Kankalitila, Mathura: Jaina tablet of homage set up by courtesan Lavana Sobhika, about 1st Century A.D.
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Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
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Mathura was an ancient center of Jainism, Like the Brahmanas and Buddhists, the Jainas made that region the seat of their religion, From the excellent monuments left at Mathura by the Jainas, it appears that they were a rich and influential group, In fact, the Jainas have managed to preserve their holy traditions at Mathura into modern times, From early inscriptions, we know that the Jainas considered the stupa to be of divine origin and did not, like the Buddhists, see the shrine as a former funerary pyre or reliquary mound, Jainan stupas were looked upon as work of the Yakshas who made the mounds of gold and precious gems, later to be encased by larger stupas of stone or brick masonry, There was some dispute between the local Buddhists with the Jainas over possession of one Jainan-claimed stupa located at Mathura, a dispute which finally had to be settled by the king who, in favor of the Jainas, ended the quarrel after six months of deliberation, A special feature of Jainan stupas are the beautiful Ayagapatas or Tablets of Homage which were installed around the shrine to receive offerings and worship, somewhat corresponding to the platforms for flower-offerings called pupphadhana, A strong belief in the significance of symbols, and the powerful influence which these symbols exercised on religious worship, are made operant on these Ayagapatas unique in all Indian art, They belong to a transitional period, during which representations of the Thirthankaras [sic] ('saviors' comparable to the Buddhas of Buddhist religion) were equally as meaningful, The present example of a homage tablet shows a carving of the stupa to which it belonged and represents the third of three basic types of tablets commonly produced by the Jainas, Strangely, the Buddhists also used this type of slab representing a stupa and possibly borrowed the idea from the Jainas, -- Mathura, Curzon Museum,
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Basham Collection
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circa 1970s
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This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.
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