A Jina Image from Chandraketugarh

Summary

Gourisankar De’s short note reports the discovery of a rare stone torso of a Jina (Tīrthaṅkara) at Chandraketugarh, an archaeological site in the Indian state of West Bengal. The author recounts how Mr Yar Ali Mandal, a local farmer, found the torso in a marshy field near Khanā‑Mihirer Dhibi and later gave it to the author for study. The fragmentary figure is carved in sandstone and stands just over 13 centimetres high; it shows the chest and upper body of a standing Jina with the śrīvatsa mark clearly visible on the chest, arms hanging stiffly down the sides in the classical kāyotsarga pose and the lower body missing. De notes that very few early Jain images have been found in Bengal and that this is the first Jina sculpture discovered at Chandraketugarh, making it a significant piece for the history of Jainism in the region. Comparative stylistic analysis suggests a date in the Gupta or late‑Gupta period, though the author remarks that some scholars have preferred a slightly later date. The article briefly surveys other Jain finds from Bengal and Bangladesh, including terracotta images and sandstone sculptures, and points out that Jain relics are rare compared with Buddhist and Hindu material. De also mentions the discovery of associated objects such as a small stone elephant and a perforated miniature tortoise which could help identify the original context of the torso. The note concludes that the torso from Chandraketugarh is probably the oldest Jain image yet reported from Bengal and that its existence hints at a wider, poorly documented Jain presence in early eastern India. The author urges archaeologists and historians to pay greater attention to Bengal and neighbouring Bangladesh so that additional Jain artefacts can be located and studied.