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The Jaina Stupa at Mathura: Art & Icons
and cunning workmanship are dug out. Only one Hindu temple is left out of many, for the ... have destroyed all except the Pyramid"96. Here, Father talked about the existence of a pyramid at Mathurā, which might be a Jaina stūpa visited and adored by Jaina Ācārya Jinaprabha. The Father might have called the shrine as a pyramid due to its domeshape. Above references reveal that by the time scriptures were codified at Vallabhi and Mathurā, fully developed Jaina temples, stūpas and images already existed. According to Dr. Sagarmal Jain - “In Jainism, the stūpa tradition flourished from 200 B.C. to 500 A.D. One of the branch of Jainism - Yāpaniya tradition, existed between 5th to 15th century A.D., was known as Pañca-stūpānvaya. Mathurā was considered its chief centre so there might be a possibility of existence of five stūpas. The construction of stūpas reduced by the gth century with the development in Jaina shrines and Caitya-pillar. When Vividhtīrtha-kalpa, was composed by Jinaprabhasūri the stūpa at Mathurā was standing with some renovation”.
96
1) The commentary of Father Monserrate, on his journey to the court of Akbar -
translated by J.S. Holyland- 1922 pp 93. II) A. L. Srivastava - Akabar the Great', VI.-III, 1973, pp 11: III) Sharma V. K., Reconstructing Indi. Hist..., pp 238.
