Jain Murtikala Ki Parampara - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, focusing on the tradition of Jain iconography, based on the excerpt from "Jain Murtikala ki Parampara" by Maruti Nandan Prasad Tiwari:

The article discusses the tradition of Jain iconography and idol worship, aiming to determine its starting point based on available evidence.

Early Period and the Absence of Pre-Mahavira Icons:

The author states that there is no definitive literary or archaeological evidence for the existence of Tirthankara (or Jina) idols before Mahavira.
Jain texts mention Mahavira visiting Yaksha shrines and assemblies (like those of Purnabhadra and Manibhadra) for rest, rather than visiting Jain temples or worshipping Jina idols during his lifetime.

The Concept of "Jivantsvami" (Living Lord):

The most significant mention related to the antiquity of idol worship in Jainism is the creation of a statue of Mahavira during his lifetime.
Literary tradition indicates that a sandalwood effigy of Mahavira was made while he was still alive. This statue depicted him as a prince, meditating in his palace about a year before his renunciation.
Because it was made during his lifetime, this statue was called Jivantsvami or Jivit Swami (Living Lord).
Both literature and art describe Jivantsvami as a prince adorned with a crown, necklace, girdle, and other ornaments. This term continued to be used for similar statues even after Mahavira's time.

Evidence and Scholarly Interpretation of Jivantsvami:

U. P. Shah is credited with bringing the Jivantsvami statues to scholarly attention.
Accepting the literary tradition as reliable, Shah supported the Jivantsvami tradition originating from Mahavira's lifetime.
He cited two Gupta-era bronze Jivantsvami statues found at Akota (Vadodara, Gujarat) as corroborating evidence.
These Akota statues depict Jivantsvami standing in the kayotsarga mudra (a standing posture with arms hanging vertically) and adorned with attire and jewelry (crown, necklace, girdle, garland, armlets, etc.). The first statue is dated to the 5th century CE, and the inscribed second statue to the 6th century CE. The inscription on the latter explicitly mentions "Jivantsvami."

Spread and Characteristics of Jivantsvami Statues:

The tradition of creating Jivantsvami statues continued after these early examples.
The concept and statues of Jivantsvami are primarily found within the Svetambara tradition, and such statues have only been discovered at Svetambara sites. The author suggests the Digambara tradition's lack of mention might be due to Jivantsvami's depiction with ornaments.
Most Jivantsvami statues from the 10th to 12th centuries CE have been found at Svetambara sites in Rajasthan, specifically at the Jain temples in Osian and Sevani (Jodhpur district).
A significant statue from the 12th century is housed in the Sardar Museum, Jodhpur.
From an iconographic perspective, the most important Jivantsvami statues are from Osian and the Sardar Museum (10th-12th centuries CE).
These statues incorporate many characteristics of Tirthankara images, including the ashtapratitharyas (eight auspicious signs, such as fly-whisk bearers, umbrellas, halos, divine drums, and showers of flowers), attendant couples, mahavidyas (goddesses), and Jina figures – common features of medieval Jina images.

Dating and Literary Mentions of Jivantsvami:

The dating of the Jivantsvami idol tradition needs further clarification, especially concerning the torana (gateway) of the Mahavira temple at Osian (dated 1016 CE).
Early Jain texts like the Agamas and Kalpasutra do not mention Jivantsvami statues.
The earliest mentions of Jivantsvami statues appear in later works associated with Agamas, such as Niyukti, Bhashya, and Churni, dating after the 6th century CE.
These texts inform about the existence of Jivantsvami statues in places like Kaushala, Ujjain, Dashapura (Mandsaur), Vidisha, Puri, and Vitabhyapattan.
The earliest mention of a Jivantsvami statue is in the Vasudevahindi by Acharya Sanghadasa Gani (610 CE or slightly earlier), describing a female ascetic (Ganini Aryaa Suvrata) traveling to Ujjain to worship a Jivantsvami idol.
The Avasyakachurni by Jinadasa (676 CE) narrates the story of the first Jivantsvami statue: King Achyuta Indra advises his friend Vidyunmali to create a statue of Mahavira. Vidyunmali makes one from sandalwood, which later comes into the possession of a merchant. Subsequently, King Udayana and Queen Prabhavati of Vitabhyapattan obtain the idol and worship it. This story is also found in Haribhadra Suri's Avasyakavritti.
Hemachandra (1166-1172 CE) recounts a similar story in his Trishashthi Shalaka Purusha Charitra, adding that Mahavira himself instructed Vidyunmali to create the statue because he saw Mahavira adorned with jewelry before his renunciation. Hemachandra also mentions the original statue being in Vidisha and that Chalukya ruler Kumarpala excavated and found a Jivantsvami statue in Vitabhyapattan. Hemachandra is the only Jain acharya to describe the iconographic characteristics of Jivantsvami.
Kshemakirti (1275 CE), commenting on the Brihat Kalpa Bhashya, notes that Arya Suhasti, who initiated the Mauryan ruler Samprati into Jainism, went to Ujjain to worship a Jivantsvami statue.

