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Item Iconography of Parshvanatha at Annigere in North Karnataka – An Analysis(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2017) Chavan, S.M.India being the country which is known to have produced three major religions of the world: Hinduism, Budhism and Jainism. Jainism is still a practicing religion in many states of India like Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. The name Jaina is derived from the word jina, meaning conqueror, or liberator. Believing in immortal and indestructible soul (jiva) within every living being, it’s final goal is the state of liberation known as kaivalya, moksha or nirvana. The sramana movements rose in India in circa 550 B.C. Jainism in Karnataka began with the stable connection of the Digambara monk called Simhanandi who is credited with the establishment of the Ganga dynasty around 265 A.D. and thereafter for almost seven centuries Jain communities in Karnataka enjoyed the continuous patronage of this dynasty. Chamundaraya, a Ganga general commissioned the colossal rock-hewn statue of Bahubali at Sravana Belagola in 948 which is the holiest Jain shrines today. Gangas in the South Mysore and Kadambas and Badami Chalukyans in North Karnataka contributed to Jaina Art and Architecture. The Jinas or Thirthankaras list to twenty-four given before the beginning of the Christian era and the earliest reference occurs in the Samavayanga Sutra, Bhagavati Sutra, Kalpasutra and Pumacariyam. The Kalpasutra describes at length only the lives of Rishabhanatha, Neminatha, Parshvanatha and Mahavira. The iconographic feature of Parsvanatha was finalised first with seven-headed snake canopy in the first century B.C. followed by other Tirthankaras. Each of the Tirhtankaras have specific yaksha and yakshi flanking them. There are many temples in Karnataka dedicated to Parshvanatha. The present paper attempts to discuss the iconography of Parshvanatha Tirthankara and with a special reference to the scultpure in the temple dedicated to him at Annigere, a village in Dharwad district in the Northern Karnataka.Item Association of Elephants with Goddess Lakshmi: Myth, Ritual, and Temples(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Sankrityayan, N.K.Myths encapsulate what societies have envisaged of as sacred, and they articulate the manner in which the sacred is understood in that society. The paper tries to look on those myths associated with the goddess Lakshmi, which will help us understand her conceptualization, what she signifies and how vital she is to the cosmology visualized by brahmanical texts that were written over centuries. Lakshmi, like other deities, does not inhabit a world entirely of her own, she has to be studied in relation to other gods and goddesses and the various symbols associated with her. The symbols which are particular objects and attributes connected with Lakshmi lend character to her persona. A very common image of Lakshmi is one in which she is flanked by elephants who pour pots of water on her. This act of performing abhisheka is essential to constituting and reaffirming royal authority. At the popular level, a number of Jataka stories reflect some commonly held cultural perceptions about the elephant. The association of elephants with prosperity and with kingship is equally significant. Elephants are also associated with grandeur as can be seen in the Buddhist myth of Mahamaya. How important elephants are to the Hindu divine pantheon will be analysed through her association with Lakshmi. Images of Lakshmi, mostly accompanied by elephants on either side, have often been found on the lintels of temples, doors and gateways across the subcontinent, as prescribed in texts on art and architecture. The paper will discuss iconographic representation of Lakshmi as Gajalakshmi in the Chalukya temples in particular architectural spaces.Item Elephants and Gods: A Sacred Alliance(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Palande-Datar, S.K.; Khare, A.V.Stories of elephant in life and legends have captured the imagination for the countless generations of Indian subcontinent. The very form of the elephant triggers awe, delight and extraordinary grandeur, in one’s mind. Thus, it is no wonder that it has been assimilated and internalised in legends and stories of Indian subcontinent. Throughout the history, cannons of all the three main religious traditions of India are filled with mythological stories where elephants are part of central story, in association with Gods and Goddesses. Both malevolent and benevolent aspects of elephants are superbly utilised in the description of deity and/or mythological narratives. Various shilpa texts further stress and elaborate on the iconographic elephant association, brought out by these sacred texts. These iconological associations take its form in