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THE 'NĀGA BANDHA' AND THE SPAÑCĀNGAVIRA' CEILING
M. A. Dhaky
While writing The ceiling of the Temples in Gujarati, J. M. Nanavati and I had to forego detailed discussion on two popular 'illustrative' types of ceiliogs met inside the halls of the fifteenth century Western Indian Jaina temples. That was because no helpful light then seemed coming from the mediaval manuals in Sanskrit on architecture, nor from other contem. poraneous writings incidentally taking notice of such ceilings. The first type depicts Krsna trampling or humbling the serpant Kāliya in the River Yamutā: the second shows a curious human figure possessing five bodies commonly sharing a head and a single pair of arms, one of the arms usually carrying a dagger in striking posture2.
In the first case the illustration could be identified without difficulty on the basis of the wellknown narration of the Krsna-lylā legends, but the authority of the văstusastra-s behind the selfsame depiction was still wanting. In the second no identification could be attempted since no parallels of motif could be traced and nothing seemed explaining the idea underlylag the motif. As for the kaliya-mardana scene, a significant reference has of late been traced in the wellknown Western Indian västi work, the A parajitaprccha of Bhuvanadeva' (ca. 3rd quarter of the 12th century) and has been discussed by me elsewheret. The present paper is intended to focus more on the second motif and to identify if not quite explain it on the basis of the literary evidence which I of late could trace.
The fifteenth century temples which illustrate one or both of these two types of ceilings are : one of the five Jaina temples at Jesalmereb and the Dharana vibāra at Rāṇakpur (1440 and later), both in Rājasthāna, and the so called Melak-vasahi (anc. Kharatara-vasabi) atop Mt. Girnar (1455) in Saurastra." And one more instance, which is anterior to these all since datable to around 1320, is the beautiful though misnamed Bhulavaṇi temple, also known as Vimala-vasi (anc. Kharatara-vasahi) on Mt. Satrunjaya, again in Sausāstra, illustrated and discussed here,
The identification of these two illustrative types becomes possible on account of some pilgrims' psalms written in the fifteenth century a propos of Satruñjaya and Girnar temples mentioned in the foregoing para, Referring briefly to the plan and interior arrangement of the 'Kharatara-vasahi on Satruñjaya hills, the unknown author of the Satrunjaya caitya paripāļi thus mentious: There is, inside, (the ceiling depicting) nagabundha, and again (the one sbowing) the alluring pañcānga vira:'
