Jain art�

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.

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.

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Rock carved Jain statues at Siddhachal Caves inside Gwalior Fort.

Iconography of tirthankaras�

• A tirthankara or Jina is represented either seated in lotus position (Padmasana) or standing in the meditation Khadgasana (Kayotsarga) posture.This latter, which is similar to the military standing at attention is a difficult posture to hold for a long period, and has the attraction to Jains that it reduces to the minimum the amount of the body in contact with the earth, and so posing a risk to the sentient creatures living in or on it. If seated, they are usually depicted seated with their legs crossed in front, the toes of one foot resting close upon the knee of the other, and the right hand lying over the left in the lap.
• 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 Parshvanatha. Statues of Parshvanath have a snake crown on the head. 

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Jina Suparshvanatha in meditation, c. 14th century

Architecture�

• Jains participated in Indian rock-cut architecture from a very early date. Remnants of ancient jaina temples and monasteries temples can be found all around India, and much early Jain sculpture is reliefs in these. Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, and the Jain temples at Dilwara near Mount Abu, Rajasthan. The Jain tower in Chittor, Rajasthan is a good example of Jain architecture.
• 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.

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Jal Mandir, Shikharji

Earliest depictions of Jain deities�

• 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.
• Figures on various seals from the Indus Valley civilisation bear similarity to jaina images, nude and in a meditative posture. The Lohanipur torso is the earliest known jaina image (presumed to be Jain because of the nudity and posture), and is now in the Patna Museum. It is also one of the earliest Indian monumental sculptures in stone of a human, if the dating to the 3rd century BCE is correct; it might be from about the 2nd century CE. Bronze images of the 23rd tirthankara, Pārśva, can be seen in the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, and in the Patna Museum; these are dated to the 2nd century BCE.
• 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.

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4th century BCE Jain image found during Ayodhya excavation

Early reliefs (1st century BCE)�

• Chitharal Jain Monuments is the earliest Jain monument in the southernmost part of India dating back to first century BC. The carved Kankali Tila architrave with centaurs worshipping a Jain Stupa, is Mathura art, of circa 100 BCE, showing Hellenistic influence.
• The Chausa hoard is the first known bronze hoard discovered in the Gangetic valley and consists of a set of 18 Jain bronzes. The oldest of such bronzes to be found in India, experts date them between the Shunga and the Gupta period, (from 2nd, or possibly the 1st century BC, to the 6th Century AD).

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Chamukha idol, Mathura art, 1st century

Jain art at Mathura under the Guptas�

• Pataini temple was constructed during the reign of Gupta Empire in 5th century. A sandalwood sculpture of Mahāvīra was carved during his lifetime, according to tradition. Later the practice of making images of wood was abandoned, other materials being substituted. The bronze sculpture were famous during this period. Akota Bronzes represent a rare and important set of 68 Jain images, dating to between the 5th and 12th centuries AD, which were found in the vicinity of Akota near Baroda in the Indian state of Gujarat. Hoard includes two Jivantasvami images (representation of Mahavira who was still a prince), are widely mentioned examples of the early western Indian school of art. Vasantgarh hoard is a set of 240 bronze idols were discovered dating back to early medieval to medieval period. It is indicated by the idols that it is influenced by more styles like styles during reign of Harsha and maitraka of Valabhi.

Parshvanath relief of Kahaum pillar, 5th century

Jain art between 5th-9th century�

• Kanakagiri Jain tirth was established by Achrya Pujyapada in 5th century during the reign of Western Ganga dynasty. The temple received patronage from Hoysala, Vijayanagara, Maharaja of Mysore, and Wadiyar dynasty. The Badami cave temples and the constructed Aihole Jain monuments were built by Chalukya rulers in the 7th century, and the Jain parts of the Ellora Caves date from around this period. The earliest of the large group of Jain temples at Deogarh were begun, and in general the excavation of new rock-cut sites ceased in this period, as it also did in the other two main religions. Instead stone-built temples were erected.
• 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.

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Carvings on Shantinath temple wall

Medieval period (8th-16th century)�

• The Gommateshwara statue is dedicated to the Jain figure Bahubali. It was built around 983 A.D. and is one of the largest free standing statues in the world. Mahamastakabhisheka refers to the abhiṣeka (anointment) is organised once every 12 years.
• Decorated manuscripts are preserved in jaina libraries, containing diagrams from jaina cosmology.Most of the paintings and illustrations depict historical events, known as Panch Kalyanaka, from the life of the tirthankara.Aluara bronzes represent a rare and important set of bronze images dedicated to Jain tirthankaras that dates back to 11th century.

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'Sarvahna and Kushmandini', 900 CE, Norton Simon Museum

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 Jain sculpture are stone architraves of the 1st century BCE, found in the Art of Mathura, particularly from the Jain mound of Kankali Tila.
• Perhaps the most famous single Jain work of art is the Gommateshvara statue, a monolithic, 18 m statue of Bahubali, built by the Ganga minister and commander Chavundaraya around 983. It is situated on a hilltop in Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district of Karnataka state. This statue was voted as the first of the Seven Wonders of India.

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Kankali Tila architrave with Centaurs worshipping a Jain Stupa, Mathura art, c. 100 BCE[20]

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.
• 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".

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The birth of Mahavira, from the Kalpa Sūtra (c. 1375–1400 CE)

Painting Kunthanatha, Mysore temple, (c. 1825 CE)

Samavasarana�

• Depiction of Samavasarana, the divine preaching hall of the tirthankara, is a popular subject in Jain art. Samavasarana is depicted as circular in shape with the tirthankara sitting on a throne without touching it (about two inches above it). Around the tirthankara sit the ganadharas (chief disciples) and every living beings sit in the various halls.
• It can be shown in paintings, and elaborate models are also made, some occupying a whole room.

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Depiction of Samavasarana inside Soniji Ki Nasiyan

Symbols

• The swastika is an important Jain symbol. Its four arms symbolise the four realms of existence in which rebirth occurs according to Jainism: humans, heavenly beings, hellish beings and non-humans (plants and animals). This is conceptually similar to the six realms of rebirth represented by bhavachakra in Buddhism. It is usually shown with three dots on the top, which represent the three jewels mentioned in ancient texts such as Tattvartha sūtra and Uttaradhyayana sūtra: correct faith, correct understanding and correct conduct. These jewels are the means believed in Jainism to lead one to the state of spiritual perfection, a state that is symbolically represented by a crescent and one dot on top representing the liberated soul.

The symbol of Ahimsa in Jainism

Thanks

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• Dr. Shailender Kumar
• (Assist.Prof.)
• Fine Arts Dept.