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more than twenty such pillars in the district of south Kanara alone. Nothing can surpass the stately grace of these beautiful pillars. During the past one hundred years numerous such pillars have been erected in different parts of the country.83" The Jainas generally call these pillars Mānastambhas. 84 Apart from pillars, a tower known as Kīrtistambha in Cittoda, Rājasthāna was constructed in 12th cent. A.D. and it was dedicated to Adīnātha.85
It may be noted that "the most distinctive contribution of Jainism to art was in the realm of icon-making. Innumerable Jaina images made of stone, metal including gold, silver and bronze, wood, terracotta, and even precious stones, are available. "86 On the basis of the Hāthīgumphā inscription (2nd cent. B.C.) of Khāravela, the history of Jaina iconography takes us back at least to the 4th cent. B.C.
The Mathurā School of Art speaks of the development of Jaina icons from the 1st cent. B.C., to 12th cent. A.D. Statues of Tīrthankara were made by Jainas in good number. In the Mathurā School "Ādīnātha or Rşabhanātha was shown with hair falling on his shoulders and Parśvanātha had a snake conopy over his head and 22nd Tīrthankara Neminātha was presented flanked by Balarāma and Krsna.87" The Image of Sarasvati is found at Mathurā (132 A.D.). This is the earliest statue of Sarasvatī known to us. Gradually it assumed many forms. 88 This shows that Sarasvati was worshipped in Jaina tradition. Undoubtedly the most remarkable of the Jaina statues is the statue of Bāhubali situated at Sraavņabelagola in Mysore (constructed in 983 A.D. by Cāmundarāya and it is 561/2 Ft. in height) it is the largest free standing statue in Asia.89
Painting on walls, palm-leaves and paper : The earliest example of wall paintings is found in Sittanavāsala cave in Tamilnādu in the 7th cent. A.D. in the 10th and 11th cent.
Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays
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