________________
Their Temples and Sacred Places : 71 or Sammed Shikhar in Bihar, Sonagiri in Madhya Pradesh, Muktagiri in Maharashtra, Shravana Belgola and Mudabidri in Karnataka.
The Digambara have frequently erected one or several beautiful high pillars, called “mānastambha", in front of their temples, similar to obelisks or a tower with a small statue at its top. As an example, let us cite at Chittor, in Rajasthan, the Jain "Tower of fame” (Kīrtistambha), dating of the XVI century and regarded as the most beautiful of India.
Readers interested in art will find splendid photos and commentaries not only of Hindu sanctuaries but also of Jain caves, temples and temple-cities that show the immense talent of their builders, in Henri Stierlin's book L'Inde Hindoue, published in 1998 by Taschen Editions. The late Kurt Titze's book Jainism. A pictorial guide to the religion of non-violence edited in 1998 by Motilal Banarasidass in Delhi and recently reprinted and Dr L.M. Singhvi's splendid album Jain Temples in India and around the world, edited in 2002 by Himalayan books in Delhi, are very attractive too on the matter. In this regard, books like Jaina Temples of Western India' by Dr. Harihar Singh (published by P.V. Research Institute, Varanasi, 1982) and Burgess's book on Satruñjaya' are worth to mention.
The most famous Jain sanctuaries are true architectural and sculptural wonders. In his book Tresors de l'Inde, Victor de Golish has written eloquent pages about them. Like many other great travellers fond of beautiful things, he says "his emotional shock, his wonder in front of such a great splendour!"
We could cite thousands of other commentaries on the immense artistic talent of the producers of such marvellous religious monuments. Let us mention, for example, a quote by Cousins, reported by Adinath Sangave in his book Aspects of Jaina Religion, “The amount of
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
