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Doris Chatham
Nirgrantha
developments in Jainismo. Jinasena, who had written the part of the Adipurāņa, describes himself in the Pārśvābhudaya as the paramaguru or chief preceptor, of Amoghavarşa I. The Yāpaniya pontiff Pālyakirti Sākatāyana wrote his Sanskrit grammar with a commentary having a title Amoghavrtti, so named after the emperor. He also composed the Strimukti-prakarana, defending the salvation of woman against the Digambara doctrinal position which denies it. The Digambara Jaina copies of the Praśnottararatnamalika informs us that it was composed by the king himself, "after he had abdicated the throne in consequence of the growth of the ascetic spirit in him". We know from his own Sañjān plates (A. D. 871) that he did abdicate, not once, but several times, temporarily, to lead the life of an ascetic12. This period is described by A. D. Pusalkar as "the most flourishing period in the history of Jainism in the Deccan." He goes on to say: "That the fortunes of Jainism were unaffected by the revival of Hinduism has been ascribed to the state patronage, and the influence of the pious Jaina saints. ....As king makers they secured royal patronage for generations. By winning over generals, feudal lords and provincial governors, their success at provincial centres was assured under the aegis of these officials. By securing popular support, they had among their followers the most important section of the middle class, the Vira Banajigas and the commercial class, whose financial help went a long way in the cause of Jainism. It enabled them to construct magnificent Jinālayas and images":3. With this array of potential patrons, it would be risky for us to speculate that the Jaina caves at Ellorā had direct royal sponsorship. It might be tempting to identify the devotee who appears so frequently here under an umbrella as the devout king himself; but in the absence of inscriptions, this would be a highly questionable identification. We must conclude that the piety and encouragement of Amoghavarsa I was only one of a number of favourable factors contributing to the climate that produced these impressive monuments. The most frequently expressed comment on the aesthetic quality of these cavetemples calls attention to their richness and both the lavishness and the skillfulness of the carved decorative detail. This characteristic has been considered both their glory and their weakness. We shall attempt to consider, not so much its value in absolute terms, as its relationship to what went before and its effectiveness in expressing the tastes of its patrons; but most of all, we shall consider the way that this skill and these tastes have contributed to the creation of an integrated, unified, overall design. Pillars
As Walter Spink has pointed out, although cave excavation normally progressed from the façade toward the rear of the cave, work on detail of the less essential parts might continue after the shrine, in the rear, was complete 14. Figs. 3 and 4,
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