Museum Collections or Recovered from Ponds

[Full title: Sculptural/Architectural Fragments Presently Part of the Museum Collections with Unknown Provenances or Recovered from Ponds]

In this group I include these sites/settlements or “find spots” from where Jain images were recorded by chance finding and presently in collections of different museums. During our visits in different local, state and national museums I also noticed some Jain images displayed in different galleries without proper cataloging i.e., without specifying the provenances as well as the name of sites. However, the images stylistically belong to the Jain repertoire images of ancient Bengal and therefore identifiable as specimens from Bengal.

Jain images of Kushtarh, Pakbirra, Chharra, Palma are presently displayed in the Haripada Sahitya Mandir, Purulia, Vangiya Sahitya Parisad Museum, Vishnupur, Bankura, West Bengal State Archaeological Museum, Behala, Kolkata and Patna Museum, Bihar. An image of Tīrthaṅkara Mahāvira, which originally hailed from Palma, is presently displayed in the Museum of Indian Art, Berlin. S.K. Swaraswati (1975: 265) reported an image of Tīrthaṅkara Ṛṣabhanātha from Gadh Jaypur of Purulia district. This image is at present displayed in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, Calcutta University. Ramkrishna Mission of this district also displayed some Jain images which were collected from the different area of the present district, though the concerned labels dose not bear the actual locations.

Jain sculptural remains from Jay Krishnapur Ajodhya, Joypur and Gokulnagar of Bankura district are also displayed in the Vangiya Sahitya Parisad Museum, Vishnupur, Bankura. Some stone sculptural specimens including two Tīrthaṅkara images from the nearby area of Kansavati reservoir are presently housed in the collection of The Panchmura Collage library of Taldangra, though the exact find spots of these image does not mentioned. A magnificent Pārśvanātha image reported from Deulbhira temple of Bankura is presently displayed in the Indian Museum, Calcutta.

A metal Jain Tīrthaṅkara image recovered from Domahania/Domani of Burdwan district (Asansol and Durgapur sub-division) is presently housed in the Burdwan University Museum. An architecture member showing the depiction of Pārśvanātha is in the collection of Nazrul Academy of Churulia but the actual find spot is unknown. An image of Tīrthaṅkara Śāntinātha was discovered from Ujani in Burdwan district and presently the image is displayed in the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Museum, Kolkata.

A terracotta figure of a Jain Tīrthaṅkara was recovered from Tildah, West Midnapur district though the present location of this antiquity is not known. A damaged Tīrthaṅkara image is presently housed in the Dantan Village Library and an Ambikā is also kept under a piple tree. Both the images were recovered from the nearby area of Dantan however; the exact locations of these images are not properly recorded. Jain Tīrthaṅkaras images, caumukhas and a beautiful icon of snake hooded Viṣṇu found from Pathra are presently in the collections of Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, University of Calcutta.

One Jain Tīrthaṅkara image from Sabang, East Midnapur are presently displayed in the Ananda Niketan Kirtishala, Bagnan, Howrah, of West Bengal State Archaeological Department. An abraded Jain Tīrthaṅkaras image was recorded from Kumarganj of this district but the present location of this image is not traceable.

A head less image of a Jain Tīrthaṅkara image was reported from Chandraketugarh of North Twenty Four Parganas. This could be an early image though the exact find spot of this image is not known to us and also the present location.

Jain sculptural remains were discovered from Dakshin Barasat, Damodar Pur, Sagar Island area and Sitakundu of South Twenty Four Parganas however, the present locations of those images are not properly known. On the other hand Jain antiquities from Kankandighi are presently housed in the local museums of this district. Nalgara is a well-known archaeological site and several sculptural specimens were recorded from this site and are presently displayed in the local, state and national museum. A stone image of Yakṣiṇī Ambikā (Acc no. 63.940) is presently displayed in the National Museum of New Delhi. Though this image was actually acquired from the Nalgara site however, the present museum label only mentioned that the location of the image was from Sundarban, South Twenty Four Parganas. Another Yakṣiṇī Ambikā image, made of metal is presently housed in the State Archaeological Museum, Kolkata, is also from Nalgara. An image of Ṛṣabhanātha was recovered from Ghateswar and presently displayed in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, University of Calcutta. Jain sculptural remains from Jamtala and Harinarayanpur are presently housed in the Local Museum at Dakshin Bishnupur, South Twenty Four Parganas. Two Jain antiquities from Baishata-Ghosher Chak-Jauthiya-Kacharipara are also housed in the local museum of this district. An image of Ambikā, displayed in the Kalidas Dutta Murti Samgarahalay, Jaynagar Majilpur of this district, was recovered from the Chhatrabhog Area.

