The Jain 1988 07

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

Page 67

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the plain lower walls with rectilinear emphasis contrast with a richly ornamented roofline and two-level rectangular tower.
The Parsvanatha Basti dates from the twelfth century AD. Its rectangular lines, the walls broken by ornamented niches, with the roofline decorated but level, give it an austere grandeur. The standing image of the Tirthankara, with his sevenfold canopy of snakes, is fifteen feet tall. Outside is a tall manasthamba, a 'pillar of glory', of graceful proportions, a round column surmounted by a square platform with four niches holding images. This dates from the late seventeenth century AD.
Many ancient writings, and modern ones too, describe the rituals of worship. The rituals put order and structure into worship, again focusing the devotions of the faithful. The beauty of the words and music, with the beauty of the image and its setting, inspitre in the devotee the beauty of religious faith and worship. hence worship should be performed with due and proper ceremony, with proper preparation and with full understanding. The first requirement for the devotions in the temple is purity. This is a rather vague word. What it means here is first of all actual physical cleanliness of the body and
Whilst most temples house the image of one, or perhaps two or three, Tirthankara, the 'Chauvisa Tirthankara' images of all twenty-four form a feature of some. In the Bhandari Basti built by the king's treasurer in the midtwelfth century the garbha griha or shrine is long enough to house the twenty-four images in a single long line.
The Sravana Belgola temples are on the whole simple in style and ornamention : only one or two have the lavish decoration which we see in the splendid Jain temples of the more northern parts of India. Perhaps the simplest of all the shrines is the small natural cave in which Bhadrabahu is said to have died : two carved footprints are traditionally believed to be those of Bhadrabahu.
A cluster of temples of varying size, splendour and date is very charactertistic of Jain holy places. Although it is the colossal statue of Bahubali which attracts most attention at Sravana Belgola, enough has been said to indicate that the temples of this ancient holy site testify to the appeal of Sravana Belgola and to the faith of those who built them.
Tour
TEMPLE WORSHIP Worship is of two kinds. It can be worship in the presence of an image or alternatively worship of the God without any image. The latter is regarded as a higher form of worship but for most pwople it is valuable to have a physical representation of the God before their eyes. It focuses attention and the mind and spirit are immediately directed to the object of worship instead of wandering loosely around failing to centre in on the object and act of worship. Some deride this as mere idolatry but that is to mistake the whole nature of worship of a holy image. The lump of stone is not itself God but is a sacred symbol of the God. The Tirthankara or siddha is far beyond our reach, but, in a way difficult to explain in words, the Tirthankara is present in the holy image for the worship of the faithful. The focal point of the temple is the holy image of God and the temple is a place for the worship of the God.
RANKAPUR JAIN TEMPLE (INDIA) clothes. One should bathe before worship and it is right to keep special clothes, simple and clean : a dhoti and scarf are ideal for a man, simple clothing for a woman. This is the exterior aspect of inner purity : bad, coarse, irrelevant thoughts should be kept away. The surroundings of the image should be kept clean and swept. The objects used in worship and offered before the God should be pure and fresh and good, purchased with money honestly earned. Lastly, the ceremonies of worship should not be interrupted or distracted by worldly affairs or cares.
The process of formal worship may be summed up in ten groups of triple actions or considerations. First there is the triple utterance of the word 'nisihi. It symbolises the putting aside of former activities. On entering the temple one leaves outside activities behind, on approaching the
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Jain Education Intemational 2010_03