Proceedings and papers of National Seminar on Jainology

Author(s): Yugalkishor Mishra
Publisher: Research Institute of Prakrit Jainology & Ahimsa Mujjaffarpur

Page 52

Some Observations on Navagraha Cult in Jaina Art
Dr. Piyus Gupta*
The cult of nine planets or Navagrahas and its depiction in the Indian Sculpture is basically an astrological concept. Since astrology has near universal grip over the Indian society, planetary postulates find place in all the three major pantheons and their corresponding art, including Jainism.
Along with the cult of twenty four Tirthankaras as the main conceptual axis around which the Jaina iconography revolves, the pantheon of this particular cult also presents a system of subsidiary divinities like Buddhist and Brahmanical religions. During the evolution of various pantheons, these types of deities keep on emerging at every nodal point of Indian history; but the luxuriant growth takes place following the impact of Tantra, particularly during the early medieval period. The impact is however not uniform and the Jaina pantheon is less proliferous in comparison to other two.
Scant attention has been paid by the scholars to the dynamics of the evolutionary process of various pantheons of the Indian religions. In this communication, it is not possible to deal with the subject. But one can construe without the fear of being contradicted that the proliferation of deities is due to assimilation of various myths following the interaction or acculturation of the dominant religions with the cultic ethos of the folk milieu. To this, one can add the process of inter-sectarian exchange leading to the emergence of polysectarian cults like the cult of Navagrahas receiving the sustenance from all major religions of India like Buddhism, Jainism and Brahamanism.
In view of the prevalence of large number of deities in each pantheon, the custom of classifying them into various groups is prevalent right from the Vedic days. The Jaina preceptors have likewise classified the subsidiary divinities to several groups. According to Uttarādhyayana, a Jaina text, these gods are of four kinds: 1. Bhaumeyakas or Bhavanavasins :
10 in number 2. Vyantara
8 in number 3. Vaimanikas
2 in number 4. Jyotiskas
5 in number
Physician, Naya Tola, Patna.