Book Title: Jaina Rock Cut Caves In Western India Part 01
Author(s): Viraj Shah
Publisher: Agam Kala Prakashan

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Page 210
________________ 184 Jaina Rock-cut Caves in Western India side is a small, seated, indistinct figure, probably of yakşa-yaksi. There are flying male figures above the figures of seated Jina. Each of these figures has either a fruit or a vessel held in both the hands. 5. Rşabhanātha: 1.58m by 1.2m. The figure of Rşabhanātha, measuring 0.99m by 0.93m is seated in padmāsana on a throne. He has a trivali grivā, long ears, flower-shaped srivatsa and triple chhatra. The hair is shown in curls on the head, while there are three curls of hair falling on shoulders, The throne is finely made with five compartments made by round pillrettes. The central compartment has a wheel, the side ones have lions and the end ones have yaksa-yaksi figures. The yakşa figure on the right is Gomukha. This bull-faced figure is seated in savyalalitasana. No other details are clear. The vaksi on the left is Chakresvari, seated in vāmalalitasana. Her vahana is not shown. She is two-armed and holds a chakra in either hand. The identification of the yakşa-yakşi helps to identify the Jina as Rşabhanatha because in this region, the hairs on the shoulders are shown in the cases of other Jinas too. The Jina is attended by a chauri-bearer, depicted behind the shoulders of Jina. Each has a chauri in the inner hand and a flower in the outer hand. In front of the throne, on the bench is cut a water chute with a small pit on the left. The chute is 1.14m long and 0.1m deep, while the pit is 0.2m wide and 0.1m deep. Paintings There are trices of thick white plaster on the chhatra of Rşabhanātha and in the shrine of the middle storey. It does not appear to be contemporary to the caves and seems to have been done at a much recent date. Cave VI This cave has a verandah, a hall and a shrine (Fig. 57a, Plate 120). The verandah is entered by a flight of three steps with thick parapet walls. The front of the verandah is treated as the adhisthana of structural temple with the mouldings of bhitta decorated with lozenges, gajathara and narathara, which is depicted with fighting scenes between humans, human and lion and an erotic scene (Fig. 57b, Plate 121). The verandah is enclosed with a plain doorway. The right wall and a part of left wall are now reconstructed. The verandah is 5.16m wide along the back and 6.22m at the front. It is 2.12m deep along the right and 2.25m along the left. The ceiling is around 2.15m high. The floor level on the right side of the verandah is irregular with cuttings at places. On the left siden all of the verandah is a plain door leading to a plain excavation to the left of the cave. Like other caves, the hall doorway is very elaborate and projects out. It has five sakhās of vyala, ratna, stambha, rūpa and valli. The pilaster in the stambha sākhā is very ornamental. From below it has a band of antarpatta, kumuda and antarpatta, octagonal portion carved with petals, round portion divided by three octagonal bands, pūrmaghata, octagonal band, square block, round portion topped by karmikā, antarpatta, and kumuda

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