Figure of Parsvanatha, schist, Karnataka, India, late 12th - early 14th century.

Parsvanatha, the 23rd Jain Saviour (tirthankara), is standing in the kayotsarga posture, the 'setting free' of a body from earthly distractions. A seven-headed naga or serpent spirit protects the saint with the coils of his body and shelters him with his seven hoods. Parsvanatha is flanked by the yaksha or god Dharanendra and yakshi or goddess Padmavati, both holding a goad and noose in their hands. Long periods of immobility, with the arms hanging freely from the body, represent one form of severe penance undertaken on the path to liberation. The proportions of the figure follow iconic convention: the shoulders are broad and the chest is slightly expanded, representing an inner breath. The waist is slim and athletic, with muscular details represented on the abdomen. Parvanatha is here represented as a naked image of the Digambara sect of Jains. A triple umbrella and fly-whisks evokes the regal status of Parsvanatha. The base bears an inscription in Old Kannada. On the back is another inscription in Roman characters.

On the base is an inscription in Old Kannada (Haḷegannaḍa). It records that when the Jainism in Erambarage (Yelburga or Yalaburga, in the Koppal District of Karnataka) had experienced difficulties or perished because of persecution by Mummadi Singa, the Jain temple was restored by a senior Jain religious teacher. A layman, Malli Setti, son of Keti Setti of Mindagudali, caused the image of Parshvadeva (Parshvanatha) to be made by Paloja, a ruvari chakravarti or 'emperor among sculptors'. Scholars have expressed different opinions about the meaning of some aspects of the inscription and the identity of Mummadi Singa is uncertain but he seems most likely to be Mummadi Singa Nayaka, a military leader who founded a small kingdom in Kampili-Kummata in Karnataka and was involved in wars against larger states in the 1270s and 1280s. If so, the probable date of the sculpture would be late 13th to early 14th century.



As well as the inscription on the front, the sculpture also bears a second inscription that throws light on another chapter of its history. On the reverse of the back-plate is an anglicized rendition of the deity's name, "Parasa-naat", and the marks "C.McK" and "1806" which confirms that this sculpture once formed part of the collection of Colonel Colin Mackenzie, the British antiquarian whose survey of the Deccan was completed in that year.



The sculpture was given to the East India Company in 1808 by Col. Mackenzie, who wrote in a letter that year that he had shipped it to their Directors in London in the ship 'Phoenix'. The figure was incorporated in the collections of the East India Company's India Museum in London.



In 1879 the sculpture was transferred to the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) from the India Museum. The India Museum slip book entry states that it was received from 'McKenzie' and that it was 'taken from a ruined Busti (or temple) of Gasoppa [Gersoppa] anciently called Yarrum bardgaya [Yarumbaragaya or Erambarage], a town at the foot of the Western Ghats of Canara'. See J. Howes under 'References' for further details and discussion of the sculpture's provenance including information on documentation preserved in the British Library, which includes Mackenzie's letter of 1808 recording the discovery of the object at Garsoppa, now in Karnataka, and its transport to London, a drawing of a figure and a facsimile and translation of the Old Kannada inscription by an 'old Jain Poorohit' in his employment. The Jain temple site near Garsoppa is now called Jainabastikere. However, it seems probable that Yarrum bardgaya, rendered as Erambarage in the inscription, actually refers to Yelburga (Yalaburga), in the Koppal District of Karnataka, and that the object was moved at some point in the medieval period from there to Gersoppa, where a Jain kingdom thrived from 1409 to about 1610 before being eventually subsumed into a larger state and abandoned. The Italian traveller Pietro della Valle described seeing its ruins in 1623. See Barnard, N. under references for further information.

Here Parsvanatha, the 23rd Jain Saviour (‘tirthankara’), stands in the ‘kayotsarga’ posture. Long periods of immobility, with the arms hanging freely from the body, represent one form of severe penance undertaken on the path to liberation.



A ‘naga’ (serpent) protects him with the coils of his body and shelters him with his seven hoods. Parsvanatha is flanked by the attendant minor deities Dharanendra and Padmavati, both holding a goad and noose in their hands. A triple umbrella and fly-whisks evoke Parsvanatha’s regal status. Here he is represented naked, which identifies the image as belonging to the Digambara ('sky-clad') sect of Jainism.



An inscription on the base records that this image was made for a Jain shrine dedicated to Parsvanatha. It was created at Gulbarga when the temple was restored in the 12th [now thought to be 13th] century after a period of persecution. It also records the name of the ‘stone engraver’, Chakravarti Paloja, which is rare in Indian sculpture.



The reverse of the back plate is inscribed ‘Parasa-naat’, an Anglicised rendition of Parsvanatha’s name, and ‘C.McK 1806’. These initials indicate that this sculpture once formed part of the collection of Colonel Colin McKenzie, the British antiquarian.

931(IS)