Sculptures of Tirthankara Risabhanatha from Burhi Chanderi

Introduction

Budhi Chanderi is located at a distance of 19 km north of the modern chanderi town on the Chanderi-Pichhor road, along the bank of the river Orr (Urvashi). The ruins of the ancient site can be reached by travelling 12 km on the State Highway No.19 and thereafter 12 km on the State Highway No. 19 and thereafter turning west for another 8 km on a off-road track. At present the site lies surrounded by dense jungle of the Budhi Chanderi Reserve Forest. The place offers great natural landscape with the Urr and the Vindhyachal hill range.
The ruins of the old or pre-Sultanate Chanderi, which appears to have been deserted soon after the conquest of Delhi Sultanate in favour of the present site of chanderi, are now enveloped in large and thick jungle and have become a favourite haunt of the wild beasts. The site is popularly believed to have been the capital of the Chedi king Sisupala of the Mahabharata fame. However, the existing vestiges of temples and secular structures do not carry the antiquity of the site beyond 9th century AD. The ruins of Budhi Chanderi are found scattered within a radius of approximately 1.5 km. The site was for the first time reported by Cunningham (1887 : 401-404). In the year 1924-25 the German historian Claus Boon and M.B. Garde of the Archaeological Department of the Gwalior State documented the ruins of 55 Jaina and Hindu temples within a fortified enclosure (Annual Report of the Archaeological Department of Gwalior State, 1924-25 : 7). The site in its heydays possessed quite a large number of temples clustering in three main areas. However, with the exception of only two temples the rest have now been reduced to mere heaps of debris. The temples predominantly belong to the Digambara Jaina Sect. Judging from the architectural and the sculptural style they can be dated between 9th-11th centuries AD. The ruins contain many sculptures of the Jaina Tirthankaras which, both from their artistic and iconographic point of view are of great interest.

Risabhanatha

In the Jaina pantheon, the twenty-four Tirthankaras of the present eon, commencing from Adinatha to Mahavira, form the pivotal objects veneration. Although all the Jinas occupy equal position in the pantheon, some of them like Adinatha, Neminatha, Parsvanatha and Mahavira are the most popular. As a result, their temples as well as their images occur most frequently in almost all parts of India.
Risabhanatha, (Sanskrit : `Lord of Bull’), is the first of the 24 Tirthankaras worshipped by the Jainas. He is one of the most honoured of all the Jaina Tirthankaras as he was the first to preach the tenets of Jainism in Hiseres. He is also known as Adinatha (Lord of the Beginning’).
Rishabhanatha was born to Nahiraja and Marudevi, the king and queen of Ayodhya. When he grew into a handsome youth he was married to Yasaswati and Sunanda, the sisters of princes Kachcha and Mahakachcha. Jainas believe that he had 100 sons. The most famous of his sons was Bharata, the first chakravartin, or universal ruler. Risabhanatha instituted marriage, the giving of alms, and the observance of funeral rites. Before relinquishing his royal duties, Nabiraja put Risabhanatha on the throne of Ayodhya. Risabanatha turned towards asceticism on realizing the transient nature of life when his court dancer suddenly died in the midst of dancing before him. After performing severe austerities for a long time, he at last got enlightenment. Finally, he attained parinirvana (release from earthly existence) on the summit of Ashtapada or Kailasa mountain in the Himalayas (Adipurana, 22-181-204).
The earliest sculptural depictions of Risabhanatha are found from Mathura and are datable to the 1st century AD. The presence of the characteristic locks of hair on the shoulder of the Jina is also discerned for the first time during this period as is evident from the sculptures procured from Mathura and Chausa (Tiwari, M. N.P., 1981. Jaina Pratima-vigyana. Varanasi, pp. 49-52). An image of Risabhanatha from Akota, Gujarat, is the earliest Jina sculpture to depict his Yaksa-Yaksi (Shah, U.P., 1959, Akota Bronzes. Bombay, pp. 28-29).

Description of the images

As has already been mentioned above, the ruins at Burhi Chanderi have laid bare a large number of images of Jaina Tirthankaras. An estimate about the scale of the Jaina establishment at the site can be guessed from the fact that as many as 14 individual sculptures of the first Tirthankara Adinatha alone have been documented from the site. However, for the present study only seven of the Jina are described here as the compositions of the standing images do not show much deviation.

