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Their Religious Symbols, Drawings and Expressions : 191 have a special feature called “pravacana mudrā”, with one leg hanging and the other folded, one hand open on one foot and the other raised above the chest. Such a posture was, according to Jain tradition, that of the Jina when they were speaking to the assembly of living beings. Though the Tīrthankara images are also put in the samavasaraņa (the assembly hall) in pravacana posture, their statues are always in lotus-posture (padmāsana). It would be worth to mention that in South India, the Tīrthankara images are generally found in half-lotus-posture (ardha-padmāsana).
Jains sometimes place the wheel of the law (dharma cakra), with an ascetic and a deer on each side, on the pedestals of Tīrthankara's statues. This symbolizes the rules of living that must be permanently observed with compassion and respect towards religion.
One can also frequently see a special mark on Tīrthankara's chests. Such a mark, called “ śrīvatsa”, is a kind of tuft of hair or a stylised flower that recalls that perfect knowledge has appeared in their heart.
Very often an animal or an object is depicted under the Tīrthankara's statues. It is their distinctive mark (lārchana). A bull under Rşabha symbolizes the strength of his will, Ajita's elephant his faithfulness, Sambhava's horse the running time, Abhinandana's monkey his wisdom, Sumati's curlew or pink flamingo the expert in the world of light, Padmaprabha's lotus his purity, Supārsva's Indian "swastika” the four kinds of existence, Candraprabha's moon the transformations of the soul, Puspadanta's crocodile or crab regeneration, Sītala's "swastika” the purity of his heart, Śreyāṁsa's rhinoceros his strength, Väsupūjya's buffalo his perseverance, Vimala's boar the triumph over impediments, Ananta's hawk the light, Dharma's flash of lightning action, śānti's deer inner peace, Kunthu's billy-goat eternity, Ara's fishes the renewal of cosmic cycles, Malli's jar fecundity, Munisuvrata's tortoise the regulation of
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