Jinamanjari 2000 09 No 22

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

Page 59

Jinamanjari, Volume 22, No.2, October 2000
Jaina Sculptural and Architectural Details In The Tilakmañjarī
Dr. N.M. Kansara, Ahmedabad, India
It was during his Presidential Address of Fine Arts and Technical Sciences Section of XXIV All India Oriental Conference at Vāraṇāsi, October 1968 that Dr. U.P. Shah pointed out a few references to architectural details in various descriptions of Jaina shrines in the Tilakamañjari of Dhanapāla (11th C.E.). The text exclusively deals on sculptural ornamentations and furnishings in temples and palaces; iconography and yantras.
Following the old tradition, the poet Dhanapala has employed works which provide an elaborate description of sculpture and architecture. For this, he has utilized the motif of the Jaina temples and the palaces. His familiarity with architectural details of Jain temples is quite descriptive. The temple on Mt. Ekaśmiga dedicated to Lord Rṣabha and the temple on Mt. Ratnakuta dedicated to Mahāvira are the chosen examples.'
The Tilakamañjari contains valuable data on the Indian architecture and sculpture, and of town plans of the tenth and the eleventh centuries, especially in its descriptions of the regions of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and perhaps to some extent, southern India as well.
Town Plans of Kañci and Ayodhya
According to Dhanapala, these towns were protected on all sides by a white-washed outer wall, buttressed with a wide rampart, and protected by a deep wide moats filled with carnivorous reptiles such as alligators and crocodiles. Facing each of the four principal directions, the city walls had four colossal gates which opened inward to an extensive array of wide streets which were lined with both shops and a
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