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Jaina Rock-cut Caves in Western India Jinas are carved, one Jina has bull on the pedestal, while the other has three lions. Since the bull in the case of the former is obviously the lanchhana, the central lion in the latter case also should be considered the lanchhana and thus this Jina can be identified as Mahāvira (Bruhn 1960: Fig. 64). But since none of the Jinas in the early caves of Ellora are provided with the lañchhanas, no such 'context is available. Thus, Mahāvira could not be identified with certainty in these caves. The only definite icon of Mahavira is at Tungi peak, represented with the lanchhana. The only site to display the lanchhana of Parávanātha is again Mangi-Tungi, where one icon is found in G on Mangi peak and other is the aforementioned panel on Tungi peak.
The differentiation between Suparsvanatha, the seventh tirthankara and Parsvanātha, the twenty-third tirthankara is problematic in the absence of lañchhana as both are associated with snake and are depicted with snake above their heads. Usually, Supārsvanātha is depicted with single, three and five hooded snake, while Parsvanātha is shown with seven or nine hooded snake. On this basis a number of Supārsvanatha figures have been identified at Ellora, Mangi-Tungi, Anjaneri, Chandor and among the loose icons at Dharashiva. Most of these are with five-hooded snake, while there is a solitary example with three-hooded snake on the rock face near J30 at Ellora and one icon with single-hooded snake at the upper caves of Mangi-Tungi, a very rare occurrence. But the identification of all icons with five-hooded snake as Supārsvanātha may not be correct in all cases. In the scene depicting attack on Parsvanātha in Cave I at Mangi-Tungi, Parsvanātha is shown with five-hooded snake, instead of seven, as normally is the case. Thus, a large number of 'Suparsvanātha' figures in the upper caves at the same site could have been meant to be Parsvanātha. The identification of Supārsvanātha with five-hooded snake at Anjaneri is quite definite, as there is a corresponding figure of Parsvanatha with seven-hooded snake. Interestingly, the only example of Suparsvanatha with his lañchhana, swastika, in Cave I at Mohida is shown without any snake-hoods. Parsvanatha is depicted with seven-hooded snake at all the sites except the colossi at Chambhar and Ellora, where he has nine-hooded snake. The only exception is Mangi-Tungi upper caves, where a large number of Parsvanatha figures have nine-hooded snake.
Interestingly, the early caves at Dharashiva and Ambejogai have only Parsvanatha in the shrines, and with the exception of two standing Jinas at Ambejogai, no other Jina is depicted. It could have been a conscious attempt to distinguish Jaina icons from Buddha icon in the region and period when Buddhism was very popular as well as prominent.
Another iconographic peculiarity is the depiction of hair on the shoulders of all Jinas at a number of sites. In Jaina iconography only Rşabhanātha, the first tirthankara and his son Bahubali are depicted with hair falling on the shoulder. But at Chandor, Ankai-Tankai and Mohida all the Jina figures including the main icon of Chandraprabha at Chandor and Santinatha at Ankai III have hair shown on the shoulders, in the form of three or more curls. Large number of Jina figures from North Karnataka, mainly Gulbarga district, datable to 11th 12th century, have hair on the shoulder. As many as four figures are of Parsvanatha. A standing image of Parsvanatha in Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, hailing from Kupbal, Karnataka and datable to 12th century CE also has hair on the shoulder. In the Bhand Dewal temple in Arang in the Raipur district of Chhatisgarh, shrine images, in spite of being those of Santinatha, Kunthunatha and Arhanatha as lañchhanas show, have three curls on each shoulder. These icons are dated
