Jaina Rock Cut Caves In Western India Part 01

Author(s): Viraj Shah
Publisher: Agam Kala Prakashan

Page 79

Description and Chronology of Caves
53 J4 by Pereira. It is also excavated in a pit and was probably meant to be a monolith (Plate 20). Cave XXXII or Indra Sabha, so called by Burgess because of a large icon of Sarvānubhuti, is the most grand and important excavation. It is actually a large, doublestoried cave enclosed by a prākāra wall in front with a gopura and monolithic, sarvatobhadra shrine, an elephant and a manastambha in the courtyard in the front (Plate 21). In these aspects, it also imitates the Great Kailasa. The gopura is J7, the monolithic shrine is J8 (Plate 22), the manastambha is J9 (Plate 23), the lower storey is JIS, while the upper storey is J18. In addition to this, there are seven more caves excavated at different heights on the sides of the courtyard. These are independent caves and so are numbered individually by Pereira as J10, J11, J12, J13, J14, J16, J17, J19 and J20. Of these, J13 and J17 are at the ends of verandah of lower storey of the main cave, the latter at the first lap of the stairway to the upper storey (Plate 24). J10 and Jll are on the right side of the court, while J12 is on the left side (Plate 25). J19 and J20 are almost identical caves, excavated facing each other on the sides of the court, almost at the level of the upper storey of the main cave and can be accessed only from the latter through small rooms. These rooms lead to a small cave with a number of icons, which in turn lead to J19 and J20. These are numbered J19A and J20A. J14 is a small cave, below J20 and above Jll that can be entered with some difficulty by jumping over from the verandah of the lower storey (Plate 26), while J16 is another small cave, excavated below J19 and above J12. Similarly, Cave XXXIII or Jagganatha Sabha is also a cluster of few independent caves, excavated on the three sides of the rock face. This group of caves is not enclosed by any prakāra wall, as is the Indra Sabha. Though the cave at the back appears to be double-storied, both the stories are actually independent caves as indicated by different sizes, iconographic programme and style. At the lower level are two caves, J23 and J24, above which is a cave, J21 that can be approached from J20 as well as from a stairway next to J23 (Plate 27). On the sides are two caves, J22 and J25. There is another cave, a little to the west, J26 (Plate 28).
Most of these caves are architecturally very fine with decorative pillars, ceilings, doorways and facade. These are covered with the icons of Jinas and yakşa-yaksis and some of these especially J18, J19, J20 and J21 carry a number of paintings on ceilings as well as sidewalls. Of these, J18 or the upper storey of Indra Sabha is the largest and grandest of all, though the lower storey, J15, is left unfinished with only the shrine icon finished.
ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
Groundplan
These caves, except Chhota Kailasa, follow two types of ground plans:
(i) An half-enclosed verandah, a hall and a shrine with or without antechamber as in both the stories of the double-storied cave, J15 and J18 and J19, J20, J24, J25 and J26. Of these, J24 and J26 have antechambers. All these caves, except J25 are almost identical. While the length of the verandah is the same as the length of the hall in the case of J19, J20, J24, J25 and J26, it is less in the case of J15 and J18. The verandah with kakşāsanas