Some Unpublished Jaina Sculptures of Ganesa from the Western India

Summary

Maruti Nandan Prasad Tiwari’s “Some Unpublished Jaina Sculptures of Ganesa from the Western India” surveys little‑known images of Ganesa from Jaina temples in Rajasthan and Gujarat and assesses their significance for understanding Ganesa worship among Jains. After noting that Jain texts acknowledge Ganesa and that his worship became popular from the eleventh century onward, the author reviews relevant sources such as the Ācāra‑dinakara and the Abhidhāna‑cintāmaṇi. He explains that Jains adopted the elephant‑headed, pot‑bellied god and his mouse mount from Hindu tradition but adapted his iconography to Jain ritual norms. The core of the article describes previously unpublished sculptures from Osia and Narlai in Rajasthan and Kumbharia in Gujarat. Carved on door‑sills and base mouldings of temples, these eleventh‑ and twelfth‑century figures typically depict Ganesa seated in lalitāsana with four arms holding objects like the ankuśa, padma, parāśu, modaka‑pātra and varada‑mudrā. Some ride unconventional mounts such as an elephant or ram. Tiwari notes where the images conform to Jain prescriptions and where they borrow freely from Hindu iconography, illustrating the syncretic nature of Ganesa worship. Plates accompanying the article provide visual documentation. By comparing these sculptures with textual prescriptions and with Hindu prototypes, Tiwari demonstrates how Jain artists incorporated and adapted Ganesa imagery, reflecting both the god’s popularity and the permeability of religious boundaries in medieval western India.