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Gurjara king Mathanadeva was entrus ted to the holy ascetic Omkarasivacharya, a member of the Sopuriya line,"
Besides the temple of Nilakanthesvara Mahadeva there were several other temples. An inscription dated 997 A. D. records that some members of the Mathura Kayastha family erected the temple of Siva. The name of the queen Prabhavati is also mentioned.10 An inscription of 1152 A. D. in the temple of Chaturbhujanatha in the fort of Rajorgarh records the erection of an image of Chakra Swami by Valhana, Nalhana and others, sons of Delhana, son of Ralhana, a great devotee of Vishnu when Prithvipaladeva was ruling."
Jainism also flourished side by side with Saivism at Rajorgarh in the early medieval period under the Bada Gurjara rulers who were liberal in their religious out look. As the name Paranagara of this town in the medieval times indicates, that it was associated with Parsvanath. Jaina saints used to have performed penances in some caves which are visible in the hills. By their inspiration, their followers constructed magnificient temples and
ARRMA ASC
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10. EI, III, p. 264. 11. ARRMA, 1919, p 2. 12. ARRMA, 1919, p. 2. 13. ASC, XX, p. 124. 14. Ibid.
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placed images in them. Three life size Jain figures are all standing upright." There are also the two jambs of a highly ornamented doorway of temple, besides numerous broken figures all apparently Jaina. In one of the ruined. temples, there is a colossal Jaina figure of Parsvanatha 13 feet 9 inches with a canopy of 2 feet 6 inches over head which is supported by two elephants." The whole height of the sculpture is 16'3" and its breadth 6 feet. It is known as Nowgaza and it is said to have been. built by Bhainsa Mahajana during the reign of some Bada Gurjara ruler. Such a big Jaina image is not noticed in the Northern India.
Most of these Brahamanical and Jaina ruined temples definitely belong to the Gurjara Pratihara period. They appear to have been constructed in a period between eighth and twefth centuries. The Gurjara Pratihara rulers inherited the aesthetic traditions of the Gupta period. They added vigour and dynamism to the Gupta Art. By the integration of these two impul ses, they became successful in creating great master pieces of medieval sculpture for the decoration of their capital and for satisfying their religious zeal.
ABBREVIATIONS
Annual Report Rajputana Museum, Ajmer. Archaeological Survey of India Reports by Sir Alexander Cunningham. Epigraphia Indica
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