found the figure of a Jina and also a copper plate, dated G.E. 159, i.e. 478 AD, which describes the existence of a Jain monastery in that region.” The Kahaum pillar inscription of Skandagupta, dated G.E. 141, i.e. 460-61 AD, is placed on a sculptured column containing five standing naked figures of the Tīrthamkaras- Ādinātha, śāntinātha, Neminātha, Pärśvanātha and Mahāvīra---in the niches.3
Of the Jain sculptures belonging to the sixth century we may refer to the five bronzes from Valabhai.The Khaņdagiri caves at Bhuvaneswar, referred to above, contain some standing and seated Jina images of the later Gupta and early medieval periods. The Satghara cave contains on its rear wall two rows of carvings, the upper one representing the first seven of the Tirthamkaras and the lower consisting of seven female figures guarded by Ganesa. Another section of the same cave contains two rows of figures, the upper showing 24 Tirthamkaras and the lower, 24 female figures, the Sāsanadevatās. Important Jain paintings have been discovered at Sittannavasal near Tanjore and some of them belong to a time around AD 600 or a little later. The paintings are on the ceilings, capitals and upper parts of the pillars of a rock-cut Jain temple.5 Quite a large number of Jain bronzes ranging from sixth to eleventh centuries AD have been
1Shah, SJA, pp. 14-15. 2DHB, I, p. 410. *Fleet, CII, III, p. 66.
Shah, SJA, p. 16. 5 Jouveau Dubreuil in 1A, LII, pp. 45-47.
