Jaina Stupa At Mathura Art And Icons

Author(s): Renuka J Porwal
Publisher: Prachya Vidyapith

Page 26

The Place of Mathurā in Jainism
a principal concern. It is a way of life comprising four reflections - i. Friendliness with all living beings. ii. Feeling happy at the sight of the virtuous. iii. Compassion for those in misery and iv. Equanimity to the non-virtuous. It believes that every soul is a potential God, and therefore by its own efforts, can reach the final goal of liberation (moksa). Moreover, a special feature of Jainism is Anekāntavāda - liberalism: A reality is
e seen from different points of views as truth is multifaceted; an object or a theory seems true from one point but may not be the same from another angle. Therefore one must respect the views of others.
1.5
The Centre of Indian Culture - Mathurā: Mathurā is very sacred and referred to as a 'Moksadāyī Tīrtha' in all Indian traditions - // Kāśī kāńcī ca Māyākhyā tvayodhyā Dvāravatyapi Mathurāvantikā caitāḥ sapta puryauca mokşadāḥ // The sloka from Garuda Purāņa states that Banaras (Kāśī), Kāñcī, Haradvāra (Māyā), Ayodhyā, Dvārakā, Mathurā and Ujjain (Avantikā), all seven cities are sacred. The city of Mathurā was at the crossroads of the "Great Caravan" route, joining the north eastern towns of Pāțliputra and Tāmralipti as well as southern towns like Avanti, Broach, Cambay, etc. with Gandhāra and other parts of the world. Thus Mathurā was connected with sea link by ports like Cambay and Broach. The rich city of Mathurā is situated on the western bank of the sacred Yamunā, at longitude 77° 41' E. and latitude 27° 28' N. It is 145 km away from Delhi and 58 km from Āgrā. The other names for this city from ancient times are Mahurā, Madhurā, Uttara Madhurā, Uttara Mathurā, Madhupurī, Madhuśikhā, Madhupaghana, Madhuban, Mathulā and Mahurāu. Ptolemy calls this city Modourālo. Mathurā being a business as well as an important pilgrimage centre for all three Indian religions is always advanced in art and culture. The city
7 Garuda Purāna, 2.28.3, in Sharma V. K., History of Jainism with special reference to
Mathurā, (New Delhi, D. K. print world (p) Itd. 2002), pp. 123. 8 Motichandra, Trade Routes in Ancient India, (New Delhi, 1977), pp. 164. 9 Devavimal, HirSaubhagyam- Rasa,(Mumbai, Nirnayasagar, 1900), pp. 729, 10 I) Sharma R. C. The splendour of Mathurā, (New Delhi, D. K. Printworld (p) Itd.,
1993), pp. 29. II) District Gazetteer, (Mathurā, 1968), pp. 1