Conclusion on Jivantsvami's Antiquity:

The author concludes that no historical information about Jivantsvami is available before the 5th-6th centuries CE.
The earliest literary (Vasudevahindi) and archaeological (Akota bronzes) evidence dates to the 5th-6th centuries CE.
The complete absence of Jivantsvami statues in the Agamas, composed by Mahavira's immediate disciples, raises a natural doubt about the claim of these statues being contemporary with Mahavira. The lack of mention in the Kalpasutra and other pre-CE texts further supports this doubt.
Currently, there is no historical proof to trace the concept of Jivantsvami statues back to Mahavira's time (6th century BCE).

Beginnings of Jain Iconography (Beyond Jivantsvami):

Various literary and archaeological evidences suggest that the creation of Jain idols certainly began during the Mauryan period (4th-3rd centuries BCE).
Jain tradition states that most prominent Mauryan rulers supported Jainism, including Chandragupta Maurya's conversion and his journey to South India with Bhadrabahu.
Kautilya's Arthashastra mentions idols of Jain deities like Jayanta, Vaijayanta, and Aparajita.
Ashoka, though a Buddhist, was liberal towards Jainism, donating to the poor and ascetics. Samprati is also considered a Jain follower.
However, despite these traditions, the only archaeological evidence linked to Mauryan rulers is a single Jina idol found at Lohanipur, which can be attributed to the Mauryan era.

The Lohanipur Jina Idol and Early Iconography:

The Lohanipur idol, discovered near Patna, is the earliest known example of a Jina idol. It is housed in the Patna Museum.
This idol, dating to the 3rd century BCE and featuring the characteristic Mauryan lustrous polish, is fragmented (head, arms, and lower leg are broken).
Its nudity and kayotsarga mudra indicate it is a Jina idol. The kayotsarga mudra (standing erect, arms hanging vertically to the knees) is specific to the depiction of Jain Tirthankaras.
Supporting evidence for its Mauryan period attribution includes Mauryan bricks and a silver Arhat coin found at the Lohanipur excavation site.
The idol shows the influence of Yaksha sculptures in its representation. However, compared to Yaksha sculptures, the body of this idol exhibits balance rather than heaviness, which can be attributed to the significant role of yoga in Jainism. This balance is seen as indicative of its Tirthankara status rather than post-Mauryan construction.
Mauryan patronage of Jainism and mentions in the Arthashastra and the inscription of Kalinga ruler Kharavela (1st century BCE) support the Lohanipur idol's Mauryan dating. Kharavela's inscription mentions his retrieval of a Jina idol from Kalinga that the Nanda king had taken to Magadha 300 years prior, thus pushing the antiquity of Jina idols back to the Mauryan period (4th-3rd century BCE).
Jina idols continued to develop and incorporate new features during the Shunga, Kushana, and later periods.

Further Developments in Jain Iconography:

The second Jina idol after the Lohanipur one dates to the 1st century BCE. This Parshvanatha idol, with a serpent hood canopy over its head, is in the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay. Parshvanatha is depicted nude and in kayotsarga mudra.
Another Parshvanatha statue from the same period (1st century BCE) was found at Chouasa village in Buxar (Bhojpur, Bihar) and is now in the Patna Museum. This idol also features a seven-hooded serpent canopy and is nude in kayotsarga mudra.
These early idols do not have the Shrivatsa (a lotus-like symbol) inscribed on the chest, which is a characteristic feature of Jina idols.
The Shrivatsa symbol first appeared on Jina idols in Mathura around the 1st century BCE. These idols are often found on ayagapata (worshipping slabs).
Around the same time in Mathura, the meditation mudra was first used in Jina depictions.
Mathura is considered the place where Jain art first found its complete expression.
Jain sculptures from the Shunga-Kushana period in Mathura illustrate the early stages of Jain iconographic development.
Literary and epigraphic evidence indicates that the Kankali mound in Mathura was an ancient Jain stupa, yielding remains of a large Jain stupa and extensive sculptural material dating from around 150 BCE to 1023 CE.
Therefore, Mathura's Jain sculptures present a developmental sequence of iconography from the early period to the medieval era.
The sculptural material from Mathura includes ayagapata, freestanding Jina idols, Jina Chaukumkhi (four-faced) idols, scenes from Jina lives, and other figures.
During the Kushana period, the depiction of Pratiharyas (auspicious emblems accompanying Tirthankaras) began, but the representation of all eight Pratiharyas only started at the end of the Gupta period.
The Gupta period (c. 275-550 CE) is particularly significant for the development of iconographic characteristics. The depiction of Laanchanas (Tirthankara symbols) and Yaksha-Yaksha couples with Jinas began in this period.
The earliest Laanchanas (conch and lion) are seen in the Neminatha idol from Rajgir (Bihar) and the Mahavira idol from Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi. The Yaksha-Yaksha couple is depicted on the Rishabhanatha idol from Akota (Gujarat).