.

Parsvanatha

Height 79 cm., Breadth 58 cm.
Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.
Circa 10th Century AD.

     The sculpture is in the seated Padmasana Dhyana pose with two Naga attendants on either side. The hood of a seven-headed snake is depicted over the head of the Tirthankara. Over the hood the Mukkudai is shown. The hood of a single headed snake acts as a canopy over the head of each his attendants, the Dharnendra Yaksha and Padmavati Yakshi who flank him. The style of the seven headed snake hood recalls their prototypes found in the early Buddhist Andhra sculptures of Amaravati, and Jaggaiyapetta. The snake sculpture guarding a Stupa (a hemispherical Buddhist monument usually housing a relic of the Buddha built mostly in the reign of Emperor Ashoka Circa 3rd Century BC) depicted in Amaravati is very similar to this sculpture of Parsvanatha's snake.

Shantinatha

Height 146 cm., Breadth 71 cm.
Probably From Mysore Region, Karnataka.
Circa 10th Centure AD.

     This sculpture is so exquisitely carved on a slate like stone, which gives a shiny appearance so that it appears to be almost a bronze figure at first sight. The Tirthankara has as a backdrop a Prabha with an elaborate floral design (arch at the back). The design is woven into the stone. The Prabha rests on two pillars attached to the base. On the pillars, two Makaras are carved on either side. With the help of the Kanarese inscription on the base, we learn that the Tirthankara is Shantinatha, the sixteenth Tirthankara. Shantinatha stands on a lotus base in Kayotsarga (erect) pose. The ends of his hands are broken and missing Mukkudai and the Bha Mandala are attached to the Prabha.

    

Shantinatha

Height 74 cm., Breadth 30 cm.
Probably From Mysore Region, Karnataka.
Circa 10th Centure AD.

     This sculpture also comes from Mysore region and was acquired for the Museum in the year 1859 AD. The nude figure of the Shantinatha Tirthankara is depicted in highly polished blackish stone, a medium largely used by the Nolamba sculptures of Hemavati region. The figure of Shantinatha is shown in standing erect posture with curly hair on his head. He has elongated ear lobes and triangular Srivatsa mark on his right chest. His cognisance, the deer is carved in the central square of the pedestal.

     The Sanskrit inscription in Kanarese script on the pedestal tells that King Salvadeva, a great lover of literature, made this image of Shanti Jina as per the rules of Silpa Sastras and erected it.