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84 : Śramaņa, Vol 62, No. 4, Oct.-Dec. 2011 omniscience and hence salvation. As an ascetic, he performed rigorous austerities, such as the prolonged meditation for a whole year, standing erect in the kāyotsarga posture, and finally attained kevalajñāna or omniscience. The kāyotsarga posture is associated exclusively with the Jinas.
To suggest his rigorous tapas in visual representation, Bāhubali is shown not only in the kāyotsarga mudrā, but also with creepers entwining his limbs to suggest the passing of the year he had stood through. Another unusual feature in the Bāhubalī imaging is the depiction of snakes, lizards and scorpions, either nearby or creeping over his body. The presence of the deer and the sylvan backdrop marks out the Bāhubalī's images from Ellorā. These representational characteristics distinctly suggest the long passage of time in which Bāhubali was absorbed in tapas, or deep trance. The creepers and the scorpions, lizards, snakes and deer depicted with Bāhubalī, symbolize the intimate relationship and co-existence of man and nature. The images of Gommateśvara Bāhubali are viewed today with a new awareness in the context of out serious ecological concerns.
The kāyotsarga posture and nudity of Bāhubalī are symbolic of total renunciation and perfect self-control. His profound observance of renunciation, non-violence and austerity inspired both the Svetāmbara and the Digambara Jainas to worship Bāhubali who as a result, became a powerful symbol as well as personification of the aparigraha and self-sacrifice preached by the Jinas.
The literary references to Bāhubalī are found in sources dating from about fourth century A.D. in literary works, of which the most important ones are: the Paumacariya of Vimalasūri (473), the Vasudevahindi and the Āvaśyaka-niryukti (around early sixth century A.D.), the Padmapurāņa of Raviseņa (676 AD), Harivamsapurāņa of Jinasena (783), the Adipurāņa of Jinasena (after 837), the Trişastiśalākāpuruşacaritra of Hemacandra (c. mid-twelfth century) and the Caturvimśati-Jina carita of Amarchandra Sūri (thirteenth century AD).
