Jaina Rock Cut Caves In Western India Part 01

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

Page 81

Description and Chronology of Caves
55 and J12 and a pair of karnakūtas in J19 and J20. J3 has only a large sālā vimana. Though the façade of J18 is damaged, it seems to have a sala flanked by two or three karnakūtas. The vimānas in J4 are very small in size. The wall portions of these vimānas hai e figures of standing and seated Jinas and yakşa-yaksi. The śāla śikhāra has a large panjaranāsi. The features above the pillars are absent in J10, J17 and J24. The kapota is carved in J21, but there are no vimānas above.
Pillar Types
The pillars are primarily of three types, a) with a purņaghata b) with a cushion-shaped member or a kumbha or amalaka and c) a composite type- with a pürnaghata and a kumbha āmalaka (Plate 32). All the types of the pillars have bases with a jagati, padma, antarapatta, tripatta or vritta kumuda and a prati. The brackets are either rounded, taranga or with a single roll. In a number of cases, two types of brackets are found together. Thus, the front arm is either taranga or with a single roll, while the other arms are rounded. The median bands are either plain or carved with flowers. The arms are carved with designs in some cases. The bracket figures, mostly vyālas, are present on the front face of the verandah pillars. J4 has a kichaka, while J24 has a warrior below vyāla. There are around ten varieties of these three types of pillars, with minor differences.
(1) It is a short and heavy pillar without base. The shaft rises in a square block
surmounted by an eight-sided kalasa with a triangular plate on each face, double tati, kumbha with a plain median band and a recession, all eight-sided. These members in the case of the pilasters are plain. The brackets are rounded and two-armed. This type is found in the kakşasana pillars and pilasters of J6 (Fig. 10a).
(2) The pillars of this variety are thin and slender. On the base rises the shaft, which is a
slightly tapering square block surmounted by an octagonal portion. The upper members are as in the aforementioned variety. But brackets are absent, while above the kumbha is a padma. This type is found in the hall of J6 (Fig. 10b).
(3) Third variety of the pillar has the base on which, the shaft rises in a squarc block with
an octagonal band at the top and just the indication of a kalasa with a plain patti on top. Above are a double tati and a kumbha with plain median band. The brackets are rounded and four-armed with a median band on each arm. This type of pillar is found in the hall of J10 and in J19. The corner pillars in the hall of J2 are also of this type (Fig. 10c).
(4) The pillar of this variety has a base on which, the shaft rises in square block with a
stylised pürnaghata in the upper part, surmounted by a sixteen-sided portion. The upper part of this portion is carved with a band of beaded festoons and a band of diamonds alternating with circles and is surmounted by an alpanāsi on each face. Above are a kalasa with sixteen flutings, a double taţi and a kumbha with a decorative median band, all in sixteen flutings. The brackets are rounded and two-armed. This type is exemplified by the two central pillars in each row of the pillars of the outer