Jain art
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Jain art refers to religious works of art associated with Jainism. Even though Jainism has spread only in some parts of India, it has made a significant contribution to Indian art and architecture.[1]
In general Jain art broadly follows the contemporary style of Indian Buddhist and Hindu art, though the iconography, and the functional layout of temple buildings, reflects specific Jain needs. The artists and craftsmen producing most Jain art were probably not themselves Jain, but from local workshops patronized by all religions. This may not have been the case for illustrated manuscripts, where many of the oldest Indian survivals are Jain.
Jains mainly depict tirthankara or other important people in a seated or standing meditative posture, sometimes on a very large scale. Yaksa and yaksini, attendant spirits who guard the tirthankara, are usually shown with them.[2]
Iconography of tirthankaras
A
Tirthanakar images do not have distinctive facial features, clothing or (mostly) hair-styles, and are differentiated on the basis of the symbol or emblem (Lanchhana) belonging to each tirthanakar except
The bodies of tirthanakar statues are exceptionally consistent throughout the over 2,000 years of the historical record. The bodies are rather slight, with very wide shoulders and a narrow waist. Even more than is usual in Indian sculpture, the depiction takes relatively little interest in the accurate depiction of the underlying musculature and bones, but is interested in the modelling of the outer surfaces as broad swelling forms. The ears are extremely elongated, suggesting the heavy earrings the figures wore in their early lives before they took the path to enlightenment, when most were wealthy if not royal.
Sculptures with four tirthanakars, or their heads, facing in four directions, are not uncommon in early sculpture, but unlike the comparable Hindu images, these represent four different tirthanakars, not four aspects of the same deity. Multiple extra arms are avoided in tirthanakar images, though their attendants or guardians may have them.[9]
Architecture
Like Buddhists, Jains participated in
Modern and medieval Jains built many Jain temples, especially in western India. In particular the complex of five Dilwara Temples of the 11th to 13th centuries at Mount Abu in Rajasthan is a much-visited attraction. The Jain pilgrimage in Shatrunjay hills near Patilana, Gujarat is called "The city of Temples". Both of these complexes use the style of Solanki or Māru-Gurjara architecture, which developed in west India in the 10th century in both Hindu and Jain temples, but became especially popular with Jain patrons, who kept it in use and spread it to some other parts of India. It continues to be used in Jain temples, now across the world, and has recently revived in popularity for Hindu temples.
A Jain temple or Derasar is the
Temples may be divided into
The main image of a Jain temple is known as a mula nayak[14] A Manastambha (column of honor) is a pillar that is often constructed in front of Jain temples. It has four 'Moortis' i.e. stone figures of the main god of that temple. One facing each direction: North, East, South and West.[15]
History
Earliest depictions of Jain deities (3rd-2nd centuries BCE)
During the 3rd-2nd centuries BCE, the adoption of stone sculpture, there was an older tradition of using clay or wood to represent Jain deities, which, because of their inherent fragility, have not survived.[16]
Figures on various seals from the
The early Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, are a number of finely and ornately carved caves built during 2nd-century BCE excavated by King Kharavela of Mahameghavahana dynasty.[17][18]
Early reliefs (1st century BCE)
The
Jain art under Kushans (2nd-3rd century CE)
Various dedications in the name of Kushan kings, such as Vasudeva I, with dates, appear on fragments of Jain statuary discovered in Mathura.[23][24]
Jain art at Mathura under the Guptas
Jain art between 5th-9th century
Jain caves, Ellora were built around the 8th century. Māru-Gurjara architecture became popular in Jain temples. Mahavira Jain temple, Osian is the oldest surviving Jain temple in Western India and was built during the reign of Mahārāja Śrī Vatsarāja of Imperial Pratihāras.[33][34]
Medieval period (8th-16th century)
The
Decorated manuscripts are preserved in jaina libraries, containing diagrams from jaina cosmology.
