A Caturvimsati Patta of Rsabhanatha from Koraput

Summary

Umakanta Subuddhi reports on the discovery of a caturviṃśati‑paṭṭa—an architectural relief depicting all twenty‑four Jain tirthankaras—in Bhairava­singhpur village of the Jeypore sub‑division, Koraput district (Odisha). The relief, measuring 46 × 30 cm and slightly mutilated at the top, was moved to the District Museum at Jeypore by civil authorities. Its Mūlanāyaka (central figure) is Ṛṣabha­nātha, who sits on a throne in paryaṅkāsana with hands placed in yoga‑mudrā; his chest bears the śrīvatsa symbol, the Nyagrodha tree of knowledge rises above his head and his lānchana, the bull, appears below his seat. Two cauri‑bearing sons, Bhārata and Bahubali, stand on either side. Ṛṣabha­nātha is flanked by the other twenty‑three tirthankaras in meditative posture. Some of their lānchanas can still be discerned; the serpentine canopy over Pārśvanātha and the lion under Mahāvīra’s seat are particularly clear. The article notes that such caturviṃśati‑paṭṭas allowed devotees in remote areas to venerate all tirthankaras without travelling to major pilgrimage sites. Stylistically the relief belongs to the post‑Gupta period—probably the 8th–9th century—and its discovery testifies to the spread of Jainism into tribal regions of Odisha. Subuddhi argues that further exploration of Koraput may reveal additional Jaina remains.