Jaina Shrines In India

Author(s): O P Tandon
Publisher: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Vovernment of India

Page 14

Introduction
and detachment keeps him, the pilgrim, nent in this context. He writes : "The steady on his journey through the world. majestic aloofness of the perfected, balanced, His steps are guided by triratna (three absolutely self-contained figure of the saint jewels)-right faith, right knowledge and becomes emphasized in its triumphant isolaright conduct. His pilgrimage (spiritual) tion. The image of the released one seems is complete only when he attains nirvana. to be neither animate nor inanimate, but In Jainism, a place of pilgrimage is called a pervaded by a strange and timeless calm. tirtha, popularly known as a place of worship It is human in shape and feature, yet as and is also called a 'shrine'.
inhuman as an icicle; and thus expresses In India, pilgrimage to holy places in
perfectly the idea of successful withdrawal one's lifetime is considered a sacred duty.
from the round of life and death, personal There is hardly an Indian, may be belonging
cares, individual destiny, desires, sufferings, to any religious faith, who does not carry
and events." Zimmer did find his 'sermon the desire to travel to these holy places and
in stone' in the following words: prepares for it in every possible manner and "One should make images of Par suffers all kinds of inconveniences to reach (nátha, 23rd tirthankara) and pay them his destination, the tirtha kshetra, and homage for the effect of his darśana, not makes his offering to the Supreme Being. because of any hope that the great being His faith in the presence of God at such himself might condescend to assist a worplaces is unshaken and it is this faith which shipper; for the Jaina saviors-the 'Makers sustains him throughout his journey regard
of the River-Crossing' (tirthankaras) as they less of pain, perseverence and poverty. are called-dwell in a supernal zone at the
ceiling of the universe, beyond the reach of It is no surprise, therefore, that the rich
prayer; there is no possibility of their assiscultural milieu of the country owes a great
tance descending from that high and lumideal to the builders of Jaina religious faith
nous place to the clouded sphere of human not only in quantity but equally so in
effort...Jainism, that is to say, is not atheistic, aesthetic grandeur and artistic merit.
it is transtheistic... The Makers of the RiverThe Jaina art, thus having its genesis in Crossing are beyond cosmic event as well religion carries its philosophical and spiritual as the problems of biography; they are cannons to artistic creations quite faith- transcendent, cleaned of temporality, omnifully, sometimes even to the detriment of its scient, actionless, and absolutely at peace." growth. The Jaina sculptures particularly Nevertheless, in the execution of other deities invite criticism on this account. The very where the master-craftsman was not handisimplicity and uniformity in their execution capped by the cannonical rigidities or by the give sometimes less credit to the skill of impressed force of the Tirthankara, he disthe artist yet in many cases it brings out the plays the wealth of his genius most magniinherent physical strength, and the innate ficently and yet avoiding eroticism or calm and dignity of the Tirthankara in a unethical subjects. The Jaina architecture superb manner. The remarks made by was also greatly influenced by the tenets of Heinrich Zimmer while referring to the Jaina religion. The requirements of the colossus statue of Bahūbali (Plate I) at ascetics and other believers had a natural Sravanabelgola (Karnataka) are very perti- effect both on its location and purpose.
Philosophies of India, Part III, Jaina Images, pp. 211-2 *Philosophies of India, Part III, Jainism, pp. 181-2