More Sculptures from Bhagalpur

Summary

Ajoy Kumar Sinha’s article is a continuation of his earlier survey of Jain sculptures from Bhagalpur (ancient Campāpur) and neighbouring regions of eastern India. He notes that unlike the anthropomorphic and multi‑armed deities of Hindu and Buddhist art, Jain Tirthankaras are represented in human form without supernatural attributesfile:///home/oai/share/jain_journal_1984_01_520073_std.pdf#:~:text=Jain%20Education%20International%20For%20Private,org. The paper focuses on Adimithuna or Yugal images that depict a Tirthankara flanked by his parents. Sinha describes a black basalt sculpture from the Sri Campapur Digambar Jain Siddhakshetra at Nathnagar (Bhagalpur) discovered in 1914. The image, about 50 cm high, shows the Jina seated in padmasana with a lotus pedestal; above him a tri‑circular umbrella (chatraval) denotes his omniscience. His parents sit in sukhasana postures on either side holding babies in their laps, while attendants, Vidyadharas and Yakshas, flank the throne. The author notes that the Jina’s parents are decked with ornaments and that the scene resembles depictions of Lord Buddha, suggesting possible local influences. Another sculpture described is a rare cauṭhī (caubis) in which Bhagavan Adinatha stands on a double‑petalled lotus within a recessed niche while the remaining twenty‑three Tirthankaras sit in padmasana around him. Sinha interprets this as a visual device for venerating all Tirthankaras in a single shrine. The article then turns to several khadgasana images of Adinatha (standing with feet apart and a sword‑like gap between them), dating from the 7th–8th centuries. One such piece from the Jain temple at Nathnagar is carved in slate and measures 95×54 cm; the Jina stands under a dharmachakra, attended by Yakshas and Yakshinis, and holds a chakra and kalpavriksha. Sinha observes that unlike later North Indian sculptures, these images are not accompanied by Yaksha–Yakshini pairs, indicating an earlier iconographic phase. The article includes notes on early Adinatha images from Sri Champapur that date to A.D. 1559 and emphasises that the Bhagalpur region has yielded sculptures spanning the 5th to 8th centuries. Sinha concludes that these images, though stylistically varied, share certain features: the trilinear umbrella, the lotus seat, the decorated halo and the presence of attendant deities. Their discovery underscores Bhagalpur’s importance as a centre of Jain art and suggests that local patrons commissioned unique variants that blended canonical Jain iconography with regional motifs.