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A BRIEF SURVEY
CON seringen ^ BRIEF survey
ICONOGRAPHY
By Dr. B. Bhattacharya M. A., Ph. 1).
DIRECTOR, ORIENTAL INSTITUTE, BARODA.
The learned writer has taken trouble to collect materials for Jaina Iconography, but the value of the article would have been enhanced if necessary references were given. Most of the information seems to have been obtained from Achàra-Dinakara.
The Dhyanis mentioned are probably the poses of the deities. Regarding the collective deities we find they are the Sarasvatas mentioned in the Pratistha-kalpas, and are twenty four, the first name ". Sarasvatas ” having been omitted by the writer. Neither these nor the subsequently mentioned Indras and Indranis are all found represented in images. Their names appear in some Tantras or in the works describing the spheres ruled by different Indras and their Agra-mahishis are there also mentioned, but the latter bear individual names and are not therefore collective deities. So far we know, these are not individually represented in images except S'akra, Is’àna, and Dharanendra, Ņirvana-Kalika and other ancient works describe a very limited number of deities. Inference as to some deities named being imported from the Buddhist Vajrayana does not seem to be warranted, because most of these can be traced in admittedly more ancient Jaina scriptures. The similarity of names seems to have influenced the learned writer. The comparative study, we must however say, is indeed welcome. We wish careful investigations will be carried on for the purpose.
We offer our thanks to the learned writer for writing a preliminary article on Jaina Iconography and desire he will write copiously about it after further studies as he has done about Buddhist. Iconography.
Editor.
1.14 :
[ Shree Atmaramji
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