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Skanda, the commander of gods in Hindu mythology, is the commander of the infantry of the Jaina Indra. But the goat-faced Naigamesin, who was associated with procreation of children as Nejamesa in ancient times, was also worshipped by the adhyayana of Antagaḍadasão.
Amongst other ancient Jaina deities may be mentioned Śrutadevatā or Sarasvati, the Goddess of Learning and Śri-Lakṣmi, the Goddess of Wealth. An early image of the former is obtained from the Kankali Tila, Mathura and shows her seated with upright legs and carrying the lotus and the book. The peculiar posture of the goddess is not without any significance. For, according to the Acaränga sutra, Mahavira himself obtained knowledge while he was sitting with knees held up in the godohika-asana, i.e., the posture adopted while milching a COW. Sarasvati is, therefore, seated in an asana associated with the attainment of kevala-jñāna by Mahavira.
Later images of Sarasvati show her as having two, four and eight, even twenty-four arms. The four-armed variety is the most common and the goddess generally carries the viņā and the book in two hands and showing the amṛta ghata and the lotus or the varada mudra in two others. The swan is generally shown as her vāhana.
Yaksas and Yakşinis
The Yakṣa cult is very ancient in India. References to ceiyas (caityas) like the Gunasila-Ce; Pūrṇabhadra-Ce; Bahuputrika-Ce, etc. in the Jaina canonical texts are significant. The commentators rightly interpret them as shrines of Yakṣas (Yakṣa-āyatana) and the word Jakkhāyatana is not unknown to the canons. Pūrṇabhadra and Manibhadra are well-known as ancient Yakṣas.
Mahavira stayed in such shrines. The Aupapātika-sūtra gives a detailed description of the Pūrṇabhadra- caitya, calling it ancient (porāṇa) and visited by many persons. Mahavira obviously selected for his stay shrines of cults which were not following the Vedic rituals and were, therefore, non-Vedic or heterodox and possibly not Aryan in origin. The description of the Purṇabhadra caitya refers to a prthivi-sila-paṭṭa, soft to touch and shining like mirror which the author regards as referring to a highly polished N.B.P. terracotta plaque. Excavations at Kosam and Vaiśali have demonstrated the existence of the N.B.P. in
JAINTHOLOGY /119
