Jain

Examples of Jain in the following topics:

• Jain Sculpture

  • Jain sculpture is characterized most often by nude representations of saviors or deities in meditative postures.
  • Therefore, Jain art from this period is stylistically similar to Hindu or Buddhist art, although its themes and iconography are specifically Jain.
  • Jain iconography mostly has a sage in sitting or standing meditative posture without any clothes.
  • The earliest known jain image is in the Patna museum, dated approximately to the 3rd century BCE.
  • This statue is one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for Jain worshipers.

• Jain Illustrated Manuscripts

  • Jain illustrated manuscripts, originally painted on palm leaf, were characterized by sharp outlines and depictions of Jain saviors.
  • The figures are shown in profile, as the full-face view was reserved for the Jain Tirthankaras.
  • Common themes in Jain painting and illustrated manuscript, similar to other forms of Jain art, include the Tirthankaras (Jain saviors, or human beings who achieved the ultimate spiritual salvation and served as role models for society), yakshas and yakshinis (supernatural male and female guardian deities), and holy symbols such as the lotus and the swastika, which symbolized peace and well-being.
  • A 15th century manuscript of Kalpasutra, a Jain text containing the biographies of the Tirthankaras, is particularly opulent.
  • This illustration is from a Jain Kalpasutra manuscript, 1470—1500 CE.

• Jain Architecture

  • Samprati, also an emperor of the Maurya dynasty and the grandson of Ashoka the Great (304–232 BCE) also became a Jain.
  • Modern and medieval Jains built many temples, especially in western India.
  • The earliest Jain monuments were temples based on the Brahmanical Hindu temple plan and monasteries for Jain monks.
  • Therefore, Jain art from this period is stylistically similar to Hindu or Buddhist art, although its themes and iconography are specifically Jain.
  • The rise in Islam contributed to the decline of Jain art but did not result in its total elimination.

• Jainism

  • Various seals from Indus Valley Civilizations bear resemblance to Rishabha, the first Jain as the visual representation of Vishnu.
  • The word Jain derives from the Sanskrit word jina, meaning conqueror, and the ultimate aim of Jain life is to achieve liberation of the soul.
  • The majority of Jains live in India, which counts between 4 and 6 million followers.
  • The Jain Temple in Mirpur, India, was built c. 800 CE.
  • Followers of Jainism celebrate Paryushana at the Jain Center of America in New York City.

• Buddhist Wall Paintings

  • In addition to patronizing the art of the Hindu religion, which the majority of the rulers subscribed to, the Guptas were known also for their support of Buddhist and Jain art and culture.
  • The majority of the earlier caves were Buddhist, while caves constructed in the 9th and 10th centuries were Hindu and Jain.
  • Frescoes on the walls and ceilings of both the Ajanta and Ellora caves are believed to date from the early medieval period, between the 8th and 10th centuries, and illustrate various Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain themes.
  • Sittanavasal dates from the 2nd century and is the most famous of the Jain rock-cut monasteries.
  • Miniature painting is thought to have developed slightly later in western India, somewhere between the 10th and 12th centuries, and it generally exists with Hindu and Jain texts.

• Painting under the Sultanate of Delhi

  • The early rulers of the Delhi Sultanate are often viewed as iconoclastic pillagers, best known for their indiscriminate destruction of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples.
  • This style was based essentially on the schools of Iran but influenced by the individual tastes of Indian rulers and local styles, including Jain styles of painting.
  • This work of art bears a close relationship to contemporary Jain paintings.
  • This miniature comes from a manuscript made by an artist who was highly influenced by Jain art from western India.

• The Sramana Movement

  • An image of a Jain monk, one of the practitioners of the varied Sramana traditions.

• Architecture under the Sultanate of Delhi

  • The early rulers of the Delhi Sultanate are often viewed as iconoclastic pillagers, best known for their indiscriminate destruction of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples.

• Nayak Painting

  • There are also many instances when Jain, Sikh, Muslim, other religious and even secular subjects were depicted in Thanjavur paintings.

• Sanskrit

  • It is still used today in Hindu religious rituals, Buddhist hymns and chants, and Jain texts.
  • Sanskrit is used extensively in the Carnatic and Hindustani branches of classical music, and it continues to be used during worship in Hindu temples as well as in Buddhist and Jain religious practices.