the sculptural compositions found in religious complexes across Indian subcontinent. So much so, that the very deity can be identified with the specific elephant aspect. The common examples are easily observed in the story of Ganeśa or in the form of Gaja-Lakṣmī. The paper, thus, aims at tracing this sacred alliance between elephants and religious pantheons in Brahmanical, Jaina and Buddhist traditions of India through prominent examples. It attempts to comparatively evaluate the textual narratives and sculptural art.Item A Monograph on the Elephant-headed God Ganesha: The Mythological Concept and Distinct Iconography(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Dutta, S.Ganesha is one of the most important deities of the Hindu pantheon. Worshipping him at the beginning of all the rituals has made him popular than many other divinities. He is widely revered as the ‘remover of obstacles’. He is worshipped all over India and commands such a distinguished position that it is essential to worship him before the commencement of every act considered good life, whether religious, social, cultural, academic or commercial. Ganapati is worshipped by both Vaishnavas (devotees of Vishnu) and Saivites (devotees of Shiva). Ganesha is the God of Good Luck and Auspiciousness and is the Dispeller of problems and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the God of wisdom, wealth, health, celibacy, fertility and happiness. The rise of Ganapatya sect was a significant departure from the traditional Saivism and it coincided with the rise of tantric form of worship in ancient India some time during the post Gupta period. Ganesha appears as a distinct deity in a clearly recognizable form beginning in the 4th to 5th centuries A.D., during the Gupta Period. Today, Ganesha is one of the most worshipped divinities in India. The devotion of Ganesha is widely diffused and it extends to Jains, Buddhists and others beyond India. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits, and explain his distinct iconography. There are various names, forms and incarnations of Ganesha in many Puranas. The idols and temples of Ganesha are found all over the world. The present paper will discuss the mythological concept of his birth and distinct symbolism of Ganesha cited in the Puranas.Item Bridging the Gender Gap: Reflections on the Pronounced Femininity in the Buddhist Art of Ratnagiri, Odisha (India)(Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Trivedi, S.Gender gap has been identified as a new crisis having adverse bearings on the economic and cultural growth of human kind. It is generally defined as a disproportionate difference between the sexes, specifically referring to the differences in the outcome of achievements of man and woman. Gender gap may be a modern terminology but Buddhism seems to have realized this in both Physical and Metaphysical sense and had attempted to bridge this gap in its own unique way. It would be interesting to study this through the evolution of Buddhist pantheon and its manifestation in art forms. This study focuses upon Ratnagiri, located in Jajpur district of the state of Odisha in India. The sculptural wealth and art of Ratnagiri belongs to 8th to 13c A.D. which has its beginnings in the Mahayan and saw its heydays in the esoteric phase of Buddhism. The most striking feature of Ratnagiri art is that a large number of female deities with due prominence and esteem are represented here. A comparative study of male and female deities is made to gather information about the position of gender gap and the process of bridging it. The variables adopted for analysis are symbolism, attributes and potencies of the divinities. The gender based survey of the icons revealed that Ratnagiri has not only produced probably the highest number of female deities as compared to the other Buddhist sites of India and other countries but also the forms that are rarely found at other sites. Till recently one hundred and fifty images of Avalokitesvara have been documented from all over Odisha whereas Ratnagiri alone has yielded more than hundred Tara figures. The incorporation of the female principle in Buddhist philosophy and its later anthropomorphisation is simply understood as borrowed from Hindu tantrism. It is argued and discussed that acknowledgement of female principle is an indigenous development in Buddhist philosophy and it may have an earlier date of origin than Hindu tantra. It is concluded that in later Buddhism as gleaned from the art of Ratnagiri, there are not just ideological propositions of female gods, but they appear as fully empowered to independently perform miracles and salvage their devotees. The frequency of occurrence of deities such as Tara, Marici, Hariti etc. suggest that they rose to the level of cultic figures and were among the most popular members of Buddhist pantheon.