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2. JINA RISHABHANATHA India (Rajasthan or Gujarat) 12th century Height: 39.2cm Width: 38 cm Depth: 13 cm |
A finely carved and pierced white marble architectural frieze depicting three Jinas and attendants within a columned temple setting. The largest central figure is probably that of the first of the twenty-four jinas, or saviours, Rishabhanatha, also known as Adinatha (Lord of the Beginning) because of his long and loose hair. He faces forward and is seated in the meditative pose of dhyanasana, cross-legged upon a cushion, with the accompanying hand gesture of dhyanamudra. His overlong arms, an iconographic feature of the jina rest in his lap, his palms face up. He has a serene expression, and his eyes half closed below thin wide arched brows. Tight snail shell curls adorn his head, forming an usnisha to the top which symbolises his spiritual wisdom. His ears are elongated after having been stretched from heavy earrings worn before renunciation, and from which fall onto his shoulders further tight uncut curls of hair. It is this detail which suggests that the figure is Rishabhanatha, who was the first jina and one of two who can be identified without any associated emblems To his chest is a diamond shaped floral srivatsa mark, an auspicious symbol which promotes good fortune. Above him is a central kirtimukha, (face of glory) flanked to either side by three pairs of addorsed and confronted makaras. It is possible therefore that this panel could have been situated above a doorway or entrance (uttaranga) to a Jain temple, makaras were often featured over doorways because of their connection with water, cleansing the worshipper as he entered. Rishabhanatha has a small pair of chowri and celestial garland bearers to each side. Two further jinas stand in the kayotsarga meditative pose, strictly upright with elongated arms and feet together, and enclosed within pairs of collared columns. Above the jinas and makaras are further smaller attendants seated within tapering columned sections Whilst the Buddha remained the pre-eminent liberator and teacher among the Buddhists, the Jains believed in a series of twenty-four tirthankaras who ford the gulf between samsara, or the phenomenal world, and liberation.¹ Jainism originated in India before the arrival of the Aryans, and it based its ideals on asceticism, pacifism and the sacredness of all life. The apparent founder of Jainism was Mahavir (meaning great spirit), who was a contemporary of Buddha. He was supposedly the last of the twenty-four tirthankaras (meaning the ones who lead to the other shore). Also sometimes known as jinas (victors or heroes), they showed how to achieve release from the cycle of endless rebirth by purification of mind and body.² The similarity to Buddhist iconography is obvious, but Jain tirthankaras can be distinguished by the nudity of their figures. See Dye, J., The Arts of India: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia, 2001, pp. 134-135, figs. 53-55 for images of the lavishly decorated temple structures of Central India, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Provenance: East Coast Private collection Literature: P. Pal, The Peaceful Liberators-Jain Art from India, Los Angeles, 1994, p. 14. Roy C. Craven, Indian Art, London, 1976 p. 33. |