The Jain 1988 07

Author(s): Natubhai Shah
Publisher: UK Jain Samaj Europe

Page 62

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Over the main hall, the mukhashala, of the northern temple the roof may be flattened or pyramidal, or may perhaps have a low dome. In some examples two or three pyramidal roofs rise from the porch to the main hall and lead the eye up to the overtowering sikhara tower.
FRONT VIEW-AJITNATHAJI TEMPLE TARANGA JAIN TIRTH GUJARAT - INDIA
In the Dravidian style the tower rests on a square base and is pyramidal in form, commonly with two sides steeper than the others so that the top of the pyramid is a ridge, not a point. Marked horizontal emphasis is given by lines of ornament and figures repeated around the sides of the tower so that it seems to rise in a series of horizontal bands. The straight lines (although broken by ornament) of these towers are not so pleasing to the eye as the magnificently proportioned convex-sided towers of the northern style. It is probably safe to say that the finest gems of Indian temple architecture, whether Hindu or Jain, are in the northern style. Another characteristic of the southern temples is the development after around 1000 AD of magnificent gate towers to the temple enclosure, sometimes exceeding in size the sikhra itself.
LCHER
Temple building continues in India today. Families of hereditary temple architects still design temples on traditional lines. Indeed construction and endowment of temples has always been seen as a pious religious work: many of the finest examples, both Hindu and Jain, were built in relatively recent times. The Indian temple may be a tiny building or a vast edifice of cathedral-like proportions. It is highly stylised, traditional and conventional, but nonetheless usually beautiful. What does seem to be lacking is any really innovative modern style comparable with that of some of the more successful modern churches in the West. One thing we must not forget. The temple is not constructed as a museum piece, as a work of art pure and simple. It is the locus of the god whose image is found within the inner shrine. It is a religious building and its artistic qualities are there at the service of, and subsidiary to, its spiritual functions.
in the temple. The building of temples is a highly meritorious act. In past times rulers, and more recently wealthy merchants and businessmen, have caused to be built the Jain temples which are an important feature of Indian religious architecture. In this they follow the example of Bharata, son of the first Tirthankara, Rsabha, who is traditionally said to have erected the first temple, dedicated to his father. Not only individuals but also a whole community may take the initiative in the construction of a temple.
THE JAIN TEMPLE
In the middle world of Jain cosmography is the continent of Nandisvaradvipa, the island of the gods. Here, according to Jain tradition, are situated the fifty-two eternal temples which figure frequently in Jain art as stylised buildings on a plaque or conventionally represented by fifty-two Jina images around a stone or metal pyramid. The temple is central to Jainsim and these representations indicate its importance as the building which houses the image of the Jina. Meditation on the Jina and reverence to the Jina image is a fundamental part of the religious life of the Jain: this may be before a small shrine in the home. or it may be
Jain temples come within the wider tradition of Indian temple building and their architecture follows the style of the region and era in which they are built. The finest temples are found in those areas where the nagara or northern style of temple architecture was dominant. The Jain temples of the areas of the Dravidian style in the south are generally less splendid and simpler in concept than the most magnificent examples of more northern parts. The focus of the temple is the shrine or garbha griha in which the Jina image is placed. There will normally be space around the garbha griha for the circumambulation of the image in the rituals of worship. Above this the dome or spire (sikhara) will rise. Before the shrine there may be a vestibule and then the main hall. The exact layout may vary but basically the temple needs a hall where the worshippers may assemble and the shrine at one end. One variant found in some Jain temples is the caumukhu or caturmukha layout. An especially splendid example is the temple at Ranakpur dating from the fifteenth century AD. The shrine holds a grouping of four images (at Ranakpur they are of Rsabha, the first Tirthankara) facing the four directions. In the caumukha temple the group of images
Jain Education Interational 2010_03