A Jain aṣṭapādatīrtha image and a caumukha were recovered from Sat Deuliya of Burdwan district. The first one is displayed in the State Archaeological Museum, Kolkata and the second one is displayed in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, University of Calcutta. A Pārśvanātha image from Sanchara is also presently displayed in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, University of Calcutta though the present label of this image does not show the proper find spot of this image. A Dvi-tīrthika Jain image was discovered from Raina however, the present location of this image is not known. An image of Tīrthaṅkara Ṛṣabhanātha was discovered from Baidyapur village during the digging of a pond and this image is now displayed in the Burdwan University museum.

The Government of West Bengal museum at Jiaganj in Murshidabad district displays a magnificent image of Pārśvanātha which was collected from this district however, the exact location is not mentioned in the concerned label. A beautiful image of Ṛṣabhanātha was recovered from Shadipur in Malda district and at present displayed in the Government of West Bengal museum at Malda.

A Ṛṣabhanātha image from Surohar in Uttar Dinajpur district is presently displayed in the Rajshahi museum of Bangladesh. A Jain caumukha is presently kept in the Itahar Police Station but the actual find spot of this specimen is not known.

A Jain caumukha from Dolgaon in Dakshin Dinajpur district was housed in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, University of Calcutta. However, the present label of this specimen does not mention the find spot of this concerned image. An image of Ambikā is displayed in the North Bengal University Museum without proper label.

A Candraprabha image from Govindopur is presently displayed in the Bangladesh National Museum. Dinajpur Museum of Bangladesh exhibits two Jain images which were collected from Bheloa and Khansama. Varendra Research Museum, Rajsahi, Bangladesh has a collection of an image of a Jain Tutelary Couple sculpture recovered from Deopara and an image of Tīrthaṅkara Śāntinātha from Mandoli. Tīrthaṅkara Ṛṣabhanātha image from Mandoli is presently displayed in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, University of Calcutta.

The above discussion on the contextual aspects of the extensive Jain remains suggests that the there are a good number of archaeological sites mainly in the zone I of the present study area which contained abandoned extant temples or structural ruins containing Jain sculptural specimens along with habitational remains. However, most of the cases the extant temples are without deities, sometime Jain images are kept in the sanctum of the temple with other Brahmanical deities. Most of the extant temples are very bad in condition. Except these extant temples there are a number of sites from where I have able to documented structural ruins along with Jain images which compelling argument in favour of flourishing Jain settlements during the early medieval period. While in the above cases a fair idea may be had of the context of the sculptural and architectural finds however, at many places several Jain sculptures have been encountered heaped under tree by the villagers. These fragmentary pieces were found as stray from the nearby fields, ponds, etc., and removed from their original find place thereby losing any hitherto remaining context.

Any attempts to place the documented Jain antiquarian remains of the present study within the larger geographical and archaeological landscape of eastern India will lead us to the South Bihar plains and more particularly to the Jain religious activities of Rajgir region. The associated sites in and around Hazaribagh region (Koluha), Jharkhand will also have to brought within this gambit. The sites in this region worked as a link in absorbing the impact of the spread of Jainism from the South Bihar plains on the one hand and in turn helping in the deeper penetration along the eastern fringe areas of Bengal on the other. The widespread documented findings of Jain settlements/clusters within the administrative boundary of modern districts of Purulia and Bankura may be attributed to the above.