1. Adinatha (180x 52 x 43 cm, PI. 1) is depicted as standing in Kayotsarga-mudra on, tir-ratha pedestal. The head of the Jina is depicted covered with curly hair and locks flowing down to the shoulder on either side. The halo at the back of the Jina’s head is flanked by made attendants, one on each side, standing on a pedestal. The male figures are standing facing the halo. Their body posture suggests movement as their front leg is put forward. The top of the stele, above the head of the mulanayaka, depicts a triple parasol surmounted by a headless figure of a drummer. The tri-chhatra is flanked by figures of flying vidyadharas with garlands accompanied by their consorts. On either side of the feet of the Jina are depicted standing male chauri-bearers in tribhanga pose and kneeling devotees. As the pedestal of the sculpture is buried within the poduim it is difficult to describe in detail its compsition. However, the attendants, one on each side, standing on a pedestal. The male figures are standing facing the halo. Their body posture suggests movement as their front leg is put forward. The top of the stele, above the head of the mulanayaka, depicts a triple parasol surmounted by a headless figures of a durmmer. The trichhatra is flanked by figure of flying vidyadharas with garlands accompanied by their consorts. On either side of the feet of the Jina are depicted standing male chauribearers in tribhanga pose and kneeling devoteses. As the pedestal of the sculpture is buried within the dodium it is difficult to describe in detail its composition. However, the attendants, one on each side, standing on a pedestal. The male figures are standing facing the halo. Their body posture suggests movement as their front leg is put forward. The top of the stele, above the head of the mulanayals, depicts a triple parasol surmounted by a headless figure of a drummer. The tri-chhatra is flanked by figure of flying vidyadharas with garlands accompanied by their consorts. On either side of the feet of the Jina are depicted standing male chauri-bearers in tribhanga pose and kneeling devotees. As the pedestal of the sculpture is buried within the podium it is difficult to describe in detail its composition. However, the cognizance of the Tirthankara, the bull, can be seen on the central projection of the pedestal. It may be conjectured with reasonable belief that the lateral projections of the pedestal bear the seated images of the Yaksa-Yaksi of Adinatha on the right and the left, respectively.

2. An interesting headless image (172 x 89 x 64 cm, Pl. 2) of Risbhanatha, carved on buff sandstone, is depicted on a tri-ratha simhasana. The Jina is depicted as seated Dhyana-mudra on an ornate cushion. The cushion is decorated with a number of friezes. The bottom depicts the lotus petal motif followed by a frieze of kirtimukhas.
On top of it is a mala surmounted by lotus motif again. Unfortunately, the head of the mulanayaka is no more extant. The halo around the head shows an inner ring followed by a frieze of diamonds alternating with circles and finally the lotus petal motif with a beaded border. The central figure of the Jina is flanked by standing male chauri-bearers, one on each side, standing on the head of an elephant. Only the figureof the attendant to the right of the Jina is extant. He is may be identified as belonging to a royal lineage by his high crown and other ornaments adorning his body. The stele on either side of the halo, above the head of the chauri-bearers, depicts miniature tri-ratha pedestals, two one each side, on above the other. The lower pedestal depicts a Tirthankara seated in Dhyana-mudra on a simhasana flanked by Tirthankaras standing in Kayotsarga-mudra. The pedestal above it depicts three Tirthankaras standing in kayotsargamudra. The central part if the stele, above the head of the mulanayaka, depicts a tri-chhatra, adorned with garland, flanked by flying Vidyadharas accompained by their consorts. The tri-ratha pedestal of the image also bears interesting iconographic details. The central projection depicts two lions, facing front, framed by pillars. The front of the central projection, between the lion figures, is occupied by a V-shaped projection. It has two bands of lotus petal motif with beaded borders. In the centre is the figure of a seated humped bull on a pedestal, facing right, the cognizance of the Jina. Below the pedestal is the kirtimukha motif. Two devotees in anjali-mudra, one each side, are depicted in front of the pedestal is the kirtimukha motif. Two devotees in ajnali-mudra, one each side, are depicted in front of the pillar. The right and left lateral projections of the pedestal bear miniature figures of Yaksa Gomukha and Yaksi Chakreswari, respectively. Yaksa Gomukha and Yaksi Chakreswari, respectively. Yaksa Gomukha can be clearly identified from his horned cow head, while Yaksi Chakreswari is depicted seated on a flying Garuda.

3. The buff sandstone headless image (155 x 91 x 58 cm, Pl. 3) of Adinatha seated in Dhyana-mudra on a tri-ratha simhasana is similar in composition to the sculpture described earlier. Instead of repeating the similar iconographic details of the sculpture only the notable features the sculpture may be delineated here. The halo around the head of the mulanayaka shows the inner ring followed by a band of saw-end motif and finally by the peripheral lotus petal motif. Of the flanking chauri-bearers, the one to the left is only extant. The lower pedestal flanking the halo depicts a Tirthankara seated in Dhyana-mudra on a simhasan a flanked by Tirthankaras standing in Kayotsarga-mudra. Above the head of each of the Jinas are depicted the chhatra. The halo of the seated Jina also depicts the leaves of his Kevala-vriksha on the sides of the halo. The pedestal on top depicts only the seated figure of the Tirthankara. A chhatra is also depicted above the head of the Jina and the leaves of his Keval-vriksha along the edges of the halo. A miniature figure of a seated humped bull, the congnizance of Risabhanatha, is carved on the floor of the central projection of the pedestal, between the figures of the two lions. The lions are depicted facing front with one front-paw resting on the ground and the other upraised. Four-handed figure of Yaksa Gomukha and Yaksi Chakreswari are depicted on the right and left lateral projections of the pedestal. Contrary to the earlier sculptural specimen, Yaksi, is depicted seated on a cushion and not on a flying Garuda. The V-shaped projection, hanging between the lions, depicts three kirtimukhas, one in centre and remaining two on either side in thee-quarter profile. From the mouth of kirtimukha in the centre hangs down a bell with chain in the centre and flowing scroll on the sides. The flowing scrolls on either side are then seen in the mouths of the lateral kirtimukhas which also show a chained bell and another scroll.

