________________
180
Jaina Rock-cut Caves in Western India seated Jina, standing Jina, the heads of Jina images and figures of Sarvānubhuti-Ambikā. In the village, to the east of the Dattatreya temple, under a tree is an image of tritirthikā. All these icons are very elaborately and minutely carved.
Paintings
On the upper portion of the panels of Santinatha and Parsvanātha, there are a few traces of red paint. It is possible that the whole cave was painted once and only some traces remain now.
Cave IV
This cave has a verandah, a hall and a shrine (Fig. 55a, Plate 116). The verandah, measuring 8.75m by 2.5m is entered by a flight of five steps with parapet walls. Flanking the stair is a bench. The verandah is enclosed by a low wall with two dwarf pillars and pilasters. The pillar has a square base, shaft rising in a square portion, octagonal portion, square block and octagonal portion and rolled brackets with snake-hood. The pilaster is a square shaft, divided in three parts by two square bands and each part carrying a triangular plate. The brackets are rolled with snake-hood. There is a Devanagari inscription on the square block and upper octagonal portion of the right pillar. There are eight lines, of which the lower three lines are very unclear. Along the sidewalls, there are benchs, each around 2.5m by 1 to 1.5m and 0.65m high. The verandah ceiling is 2.9m high.
The hall doorway is very elaborate and finely carved. It projects out and has seven sakhās of padma, two valli, valli-rupa, stambha, rupa and pātra. The valli-rupa sakha has a creeper design with a male in each curve. The pilaster in the stambha sakha is staggered with a square shaft topped by a pūrnaghata, square portion, tāți and a ghata-shaped bracket. On the square portion of the pilaster, there are nine seated figures, three each in a vertical row depicted on front as well as on sides. Each of these figures is placed within a niche formed by pilasters. The figures on the front are males, while those on the sides are females. All the figures are seated in vamalalitāsana and are four-armed holding a fruit in the lower left hand, indistinct long objects in the upper hands and the lower right hand in varada. The vahana is not shown in any case (Plate 117). The rupa sakha carries male figures. There are standing male figures holding fruit or with hands hanging down on the pedyā of outer four sakhas and kumbhavahinis on the pedyā of the inner two śakhās. The stambha sak hā carries a couple, placed in a pilastered niche. These couples have hands in añjali mudrā or hold some objects. All these figures are fully decked with hair tied in bun above or on the side of the head. Below each of these figures is a lozenge in a compartment, while below the stambha sakha is a male figure flanked by lozenges. The mandaraka is flanked by kirtimukhas. The chandrašila on the floor is elaborate and quite high. The uttaranga has four full and two half pieces of khura type moulding and nine niches. Of these, five of the niches project out, each with five compartments, while four niches are in the recesses, each with three compartments. The central compartments of the projected niches have a seated male or female deity each, the central compartment of the niches in the recesses has a male figure each, while the side compartments have half