Book Title: Jainthology
Author(s): Ganesh Lalwani
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Previous | Next

Page 263
________________ niche at the base of the central raha of the bāḍa. Above the niche there are a few layers of projected stones in rekha order over which there might have been small pilasters. In the lowly constructed anu-rāhā there is a rekha miniature in the form of a pilaster with khura-shaped mouldings and amalaka overhead. The konika in the form of a pillar built of cut-stone and holding the slightly projected baranda is as if bearing the whole weight of the vimāna. These mouldings in the bāḍa portion have close similarity with the baḍa of the now-ruined stone temple of Budhpur, a few miles south of Pakbirra, and are basically not far away from the temples at Telkupi (Raghunathpur, P.S. Purulia on the bank of Damodar). The triangular entrances (5' high) built of overlapping stones are like those in Deulghat (Jaipur, P.S. Purulia) but while the doorways of Deulghat temples are wide and lofty, these are much too narrow. One is just to crawl to enter into the sanctum. The gandi portions which start after a small recess above the baranda are now nothing more than a heap of disarranged stones. No clear-cut idea can be formed about them. The garbhagṛha is 5' square. Internal walls after a certain height are corbelled upto the ceiling. Above the ceiling the pyramidal tower is hollow like the stone temple at Chharra (6 miles north-east of Purulia). These single-cell temples of Pakbirra might have at some later period maṇḍapas (jagamohana or mukha-mandira) added to them, but are all destroyed leaving only traces of one or two pillars here and there. The fragments of large amalakas and heavy stone kalasas ornamented with lotus petals and hanging mango leaves on the fringe of the neck indicate that the temples belonged to the usual Nagara style. In setting up stones no mortar was used; they were set together by iron hooks. All the temples of Pakbirra originally stood on a pavement either of brick or stone which may be presumed from the high level of the temple site and and arranging of bricks and stones on the ground; the pavement might have been 300' to 350' square as approximated by Mr. Beglar. A large number of images found in the remains have been collected and dumped in a roofless shed which occupies as stated by Mr. Beglar the site of the largest temple containing the full complement of preliminary chambers and hall in front of the sanctum.. The principal object of attention in the shed is a colossal naked figure 7' high, evidently representing a Jaina Tirthankara. The figure (Pic. No. 2) carved in black stone stands in kayotsarga posture and has a crack 214/JAINTHOLOGY

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294