4. The image depicts the Jina (98 x 82 x 59 cm, Pl 4) seated in Dhyana-mudra in the centre of a tri-ratha simhasana. He is flanked by two Jinas in Kayotsargamudra, one on each side. Unfortunately, the mulanayaka and the Jina figure to his left are both headless. The hands and the legs of Adinatha are also broken. In the absence of his cognizance, the bull, the central figure could be identified as the first Tirthnakara, Risabhnatha, because of the depiction of locks of hair on his shoulders. The stele above the head of the mulanayaka has the usual combination of chhatra surmounted by a drummer flanked by garland bearing flying vidyadharas with their consorts. A more or less similar composition, though in smaller dimension, is replicated over the heads of the flankinh Jinas. However, here only the Vidyadharas are depicted and that too along the edges of the stele. The figures of the standing Jinas are flanked by male chauri-bearers on either side. THe central projection of the pedestal depicts two lions their bodies in opposite directions, but facing front. The figures of the seated devotees are broken. The figures of Yaksa Gomukha and Yaksi Chakresvari, depicted on the right and left lateral projections respectively, have lion figures to their right and left respectively.

5. This image (86 x 72 x 55 cm, Pl. 5) of the Jina is similar to images 2 and 3. Unfortunately, the entire top half of the stele is broken. Hara also the male chauri-bearers on either side of the mulanayaka are depicted standing on elephants. However, in this image the elephants are depicted standing facing front while in the earlier two examples they were depicted facing the sides. His cognizance is shown on the pedestal. The description of the pedestal does not warrant detailed description as it is similar to that of image 2.

6. This image of the first Tirthankara (105 x 68 x 46 cm, Pl. 6), carved on red sandstone, also depicts the mulanayaka seated in Dhyana-mudra on a cushion placed over a tri-ratha simhasana. The cushion here is not as ornamental as found in the above specimens. The lotus petal motif is the only decoration on it. The crowned male chauri-bearers are standing on the heads of elephants. The elephants in this case are depicted as seated facing the sides. The stele above the head of the chauri-bearers depicts tri-ratha pedestals having the figure of a seated Jina in the centre and flanked by figures of standin g Jina on either sides. The top of the stele has the usual combination of a drummer surmounting the chhatra and the flanking figures of flying garland bearing Vidyadharas and their consorts. However, an addition to this otherwise standard depiction is that of two elephants, one on each side of the drummer. His cognizance, Bull is carved on the pedestal. The central projection of the pedestal has the depiction of a wheel in profile in the centre flanked by lions on either side.

7. Another headless image (80 x 65 x 55 cm, Pl. 7) of Adinatha is similar in composition to images 2 and 3. However, the entire top half of the stele is missing. Though much mutilated, the figure of the two chauri-bearers are extant, standing on elephants.

Art

The above described Tirthankara images conform in every respect to the norms of early medieval art traditions. From point of view of composition, the sculpture it may be divided into three parts-the carmmed top and the base set-off against the relatively spacious centre part. The images of the mulanayaka, being the central point of focus in the entire compostion, have been made proportionately larger than the ancillary figures. They occupy approximately 3/4th of the entire stele. The rest of the compostion is then crowded in to the remaining portions of the stele. In case of the flanking figures being Jinas their size is comparatively bigger than if the figures are that of mere chauri-bearers. The top of the stele appears to be the most congested part in the entire sculpture. It almost seems that the individual figures are competing and jostling with each other for space. Here, the pride of place is given to the flying garland bearing Vidyadharas. The scene becomes even more overcrowded when miniature figures of the Tirthankaras are also introduced here. However, to the credit of the stone carvers, despite the limited area each of the individual figures is clearly delineated. The pedestal of the images comes a close second in terms of the depiction of different individual figures.
The angularity of the images, the most characteristic feature of the medieval sculptures, is clearly noticeable in these images. This feature is most discernible in the figures of the Tirthankaras. The round head gives way to the almost horizontal shoulder thorough the barely present neck. The shoulders drop sharply to extend into the hands on either side of the body. The resultant shape of the upper part of the body is a perfect rectangle. If the Jina is in Kayotsarga-mudra the hands show no bends except at the wrist, however, in case of seated images there is a sharp bend at the elbow and the lower parts slant in a straight line ending with the palms placed one on top of another in the lap. The torso also shows sharp lines and angles. The upper part of the torso narrows down to the waist to form a triangle and then again expands as it proceds towards the hip, thus forming an hour-glass figures. The legs also taper down in straight lines in case of standing Jina figures. Thus we find that with a few exceptions most of the central Jina figure betray predilection towards crisp and sharp lines, bends and angles. However, this is not to suggest that natural contouring of the body was completely negated. We do have figures with shoulders slanting from the neck and extending in to the hands in one lucid motion with no hint of abrupt angles. Greater fluidity of movement is suggested by the auxiliary figures-flying Vidyadharas, chauri-bearers, Yaksa-Yaksi, animal figures etc.