Studies in Jaina Art

Author(s): Umakant P Shah
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 52

II
SYMBOL WORSHIP IN JAINISM
Human mind learnt to conceive of the Highest Divinity not in the absolute likeness of Him but rather in aniconic representations from very early times. These aniconic representations had such meanings and implications as would help us to differentiate them from purely decorative or artistic forms." 1 But this is only partly true since forms which are regarded as purely decorative or artistic might have once had some religious or any other meaning attached to them at some stage of their development in art.
1. INTRODUCTORY I.
So far as Brahmanical Iconography is concerned, it is generally agreed that originally it did not include idol-worship. The sun for example was represented by a disc. The lotus, the svastika, etc., which are amongst the earliest symbols worshipped by human beings of different races and religions are symbols conveying some ideal to the worshipper, howsoever primitive their earlier conception might have been.
Even when a god-head came to be worshipped as an idol, representing a human form, his representation was never allowed to function purely biologically as the likeness of the person glorified and worshipped. In this way, the idol of a Jina or the Buddha remained as a symbol of Mahāpuruşa and not as a portrait of Mahavira or the Gautama Buddha. It is, however, highly probable that the worship of the Jina or the Buddha image originated from the practice of adoring some ancient portraits or paintings of these saints for we have reason to belive that such attempts at portraiture did take place during the life-time of Mahāvīra and Gautama Buddha.
But the idol of Jina soon came to be symbolised and the worship of the Jina image is said to be adoration of the aggregate of qualities which the pious worshipper strives to acquire himself. The Jina-image thus essentially came to be a symbol of these qualities.
It seems that the introduction of the worship of the Jina image was earlier than that of the Buddha, and archæological evidence hitherto obtained.
3
1 Jaina Antiquary, Vol. XV. No. 1, p. 1.
2
Also see, Coomaraswamy, A.K., Elements of Buddhist Iconography, p. 3 cf. Divyavadana, Chp. XXVI, discussed by Coomaraswamy, op.cit., p. 5