Jinamanjari 1996 04 No 13

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

Page 80

historical, traditional and conceptional understanding of the period.
The seal has multiple depictions: there is the nude deity in kayotsarga position with kalpavrksa twig around the headarea, and a trisula behind and over the head; a person with his headgear, indicating royalty, is kneeling to the nude deity; there is a bull behind the royal person, and seven secondary people with conspicuous and commanding attire are placed at the bottom of the seal. The nude kayotsarga figure is that of Rsabha, the first tirthankara according to both Vedic and Jaina accounts: that is, spiritual specifications underlined by sublime ascetic characteristics, transcendental mooring of the mind, and the position he had held as Kulakara in the Jain context, or as the last Manu of the Hindus.
What is a trisula in Jainism? What place it has in Jaina spirituality? According to Jainism, there are three essential points arising from a source of contemplative mind, and in Jaina philosophical thought, they are functions of the psychospiritual path. Technically they are known as samyagjnana (Right Knowledge), samyagdarsana (Right Faith), and samyagcaritra (Right Conduct), which in all their totality are referred as triratna. They are the quintessence of liberation. The trisula in the seal is the representation of the triratna.
The kneeling person is Emperor Bharata, the eldest son of Rsabha. He is revering to Rsabha with folded-hands with bent down head. He is adorned with crown and possess royal radiance. The bull behind him represents the insignia of the first tirthankara. The seven figures located at the bottom of the seal, wearing the attire of the times and standing as required by protocol, are said to be members of the council of ministers.
The Jaina Antiquity
Although the archaeological and historic record are very important sources to establish antiquity, as seen in the
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