Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

Page 383

372
KLAUS BRUHN
I. “Main Divisions":
In $ 233 of the Deogarh monograph (footnote 1, p. 371) it was pointed out that quite a few Parśava-images do not follow the iconographic conventions. Several photos of such images were included in the book. In what follows I shall return to the same discussion.
Every student of Indian art knows that Pārsvanātha is represented with a "serpent-demon” or nāga behind his back. The nāga is Dharañendra, well-known from the legend of Parśvanātha as narrated in Hemacandra's Trişastiśalākāpurusacaritra, in Guņabhadra's Uttarapurāņa, and in other works of Jaina literature. The presence of the Dharanendra motif "attracted" other nāga motifs, and apart from this, the way in which Dharapendra was represented varied a good deal. Furthermore, it would appear that the iconography of Pārsvanātha deviates also in other respects from the iconography of the other twenty-three Jinas. For such deviations we shall use the term "peculiarities" (divisions i-iv below). Besides there are "irregularities”. This term is employed if an individual Pārsva-image ignores either the canon of Parśva iconography (division v) or the canon which is valid for all the Jinas (division vi). An exact definition of the terms used and a full explication of the scheme is not attempted.
(i) The peculiarity of the image consists mainly of the
*hood-circlel, but this is rendered in a conventional manner. The *snake-coils behind the back of the Jina are either indicated in a cursory manner or they are missing altogether. See Deogarh Fig. 225.
(ii)
The image shows one or more of the following peculiarities: unconventional hood-circle and/or pronounced snake-coils and/or other nāga motifs. E.g. compare Deogarh Figs. 338-341.
Terms marked with an asterisk-some are self-explanatory, some notare explained in the Deogarh monograph, See in particular Chapter 1 and the Index of Terms.