Osiaji Mahavira Temple

Author(s): Rabindra J Vasavada
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Architectural Character
As M. A. Dhaky suggests in his work on Western Indian Jaina Temple, . .. the Western Indian or Maru-Gurjara Jain Temple spells the perfect expression of the Jinaite sacred architecture. Jainism all the same did not create a separate architecture; it rather drew from and always depended on the very vital source, Hindu architecture. Though its constituent elements, came from Brahmanical vastu-art, it is largely in the organization and manipulation just as in application, and we may add in further and fuller development of some of these elements that the Jaina sacred building remains distinguished from its Brahmanical counterpart ... These medieval Jaina Temples broadly followed the regional and period styles of the Brahmanical sacred buildings. The impact of Jainism and the influence of its followers in Western India had begun to be felt more decidedly from the seventh century. .. but it is in the medieval epoch particularly between the eleventh and thirteenth century, that Jainism reached the zenith of its power and importance ... Dhaky further describes the important features of a Western Indian Jain Temple at Jagati, Mulaprasada, (containing garbha or garbhagriha) enshrining mulanayaka, mulaprasada is attached to a gudhamandapa, which is axially opened to mukhamandapa i.e. trika, trika articulated to a rangamandapa together with the mukhamandapa, in rear is surrounded and thus enclosed by bramantika or pattasalika (cloistered corridor) formed by the linkage of the porches of the conjoined clusters entourage of deva-kulikas or subsidiary Shrines, in the first instance of 24 in numbers enshrining images of the 24 Jinas.
The Temple Complex as explained earlier has the following constituents : (1) The entrance porch on the north, to the street (2) The entrance hall which earlier housed the stairs also (3) The vast Temple court (4) The main Temple with main front hall, inner hall, main shrine (5) The colonnaded corridors on south, east and west, (6) Reassembled Torana - archway and (7) Subshrines numbered 1 to 7 in groups of four on eastern side and three on western side. Two subshrines out of these seven, numbered six and seven are enclosed within the eastern and western colonnaded corridors respectively. These structures are described in extreme details by M. A. Dhaky in his work compiled in the article entitled Some Early Jaina Temples in Western India, p. 312 to 327, published by Shri Mahavira Jaina Vidyalaya Golden Jubilee Volume, Bombay (1968). Main Shrine
The plan of the main shrine shows the inner Temple surrounded by the external envelope which provides a circum-ambulatory passage around the inner Temple. The inner temple has a frontal porch with two independent pillars which conjoin with the two pilasters on the sides of the entrance door. This forms a