The earliest reference to Jain art under the Pallavas, is of Simhanandi in the LokaVibhaaga in Saka 380 or 455 AD. A copper plate of Simhavarman circa 560 AD records gift of a land to Vajranandi, belonging to gana of Nandisangha, in the village Parithikunru, or Vardhamaanesvara Dharmatheertha.
There is an excavated but unfinised cave at
Vilapakkam in North Arcot perhaps of the
first Mahendra Varma’s period.
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| Chandraprabha temple, Tiruparuttikunram, Kanchipuram |
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| Rampant vyala, Chandraprabha temple |
A Jain temple dedicated to Chandraprabha in
Tiruparithikunram, near Kanchipuram, is assigned to the beginning of 8th century by TN
Ramachandran, which is a two storeyed structure. The upper storey seems to be
of the Vijayanagara period. The lower floor has rampant vyalas typical of
Pallava temples in Kanchi. The ground floor sanctum is closed, but there is a
sanctum in the upper floor, similar to the Varadaraja temple in Kanchi. There
was passage now blocked, proving this was a saandhaara temple.
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| Bahubali, cave at Kundavai Jinalayam, Tirumalai, Polur |
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| Tirthankankara, Kundavai Jinalayam |
The Jain temple in Tirumalai, near Polur, has sculptures of various periods. The earliest of these are of Parsvanatha with attendants, a seated Tirthankara and Bahubali, undoubtedly Pallava images. The elephants above the panel are in Mamallapuram style. An inscription here refers to an Acharya Arishtanemi of Kadiakottur.
Below a seated Mahavira, are two lines of
inscription Tamil, covered by the built up floor.
A group of twenty four Tirthankaras in
Thirunaathakunru may be of this period also. A golden yakshi, Ponniyakki image,
commissioned by Naaranan in the 50th year of NandiVarma Pallava, is
in in Panchapaandavan malai.
An image of a seated Tirthankara in greenish stone in a modern Jaina temple in Saatamangalam, may be assigned to this period. Jaina sculptures are found in Karuppan Kunru. Bhitti, prastaara, griva and shikara elements show that Jain temples had an architecture similar to Brahminical temples of the region.
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| Tirthankara Rishabanatha, Karuppankunru |
Traces of paintings may be seen in Armamalai Jain
cave in North Arcot.
The devotional poems cited in Yaapparunkaalam,
describing vividly Tirthankaras and Paarshvadevatas, are soul stirring works,
very much like Tevaram and Divya Prabhandam.
Credits These photos of Jain monuments and art were provided by Prof Kanaka Ajita Doss, retired professor of Botany, Presidency College, Madras
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This blogpost is the summary of one of several papers authored by Dr Nagaswamy, which I presented as a lecture at THT Pechu Kacheri 2014. The series is Nagaswamy - Beyond borders
Essay Links
Kundavai Jinaalayam - part 1 (in Tamil)
Kundavai Jinaalayam - part 2 (in Tamil)
My blogs on history
My blogs on art
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