Rare Parshvanatha Sculpture Discovered In Adilabad Chand Village

HYDERABAD: A rare ninth-century Jain Parshvanatha sculpture, believed to be the first of its kind reported in Telangana, has been identified among several damaged sculptures in Chand village of Adilabad district by researchers.

The artistically unique Parshvanatha sculpture has been identified by Prithviraj Roddawar, a research member of the Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam (KTCB), along with Sai Raj Kamble and Katturi Subhash.

According to researchers, Parshvanatha sculpture is headless and seated in the ardha-padmasana posture, with a serpent coiled behind it. On either side of the main figure are two Tirthankaras in the kayotsarga (standing meditation) posture. On the pedestal, a Dharmachakra (wheel of dharma) is carved between two lions. Beneath serpent canopies, on both sides are the Jain Yaksha Dharanendra and Yakshini Padmavati. Outside them, are carvings of male and female devotees in a posture of salutation.

Based on the sculptural style, the KTCB Convener, Sriramoju Haragopal, compared it with similar Parshvanatha sculptures found in Rajgir, Bihar. He noted that the presence of the Dharmachakra on the pedestal is mentioned in the Jain iconography text, Jain Rupamandana.

Haragopal said the sculpture could be mistaken for a Buddha sculpture because of the Dharmachakra. However, he said if it were Buddha, it would be in the Dharmachakra Pravartana mudra (teaching posture) and wear a sanghati (monastic robe) on his body. Since these features are absent, it is Jain Parshvanatha sculpture, he added.

Dr E. Siva Nagireddy, a renowned sculptor said that such a sculpture has never been found anywhere in Telangana state before and that it is extremely rare and unique.

Another Jain sculpture found in Chand shows an elephant performing Abhisheka on the upper left side, with three Jain Tirthankaras in two rows below it. This appears to be a fragment of another Parshvanatha sculpture as described in the Jain Rupamandana.

Earlier, Prithviraj also identified a damaged sculpture of the 17th Jain Tirthankara, Kunthunatha, in the same village. With so many Jain religious sculptures discovered here, it can be concluded that Chand was once home to a Jain Basadi (temple/monastery), the experts said.