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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
There are many sculptures of various forms of Laksmī, Parvatī, Sarasvatī, Saptamātņkās, Cāmundā and Durgā confirming to the Sāktaite norms, or the idols of the goddesses and those that have been carved in accordance with the norms of the science of sculpture. Here, we can find the incomparable sculptures of the twelve forms of Gaurī, as also of Pārvatī performing the Pancāgni penance, and of Umā wearing only a loincloth and standing on the one foot. The sculptures of twenty-armed Mahisamardinī and of Bhairava are found to have been carved on the basis of the works on science of sculpture. The beautiful idols of couples like Brahmā-Sāvitrī, Umā-Maheśvara, Ganesa-Sakti and Kubera-Śakti are worth mentioning. The sculptures of Mahālaksmī, the idol of Visvarūpa-Visnu and those of the goddesses mentioned in the works of Tantra, of the Yoginīs, Sapta-mātņkās and Hanumān are attractive,
The sculptures of gods and goddesses on the walls of the well of the step-well, as also the excellent sculpture of Sesa-śāyī-Visnu flabbergasts the tourists.
There are several aspects of Śiva coupled by his beloved consort that are sculpted magnificently on the panels of the Rānī-văva that amaze the beholder by the evocative grandeur and beauty of the icons. One finds oneself suddenly transported to the lands of the divines permeated by the spiritual flavor all around. One would bow down to Lord Siva in supplication with heart-felt devotion as one beholds Śiva revealing so many of his divine manifestations in these marvelous sculptures. 18
The Queen's Step-well is an underground shrine, since the magnificent sculptures on the panel and nisches in its walls contain figures of various gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon along with the Purānic myths and literary lores. In the aesthetic panorama of life depicted in this monumemt, the artists have brought down the divine on the Earth andraised man to meet the divinity on the Earth.19
This step-well is visibly indicative of the highest type of artistic sense and integrity of elegance of the public life of Gujarat during the 11th century. Here we have poetry carved in stones. These stones, too, expressing beautiful and charming emotional ecstasy are the living symbols of the ardent longing of the Gujarati people and the every art of man. When in the 11th century this step-well might have been under construction, due to the controlled strokes of the master sculptors hitting the stones, the step-well must have been resounding with the humming of the chisels. This step is a resort of art charming to the eyes for those interested connoisseurs and those curious of beauty. There is a throb of life in the sculptures of this step-well. Shapely limbs, and the charming turns of limbs arising due to that artistic rhythm, renders the beauty more shapely. Even in the stones establishing the tenderness the life-style full of skillful art of Gujarat of those times is reflected. The female sculptures here have been shining through their loveliness, bashful postures of the limbs and incomparable physical elegance.20
SOME UNIQUE STEP-WELLS AND TANKS OF GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN
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