Caturvimsati Pata (Shrine of the 24 Jinas) / Artist Unknown, India, Gujarat

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Record Details

Accession Number
1975/2.120
Title
Caturvimsati Pata (Shrine of the 24 Jinas)
Artist Nationality
Indian
Medium and Support
bronze or brass
Object Creation Date
1464
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
India (nation)
Gujarat (state)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
India (nation)
Creation Place 3
Gujarat (state)
Style/Group/Movement
Jain bronze altar
Dimensions
28.5 cm x 19.5 cm x 9 cm (11 1/4 in. x 7 11/16 in. x 3 9/16 in.)
Century
15th century
Primary Object Classification
Sculpture
Primary Object Type
figure
Secondary Object Classification
Ritual Objects
Secondary Object Type
portable shrine
Physical Description
This shrine depicts a large seated Jina surrounded by 23 other jina figures and a variety of attendants. The Jina figures that adorn the sides and are arranged in tiers above the main figure. The side columns and the whole is surmounted by auspicious pot forms. The main figure sits in the lotus position on a lion throne flanked by a male and female demigod. Along the sides he is flanked by standing cauri bearers, garland bearers above them and riders on elephants above that with an umbrella with a standing figure on it above his head. At the base in the center is a standing figure holding a sick or club with a bull cognizance behind him on the base of the throne. The nine globs on the base, four to his right and five to his left represent the nine planets and his hands folded in a gesture of meditation
Subject Matter
Identified as the jina Rishabha by the bull before his throne, Rishabha or Adinatha is the first of the Jaina line of teachers. Loosely translated as Spiritual Victors and called Peaceful Liberators in an important exhibition catalogue, there is a line of twenty-four jinas in Jainism. Their other important title is tirthamkara, or “ford crosser” designating them as figures who can teach others in the means for liberation. Jaina cosmology consists of a constant swing from perfection to dissolution and twenty-four jinas map out this progression. Rishabha, as the first existed at a time when the perfect state began to dissolve, had to teach people how to cope. For instance, when Wish Fulfilling Trees stopped producing, he had to teach people agriculture. He had to teach them pottery, statecraft and many other things. Rishabha, the primordial tirthankara, taught mankind the arts that separate them from beasts, including the kindling of fire. He also established the basic structures of society by dividing people into classes according to their occupations. On this altarpiece there are 23 teachers surround him. The rituals used for Jaina images are often the same as used in Hinduism and there is some confusion over this in the literature. Hindus consider them gods, but Jainas do not, but they are objects of reverence.
Primary Keywords
altars
jainism
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Technical Details

Image Size
947 x 1425
File Size
136 KB
Record
1975/2.120
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1975-sl-2.120/1975_2.120.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1975-SL-2.120:1975_2.120.JPG

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"Caturvimsati Pata (Shrine of the 24 Jinas); Artist Unknown, India, Gujarat." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1975-sl-2.120/1975_2.120.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 18, 2024.
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