References to Jaina Pontiffs in the Bijolia Inscriptions of V.S. 1226

Summary

The Bijolia inscription of V.S. 1226, carved to commemorate the construction of a temple to Lord Parshvanatha by a Jain named Lolaka, is the focus of Krishan Gopal Sharma’s note. Apart from supplying a genealogy of the Chauhan princes of Ajmer and Sambhar, the inscription contains devotional verses that pay homage to various Jain Tirthankaras and pontiffs. The opening verse salutes Lord Vitaraga and describes him as the supreme soul who has manifested as the formula ‘syaʾ’ (syad), an allusion to the Jain doctrine of relativity. A subsequent verse allegorically refers to the first Tirthankara, Rishabhadeva, by calling him ‘vyu’—a person who, unlike the planets, does not need to ascend the zodiac and has already transcended the cycle of births and deaths. Another verse celebrates the sixteenth Tirthankara, Santinatha, whose gentle acts of compassion toward birds and animals earned him divine honours; the verse compares his stringing of a bow to Krishna’s musical performance, thereby fusing Jain and Vaishnava imagery. The inscription also records the virtues of Rishabhadeva’s mother, Marudevi, likening her to the goddess of learning, and depicts the lecture ground (caubis) of Parshvanatha adorned with lamps and banners and surrounded by the gods. A fifth verse describes Vardhamana Mahavira’s parents worshipping his jiva even before his birth and extols his epithets ‘vardhitā’ and ‘vardhantam.’ The final verses summarise the narrative in an invocatory prayer addressed to the twenty‑four Tirthankaras, requesting them to guide devotees toward right conduct. Sharma’s translation and commentary illuminate the cultural milieu of early thirteenth‑century Rajasthan: a time when Jain monastic leaders were revered alongside Chauhan rulers and when Jain cosmological concepts were interwoven with Sanskrit poetic conventions.