Studies in Jaina Art

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

Page 82

SYMBOL WORSHIP IN JAINISM
69
Abhayadeva interprets sībāsaņasamthie as simbāsanākårao which is obviously wrong. He, however, notes on the basis of another vācanã that its borders were inlaid with pearls ( muktājala-khacitāntakarmā), 2
It is therefore certain that the silāpatta was placed under a tree, reclining a little (isim ) against its stem, and deposited on a simhāsana obviously because it was an object of worship. The carvings described above were decorative, in the centre might have been the figure of a yakṣa or any spirit or of a symbol; eommentators are silent regarding the meaning of Pșthvi-śilāpatta. What does Prthvi signify here? Was it a terracotta pața ? or was it a stone-plaque dedicated to the Mother-goddess Fșthvi? An easier interpretation is however possible so far as the position of the Pața is concerned. It rested on a simbasana, not vertically but horizontally, (either slightly raised at the end near the tree, or with its one end probably thrust into the stem by scraping the latter's surface, which was possibly the meaning conveyed by isim khandhasamalliņa. It gave stability to the patta placed on a dias or a simhāsana, the interpretation further obtains confirmation from the representation of Bodhi-tree shrine at Bhārhut. 3 If then, the patta, was placed horizontally, it becomes a spot for laying offerings to the spirit or the tree. Nay, it also became the pitha for a representation of a spirit or of a symbol as can be inferred from the relief of the Dhamma-cakka shrine, also from Bhārhut.
It is in this sense that the Vasudevahiņdi speaks of sumana-silā of Sumana Yaksa under an aśoka tree. The Yakşa figure was placed on this pitha or platform. It is also possible to infer a stage in which the object of worship was carved in relief on the surface of the silā itself and offerings placed on it. Surely the Pţthvi-Silāpatta is the precursor of the Jaina Ayāgapațas obtained from the Kaikāli Țīlā, most of which are now assigned to the first century B.C.
Originally possibly a Caitya-tree or a sacred tree, was simply enclosed in a railing as can be seen from representations on a Jaina Ayāgapața from Karikäli Țila, Mathura (fig. II) and from such representations at Bhārhut and
. 1 Aupapātika, (Agamodaya Samiti ed.), sūtra 5, comm. on pp. 10-II. 2 Especially see, Barua, B. M., Book of Bhārhut, Vol. III. Fig. 32.
3 Coomaraswamy, HILA., Figs. 41, 46 and 51. Also, Barua, Book of Bhārhut, III. Figs. 26, 28, 30, 31.
• Coomaraswamy, HIIA., fig. 41.
6 The practice of collecting stones and symbols of divinity is an ancient custom, many of the village gods and goddesses are upto this date placed under trees which shall in the worship paid to the godlings underneath. See the Age of Imperial Unity, p. 474.
See the section on Āyāgapatas. Also see, Le culte De L'Arbre Dans L'Inde Ancienne, par Odette Viennot (Paris, 1954), pl. XII, figs. B,C. I have