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Sunday, Jul 29, 2007
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Is it Adinatha or Mahavira?

T.S. Subramanian

Sculpture partly buried in a mound in Ramanathapuram village

Lower portion of sculpture holds key to question
Specialists want the sculptures to be protected

— Photos: K.T. Gandhirajan

The mystery: The statue of Jain Tirthankara found at Pasumpon village in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district three weeks ago.

CHENNAI: Is it the sculpture of Adinatha, first Tirthankara of Jainism, or Mahavira, its 24th and last Tirthankara? This question has been haunting K.T. Gandhirajan, specialist in art history, for more than three weeks after he found that beautiful sculpture in a small mound at Pasumpon village in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district.

The lower portion of the sculpture, buried in the mound, holds the key to the question. But villagers may not allow the sculpture to be pulled out and reveal itself. The sculpture shows a Jain Tirthankara in a seated posture. It has a well-proportioned body with broad shoulders. The Tirthankara’s eyes are half closed and he has curly hair. Surrounding his head is a simple semi-circular prabhavali (arch), topped by a triple-umbrella. Creeper designs fill the space above. There are two chamdaris (chowri-bearers) cast in a tribhanga pose.

The entire sculpture, executed carefully, has a high aesthetic value. From its stylistic features, it seems, it belongs to the 9th to 10th century A.D., Mr. Gandhirajan said.

According to K. Mohan, retired sub-inspector of police, who lives at Pasumpon, 80 km from Madurai, Muthuramalinga Thevar, Forward Bloc leader, used to lead the villagers in offering worship to the image on Tamil new year day in April every year. The sculpture used to be anointed with oil and bathed with water. The practice stopped after Thevar died in 1963. Now it is lying half-buried in the mound, Mr. Mohan said.

Easy target

It is the buried portion which will reveal whether the sculpture is that of Adinatha or Mahavira. The triple umbrella is common to both.

“If the pedestal has carvings of lions, it is that of Mahavira,” Mr. Gandhirajan said. If the sculpture were to be pulled out to know whose image it was , it would become an easy target for idol-smugglers, he said. In recent months, Jain images have been found at Mudukulathur and Kovilaankulam villages. In a temple at Kamuthi, four km from Pasumpon, there was a sculpture of a Jain Tirthankara.

Surprise finds

“These are surprise finds because Ramanathapuram, unlike Madurai district, is not very much noted for Jainism,” he said. Five months ago, Mr. Gandhirajan found an exquisite statue of the Buddha, about 10 km from Ariyalur on the Ariyalur-Lalgudi road in Tamil Nadu.

The statue of the Buddha found on the Ariyalur-Lalgudi road, also in Tamil Nadu.

Stylistically, it was an important sculpture, which belonged to the 11th century A.D. T. Arunraj, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India (Chennai Circle), and Gandhirajan found an unfinished statue of the Buddha in a mound near Balasamudram village, near Andipatti. It belonged to the 11th century A.D. According to Mr. Arunraj, sculptures of Hindu deities and pot-sherds of the medieval period were found nearby.

Specialists in the study of Jainism and Buddhism including D. Ravikumar, Dalit Panthers of India legislator, and Mr. Gandhirajan said scores of sculptures of the Buddha, Adinatha and Mahavira were lying on fields in different parts of Tamil Nadu and they wanted the Government to protect them.

Mr. Ravikumar said a statue of the Buddha in the taluk office at Ariyalur and several sculptures of the Buddha at Panruti town disappeared recently. Two beautiful statues of the Buddha at Thyaganur near Salem were lying on a paddyfield, and another was inside a ruined structure at Peruncheri near Mayiladuthurai.

“All these will become easy targets for idol-lifting gangs. We are now celebrating the 2550th year of the Buddha attaining Pari Nirvana. The Centre has allotted funds for the celebrations. The Tamil Nadu Government should build structures around all these sculptures of the Budddha and Mahavira to protect them,” Mr. Ravikumar said.

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