Temples of Kumbhariya

Author(s): M A Dhaky, U S Moorty
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 87

Western Indian Jaina Temple: Generalities
the Neminatha has somewhat second rate examples, those of Pārśvanātha had been replaced by plain slabs and there is no question for Sambhavanatha which is not provided with the mukhamandapa.
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(6) Rangamaṇḍapa
On stepping down from the mukhamaṇḍapa one enters into the next adjunct, the rangamandapa, having a central square nave defined by 12 peripheral pillars. The four pairs of columns at the bhadra-cardinals form an octagon which support a ceiling of the Sabhā-mandāraka or the Sabhā-padma-mandāraka order, with a sequence of receding gajatālu and kola courses leading to a central pendant, usually gorgeous and of considerable intricacy and beauty. The pillars usually are profusely decorated, though in the Kumbhāriya context only the Neminatha temple fully answers to that observation. The lintels, too, as a rule are sumptuously carved with creeper designs, figure-panels, etc. The rangamandapa lends amplitude, dignity, and magnificence to the interior.
(7) Paṭṭaśālā/bhramantikā and devakulikās
The cloistered lobby surrounding the mukhamandapa and the rangamandapa, in case of the 'Caturviṁśati-Jinālaya', or the complete circuit around the prāsāda, the gūḍhamandapa, and the back side in case of the 'bavanna-Jinālaya' (having 52 sub-shrines), discharges a double function, an enclosure that shields the interior from outside viewing as also acts as a graceful girdle around the internal components. The paṭṭaśālā-cloister may be of a single, as in Kumbhāriyā temples, or a doubled file of columns, fore and rear, as in Delvāḍā temples (Mt. Abu). It usually shows a marvellous array of ceilings, each differing in pattern from the other. It was, doubtless, in the Jaina temples that the medieval Indian temple ceilings attained fuller development in terms of design, varieties, and their many possible manipulations. What is seen today in extant temples and in the reused temple material in the early mosques in Gujarat is indeed the smallest remainder of the very vast number of minor ceilings which once graced at least fifty large Jaina temple complexes in medieval Gujarat. The Kumbhāriyā temples are disappointing in that, alone of the four temples, the Pārśvanatha shows well-patterned ceilings in the paṭṭaśālā, and that too restricted to its left wing. The pillars of the paṭṭaśālā are, by way of convention, of the plain Miśraka variety.
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