Some Aspects of Jainism in Eastern India

Author(s): Pranabananda Jash
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher's Pvt Ltd New Delhi

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Some Aspects of Jainism in Eastern India
of miniature Jaina icons on the outer face of its octagonal compound wall.109
The two miniature Caityas containing tirthankaras in their sides resemble the Caitya described by N.N. Vasu from Boḍasahi in Mayurbhanja district. Jaina images are to be found in the Akhandaleśvara temple and inside the Matṛka group of temples in Jajpur in the Cuttack district. Pārsvanatha is being worshipped as Ananta Vasudeva in a temple at Nārāyaṇa Chowk of the town. The image of Santinatha (32" x 16") of the Mātṛkā temple with trilinear umbrella overhead is in the kayotsarga-pose. The image is flanked by twenty-four miniature tirthankaras on its side and two cauri-bearers, while at the top we find the usual lanchana, two kalasas on one side and another kalasa and a devotee on the other side. Another image of Santinatha (45" x 22") inside the compound of the Akhandaleś vara temple is equally interesting to note. The standing image is surrounded by eight planets carved four each on the two sides, the ninth planet Ketu being absent. The image is attended upon by two cauri-bearers and overhead there are two flying Vidyadharas.
But Jainism did not last long and the subsequent decline of Jainism in Orissa is most probably due to the increasing hold of Vaisnavism in general and of Jagannatha worship in particular. According to some scholars the Jaina influence was so deep rooted in the religious life of this region that even in the composition of the Jagannatha cult its influence is clearly visible. The worship of the trident as a sacred symbol and the 'all pervading conception of three into one', according to scholars, essentially and originally belonged to Jainism. The epithet "Natha" of Jagannatha is a characteristic title of Jainism and the figure of Jagannatha is only a synthesis of the Jaina Baddhamangala and Nandipada. The Jñanasiddhi of Indrabhūti mentions Lord Jagannatha as being worshipped by all the Jainas. In fact, the absorption of Jainism into the Hindu religious fold is one of the reasons that paved the way for its decay. "This Jagannatha cult, . . . is in reality an amalgam of different cults and religions, and even of the practices and faiths followed by the primitive tribes. There was therefore a grand experiment in the field of religion in this eastern coast of India to reduce heterogeneity to a sort of homogeneity. The religious system, thus evolved, still prevails in Orissa without much change."
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