________________
Description and Chronology of Caves
217
To his left is a standing devotee with hands in añjali. This figure is carved on the corner of two faces of a pillar. He is turned opposite to the Jina.
On the bases, below Jinas on the right sidewall is cut a water channel, which continues in front of the figures of Ambika, pañchatirthika and the standing Jina also. It leads to a small pit cut in the floor in front of the figures of Ambika and pañchatirthika. It is an irregular round pit with a diametre of 0.5m. Similar arrangement is made for the main icon also. In the floor, to the right of the Jina is a round pit. Its diametre is 0.5m.
There is a general uniformity in the depiction of Jina figures, Jina parikara, Ambika figures and the ornaments and garments of all the figures. However, there seems to be different 'hands' in the execution of some of the sculptures. The Jina figures on the right sidewall are almost identical and seem to be the work of a single artist. But the Jina figures on the back wall, to the left of the main icon, are different in some details. These two seated Jina figures do not have long ears, śrivatsa, hair on the shoulders, drum player, garland bearers and yakṣa-yaksi pair. Unlike other figures, the heads are shown plain. These figures do not have cushion on the throne. Of the six standing Jinas in the hall, two are Parsvanathas and one is Suparsvanatha. While these three figures have throne, attendants and yakṣa-yakṣi, other three are plain. The Jina figures on right sidewall and Ambika on the front wall are the only figures in the cave, which have moulded base carved below.
Date
This cave has been dated to 11th century CE (Naik 1947). Burgess (1877: 18) and Cousens (1931: 49-50) do not propose any dates, while Wilson dates it to the same period as Ellora (1853: 361-362). The latter claim need not be considered, as it apparently is a too early date. The date proposed by Naik is also early as indicated by a number of iconographic trends.
The iconographic features clearly point at a late date for the cave. The padmāsana of the Jina figures, presence of śrivatsa, the throne with elephants, the occurrence of tripañchatirthika as well as the chauvisi, the presence of the lañchhana for the main icon, are all late features. Ambika is represented as many as three times, all of which are large figures and appear to hold significance as independent goddess. Though all the Jina icons are given a separate pair of yakṣa-yaksi, only Gomukha, Dhäranendra, Padmavati and Chakresvari are identifiable as the vahanas are not depicted in any case and the objects held in the hands are indistinct. Most probably the yakṣa figure in the rest of the cases is Sarvanubhuti, while the yakṣi, though definitely not Ambika, is difficult to identify. It is quite possible that it represents a standardised goddess, perhaps still in a conceptual stage. The treatment of the lower portions or the bases of the Jina icons on the right wall and an Ambika figure as moulded plinth has parallels in Cave VIII at Ankai-Tankai. All these features indicate a date in late 12th century CE. Moreover, the occurrence of triangular plates, carved with different designs, on the bases of the Jinas on the right sidewall, is a typical feature of the period. Thus, a date in late 12th century CE is more probable.