Ayagapata and Jain stupa
Ayagapata is a type of
A large number of ayagapata (tablet of homage), votive tablets for offerings and the worship of tirthankara, were found at Mathura.[39] Kankali Tila tablet of Sodasa and Parsvanatha ayagapata are one of the important Ayagapata
The Jain stupa was a type of
Sculpture
Sculpture seems to have been part of Jain tradition since the last centuries BCE, but probably was mostly in wood, which has not survived. The earliert known examples of
Perhaps the most famous single Jain work of art is the
Smaller bronze images were probably for shrines in homes. A number of medieval collections of these have been excavated, probably deposited when populations fled from wars. These include the Vasantgarh hoard (1956, 240 pieces), Akota Bronzes (1951, 68 pieces, to 12th century), Hansi hoard (1982, 58 pieces, to 9th century), and the Chausa hoard (18 pieces, to 6th century).
Each of the twenty-four tirthankara is associated with distinctive emblems, which are listed in such texts as Tiloyapannati, Kahavaali and Pravacanasaarodhara.[2]
The Jivantasvami images represent Lord Mahavira (and in some cases other Tirthankaras) as a prince, with a crown and ornaments. The Jina is represented as standing in the kayotsarga pose.[2][44]
-
Chaumukha idol, four Jinas, 6th Century.LACMA
-
Mathura Museum, 6th century
-
Parshvanatha, Central India, 10th or 11th century
-
, 10th century
Monolithic statues
A monolithic manastambha is a standard feature in the Jain temples of
The 58-feet tall monolithic Jain
-
Gommateshwara statue, 18 metres (59 ft), built in 983 CE
-
Statue of Ahimsa, 33 metres (108 ft), built in 2016
-
Bawangaja, 26 metres (85 ft), 15th century
-
The 17.8 metres (58 ft) colossal sculptures at Siddhachal Caves
-
The 45 feet (14 m) tall rock cut idol at Chanderi, 13th century
Paintings
Jain temples and monasteries had mural paintings from at least 2,000 years ago, though pre-medieval survivals are rare. In addition, many Jain manuscripts were illustrated with paintings, sometimes lavishly so. In both these cases, Jain art parallels Hindu art, but the Jain examples are more numerous among the earliest survivals. The manuscripts begin around the 11th century, but are mostly from the 13th onwards, and were made in the Gujarat region. By the 15th-century they were becoming increasingly lavish, with much use of gold.[48]
The manuscript text most frequently illustrated is the Kalpa Sūtra, containing the biographies of the Tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira. The illustrations are square-ish panels set in the text, with "wiry drawing" and "brilliant, even jewel-like colour". The figures are always seen in three-quarters view, with distinctive "long pointed noses and protruding eyes". There is a convention whereby the more distant side of the face protrudes, so that both eyes are seen.[49]
Rishabha, the first tirthankara, is usually depicted in either the lotus position or kayotsarga, the standing position. He is distinguished from other tirthankara by the long locks of hair falling to his shoulders. Bull images also appear in his sculptures.[50] In paintings, incidents of his life, like his marriage and Indra's marking his forehead, are depicted. Other paintings show him presenting a pottery bowl to his followers; he is also seen painting a house, weaving, and being visited by his mother Marudevi.[36]
Samavasarana
Depiction of Samavasarana, the divine preaching hall of the tirthankara, is a popular subject in Jain art.[51] Samavasarana is depicted as circular in shape with the tirthankara sitting on a throne without touching it (about two inches above it).[52] Around the tirthankara sit the ganadharas (chief disciples) and every living beings sit in the various halls.[53]
It can be shown in paintings, and elaborate models are also made, some occupying a whole room.
Symbols
The
The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes
In 1974, on the 2500th anniversary of the nirvana of Mahāvīra, the Jain community chose one image as an emblem to be the main identifying symbol for Jainism.[59] The overall shape depicts the three loka (realms of rebirth) of Jain cosmology i.e., heaven, human world and hell. The semi-circular topmost portion symbolizes Siddhashila, which is a zone beyond the three realms. The Jain swastika is present in the top portion, and the symbol of Ahiṃsā in the lower portion. At the bottom of the emblem is the Jain mantra, Parasparopagraho Jīvānām. According to Vilas Sangave, the mantra means "all life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence".[60] According to Anne Vallely, this mantra is from sūtra 5.21 of Umaswati's Tattvarthasūtra, and it means "souls render service to one another".[61]
The five colours of the
See also
Notes
- ^ Kumar 2001, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g Shah 1995, p. 15.
- ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 209-210.
- ^ Shah 1987, p. 79.
- ^ Britannica Tirthankar Definition, Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Cort 2010.
- ^ "Red sandstone figure of a tirthankara".
- ^ Jain & Fischer 1978, pp. 15–31.
- ^ Srinivasan 1997, pp. 329–330.
- ^ Ghurye 2005, p. 62.
- ^ Babb, Lawrence A (1996). Absent lord: ascetics and kings in a Jain ritual culture. Published University of California Press. p. 66.
- ^ "Basadi".
- ^ "Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent – Glossary".
- ^ Shah 1987, p. 149.
- ^ "Essays". www.pluralism.org. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013.
- ^ Ring et al. 2010, p. 574.
- ^ Krishan & Tadikonda 1996, p. 23.
- ^ Bhargava 2006, p. 357.
- ^ ASI & Monuments in Tamil Nadu.
- ^ a b Quintanilla 2007, p. 22.
- ^ Framing the Jina : Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History: Narratives ... By John Cort, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 42
- ^ Pal 1986, p. 151.
- ^ Burgess, Jas (17 August 1892). Epigraphia Indica Vol.-i. p. 392.
- JSTOR 44012780.
- ^ Cunningham, Alexander (1879). Report of a Tour in the Central Provinces in 1873-74 and 1874-75. Archaeological Survey of India. Vol. 9. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. p. 31.
- ^ Shah 1995, p. 4.
- ^ Collins 1988, p. 97.
- ^ Owen 2012, p. 82.
- ^ "Western Indian bronze". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ Jain 2018, p. 18.
- ^ Jaganathan 2014.
- ^ Owen 2012, p. 6.
- ^ "The ancient temples of Osian". Outlook (Indian magazine). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ Cort 1998, p. 112.
- ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 212.
- ^ a b Jain & Fischer 1978, p. 16.
- ^ Shah 1987, p. 157.
- ^ "Ayagapata". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ Jain & Fischer 1978, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Smith, Vincent Arthur (1901). The Jain stûpa and other antiquities of Mathurâ. Allahabad: KFrank Luker, Superintendent, Government Press, North-Western Provinces and Oudh.
- ^ "According to one legend, the earliest Jain stupa (a funerary or reliquary mound, usually grandly ornamented and enclosed by a railing with an elaborate gateway) was built before the time of the Jina Parsvanatha in the eighth century B.C." in Arts of Asia. 1994.
- ^ Cort 2010, pp. 25–26.
- ^ "And India's 7 wonders are". The Times of India. 5 August 2007.
- ^ Shah 1987, p. 35.
- ^ Settar 1971, pp. 17–38.
- ^ The Hindu & Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa.
- ^ NDTV & 108-Ft Tall Jain Teerthankar.
- ^ Rowland 1967, pp. 341–343.
- ^ Rowland 1967, p. 343.
- ^ Shah 1995, p. 23.
- ^ Wiley 2009, p. 184.
- ^ Shah 1987, p. 23.
- ^ Shah 1987, p. 11.
- ^ a b Cort 2001a, p. 17.
- ^ Jansma & Jain 2006, p. 123.
- ^ Cort 2001a, pp. 17–18.
- ^ "Om – significance in Jainism, Languages and Scripts of India, Colorado State University", cs.colostate.edu
- ^ von Glasenapp 1925, pp. 410–411.
- ^ Robinson 2006, p. 225.
- ^ Sangave 2001, p. 123.
- ^ Vallely 2013, p. 358.
- ^ Vijay K. Jain 2012, p. iv.
- ^ a b Titze 1998, p. 234.
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