Jinamanjari 2001 09 No 24

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

Page 11

old temples down and erected new ones in their place, which could explain that much of the existing architecture tends to date to the fifteenth century.44 Besides, we do know that several temples were destroyed with the waves of invasions, and that this contributed to the more recent establishment of religious centers on mountaintops in order to maintain inaccessibility to raiders.' We can also note that these new places were of natural beauty and located away from the bustle
of city life
The Jaina community were also very interested during this period in constructing stupas, 6 chaityagrhas and jinagrahas in those places where tradition maintains that the Jaina teachers took their nirvana, or on the funeral places of the Jinas. Several Jaina"and Buddhist texts have referred to such construction, and refer to the building of Jaina stupas in member of their gurus since ancient time." While the stupas were made purely from a religious perspective, it is also important to realize the importance of the construction of these features on Jaina architecture as a whole (the construction of Jaina stupas began around the tenth century B.C.E. and remained important until the Gupta period).
It is suggested that the first stupa was the one constructed at Kailash in meinory of the first Tirthankara, Rsabhadeva, by his son Bharata. 50 The Jambudvipannati also suggests the erection of Jaina monuments at the cremation ground of a Tirthankara." The Aupapatikasutra describes the Purna Bhadra chaitya outside Champa Nagari.” The Avasyaka Niryukti also describes the erection of a stupa, chaitya, and jinagrahya at the nirvana place of Mahavira. " The Jain stupa dedicated to the twentieth Tirthankara, Munisuvratanatha, existed at Vaisali, and Harisena has mentioned that in very ancient times the Vidyadharas constructed stupas.
As well, the Jaina commentaries and the Curnis material written in the Gupta age onwards provides information regarding various Jaina chaityas." Descriptions of Jaina sravakas worshipping in the chaityas of Rajgir and elsewhere have been recorded in those texts. The fifth century copper plate of Paharpur of Acarya Guhanandi informs us about the existence of five Jaina relics, and according to Jinaprabhasuri, there existed at Mathura a stupa of gold and jewels, raised by Kubera in honour of the Tirthankara, Suparsvanatha.