Mahavira Jain Vidyalay Suvarna Mahotsav Granth Part 1

Author(s): Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya Mumbai
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

Page 689

218 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME
ears, long arms stretching upto the knees, wheel on palms and soles etc. Aesthetically the early Jaina images of the Kuşāņa age are primitive and bear a flattish look. Profuse ornamentation and varied iconographic features had not yet been introduced. The figure is seated on an ordinary pedestal with a conventional wheel placed on a pilaster in centre and devotees on both the sides. The folds of drapery are heavier and based on the Indo-Scythian style. Around the head of the main deity there is a simple halo with scalloped border.
Gupta Age :
Coming to the Gupta age, the artistic supremacy is well achieved and the images are beset with inner and outer qualities of perfection. The physical flatness and crudeness of line are replaced by a balanced body and controlled modelling. The serene and divine radiating influence of the faces is indicative of high spiritual attainments of Tirthankaras. The half-open eye-lids directed to the tip of the nose exhibit a sense of deep contemplation. The simple halo is further ornamented by the undercut foliage in bold relief. The ordinary pedestal of the Kuşāņa age has also undergone a change. Supported by a lion on each side, it sometimes represents a Simhasana and sometimes a lotus-seat (Utthita-Padmāsana).
Iconography of Jainism in the Gupta period is much varied and complicated. Various gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon are adopted and occur as subsidiary deities of the Jinas. For instance, the figures of Viņņu, śiva, Kubera, Hārīti, Sarasvati, Yakşas, Gandharvas and navagrahas are shown attending the presiding image, i.e., a Tirthankara. Originally, it started in the form of a sectarian rivalry but later all these gods and semi-gods formed a part of the adopting religion.
Most of the Tirthankara-images belonging to the Gupta age have come from Mathura but few solitary instances in the same red sand-stone of Mathura have also been acquired from various other districts such as Banaras and Sitapur (see fig. 3), of Uttar Pradesh. These figures must have originally been imported from Mathura.
Mediaeval Period :
With the advent of the medieval period Jainism seems to have regained eminence in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in the region of Bundelkhand. It is an era of Jaina revivalism. Numerous sculptures