Monoliths (chaumukha/chaturmukha shrines)

Odisha, served as a nucleus of the ethical and historical background of Jaina art and architecture, has provided a good number of monuments in form of caves, temples, chaumukhas and sculptures. The chaumukhas are carved out of single stone in Odisha hence considered as a monolith one. Particularly, the chaumukha/chaturmukha or quadruple image block has been a very popular iconographic theme with the Jainas from very early times and has been described as pratima sarvatobhadrika in inscriptions on the early centuries of Christian era^[1]. The term pratima sarvatobhadrika signifies that, the image is pleasing or auspicious from all directions. The carving of Jaina chaumukha, showing four Jaina figures, all either seated or standing on four sides, started as early as the 1^st century CE and its earliest examples are procured from the Kankali Tilla, Mathura^[2]. The conception of pratima sarvatobhadrika is an essential part of the samavasaranas, it may be inferred that installation of such chaumukhas in ancient times were possibly regarded as symbolic representation of samavasaranas^[3].It is safer to assume that the practice of installing sculptures of this type was an old practice common to the cult of chaitya and yaksha worship and separate images were installed and worshipped on four sides of a chaitya or a pillar. Among the vastusatras only the vraksarnava, an important mid-15^th century CE work refers to the various kinds of chaumukha temple^[4].

The Jaina agamas composed in the 1^st and 4^th century CE gives the details about the chaumukha shrines. Broadly the chaumukhas are divided into two groups^[5] -

A) Chaumukhas representing the same Tirthankara figure on all the four faces. The figures are comparatively meager in number and generally do not show the cognizance of the Jainas. These types of chaumukhas are started engraving from 7^th /8^th centuries CE.

B) Chaumukhas representing four different Tirthankara figures on all four cardinal directions. Their antiquity goes back to the 1^st century CE as found from Mathura. In this category cognizance of Tirthankaras are depicted below their feet or pedestal.

The pratima sarvatobhadrikas are reported from Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khordha, Balasore, Bhadrak, Keonjhar, Koraput and Jajpur districts of Odisha.

Jaina chaumukhas found at Badasai in Mayurbhanj district and Jaina temple at Cuttack are envisaged the same styles, having a square base. The bada of this miniature shrine are also shaped in square from. Its superstructure is designed in several tiers as in the pidha temples or khakhara-mundis of Odishan temple style. The crowning elements above beki consist of the usual amalaka, khapuri and the kalasa.

The chaumukhas preserved in Odisha State Museum brought from a place known as Manikchak near Jaleswara of Balasore district is designed in the shape of a pidha temple. It has five tiers and the base has two mouldings. Dopichha simhas seen and supported the crowning elements being placed on the vimana of the super-structure at each corner. The individual niches meant for the Tirthankaras are in oval shapes with pinnacles at their tops. The mastaka consists of the amalaka, khapuri and the pinnacle in the pattern of a lotus bud. The chaumukha collected from Badacharpoi, Jajpur to the Odisha State Museum is a departure from the conventional pidha order. The superstructure of this chaumukha is triratha structure with a low tower topped by an amalaka.

Jajpur being the one of prominent Jaina centers of Odisha represent the largest number of chaumukhas in Odisha. The sarvatobhadrika images found in this area are quite interesting where more than hundred in numbers are reported in the district. The chaumukhas noticed in this district are found in form of miniature rekha or pidha temple of Kalingan School of architecture. A circular votive stupa representing a Tirthankara Parsvanatha image is also noticed at Jatesvara temple, Jajpur town of this district. A Jaina chaumukha is placed in front of the Budhi Jagulei shrine at Kartara of Nandipur Grama Panchayat and is about 12km from Jajpur town. The chaumukha is fashioned in form of a miniature triratha rekha style temple out of a single khandolite stone block. The votive temple is buried up to its half of bada portion. Risabhanatha, the first Tirthankara is engraved in low relief on a rectangular niche at the rahapaga of the shrine, particularly at the bada portion. His lanchana bull is depicted in the pedestal below his feet. The most interesting part of the Jaina chaumukhas of Jajpur is those laterite blocks have been used as construction material, which is not noticed any other parts of Odisha and secondly chaumukhas having single niches are found in large number.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

V. Sakunthala, “Chaumukha Sculptures in Andradesa”, in H. Rangarajan and et al. (eds.), Jainism: Art, Architecture, Literature & Philosophy, Delhi, 2001, p.265.

[2]:

S.K. Saraswati, “East India”, in A. Ghosh(ed.), Encyclopediea of Jaina Art and Architecture, Vol-II, New Delhi, 1974,p.267

[3]:

U.P. Saha, Studies in Jaina Art, Banaras, 1955, p.95.

[4]:

M.A. Dhaky, “Some Early Jaina Temples in Western India”, in U.P. Saha and M.A. Dhakey(eds.) Mahavira Jina Vidyalaya Golden Jubilee Volume, Bombay, 1968, pp.290-347.

[5]:

S.K. Saraswati, op. cit., pp.265-273.