Jainism in Rajasthan

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JAINISM IN RAJASTHAN
The great grandson of Chandragupta Maurya named Samprati, according to the Jaina books, is said to have constructed a large number of Jaina temples in Rajasthan, Malwa and Kathiawar. An inscription of 1629 A D. engraved on the image of the temple of Adinatha at Nadlãi speaks of the rebuilding by the whole Jaina community of Nadlai of the temple which was originally constructed by Samprati, the hero of Jaina traditions.1 As a matter of fact, no Jaina temple of Samprati's time is now in existence anywhere in Rajasthan. TOD wrongly attributes an old temple of Kumbhalmer to Samprati.2 According to him, the design of this temple is truly classic. It consists only of the sanctuary, which has a vaulted dome and colonnaded portico allround. There is chasteness and simplicity. The proportions and forms of columns are slight and tapering. This type of architecture is undoubtedly Jaina. The extreme want of decoration attests its antiquity to the time of Samprati. But BHANDARKAR3 thinks TOD to be quite wrong in ascribing this temple to the second century B.C. It was left in an unfinished condition. Its construction cannot be placed earlier then the twelfth century A.D., because the style of its pillars resembles that of Tejapala temple at Delavāḍā on Mt. Abu.
Not only from late traditions, but the existence of Jaina temples in early times is also known from their scattered fragments. The Badali inscription1 on a hexagonal pillar shows that probably, it might originally belong to some Jaina monument in the fifth century BC. Its existence during this period is not impossible because about a century had elapsed since Mahāvīra preached his doctrines. The excavations conducted at Kesorayapāṭana near Bundi may also prove the existence of Jaina temple in the fourth or fifth century A.D. because one Kalpavrikshapatta of Jaina mythology and other Jaina sculptures were discovered at a depth of about 25 feet from the surface of the mound along with the bricks of the characteristic of the Gupta age.
Possibly due to Hūna invasions, the very early Jaina temples disappeared. Even those, which remained intact, were repaired from time to time and thus transformed. It is, therefore, difficult to get an idea of Jaina architecture of ancient times. From about the eighth century A.D., we get
1 NJJ, No. 856.
J. 2
Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, II, pp. 670-71. Ane PRAS. wc, 1908-09, p. 41 Bharatiyapruchīnalipimālā, p 2