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RELIGION & CULTURE OF THE JAINS
The caves at Dhārāshiva, about 60 km. north of Sholapur are, perhaps, the largest in extent, while that at Kulumulu, in the Tennevelly district of Tamilnadu, which is now used by the Saivas, has been described as 'a gem of its class'. The Nasik caves have a large number of cells and halls for the monks, and indicate the existence of a big establishment and centre of learning there during the Rāstrakūta period (8th to 10th century A.D.), probably in the time of the Jaina saint scholars Svāmī Vīrasena and Jinasena. Those at Ank (AnkaiTankai), in the Khandesh district, though smaller, have some very beautiful dancing figures poised on petals and bearing musical instruments.
By far the most interesting cave-temples of the Jainas, from the artistic point of view, are however, the Indrasabhā and Jagannātha-sabhā groups at Ellora, which constitute a maze of excavation leading from one into another. "The architects”, says Burgess, “who excavated the two Sabhās at Elura, deserve a prominent place among those who, regardless of all utilitarian considerations, sought to convert the living rock into quasieternal temples in honour of their gods.” According to Percy. Brown, “No other temple at Ellora is so complete in its arrangements or so finished in its workmanship as the upper storey of the Indrasabhā, all the large sunk panels between pilasters on every wall being filled with figure subjects, while the pillars, admirably spaced, and on occasion joined by dwarf walls, are moulded, fluted, and faceted, as in no other instance." The richly carved details, the perfected finish, the precision and accuracy of the cutting generally, all indicate a maturity which marks the final phase in the evolution of this branch of art. These excavations are not copies of structural buildings, but are examples of rock-hewn architecture, which had developed into a distinct style and reached its zenith in the region of the Western Ghāts.
