Vasantgarh hoard

Vasantgarh hoard
Year	6th century - 11th century
Medium	Bronze

The Vasantgarh hoard ^[1] contains 240 Jain bronze idols discovered in Vasantgarh, located in the Sirohi District of Rajasthan, India, and dating back to early Medieval India.

Description

In 1956, ^[1] 240 bronze idols were found dating back to early Medieval India. ^[2] The large number of idols indicate that Jainism had taken a strong foothold in the area between the 6th and 11th centuries. ^[3] The Vasantgarh hoard, along with the Akota and Devni Mori bronzes, are important hoards found in Gujarat and Kathiawar province. ^[4]

The Akota and Vasantgarh bronzes were predominately influenced by Gupta and Gandhara styles seen during the reigns of Harsha and the Maitraka dynasty of Valabhi. ^[5] Images of the Vasantgarh include Jain tirthankar, sashandevatas (yaksha and yakshi) and deities bearing Jain iconography. ^{[6] [7]} The images are generally small in size and crafted by the cire-perdue (lost-wax casting) process. Eyes and ornaments are frequently inlaid with silver and gold. ^[8]

Major images

An important figure of the Vasantgarh hoard is one of the Goddess Saraswati wearing an ornate crown, standing on a lotus pedestal, holding a lotus stem in one hand and a manuscript in the other. She has been placed inside the Mahavir temple of Pindwara and worshipped as Chakreshvari. ^[9] Similar iconography of Saraswati was found in the Akota bronzes. Two beautiful images of Rishabhanatha dating back to 6th and 7th century AD, ^[10] a sat-tirthika dated to 998 AD, bronze images of parshvanatha with sarvanha and ambika devi were also found in Vasantgarh. ^[11] A chaturvimsatipatta of Adinatha and tritirthi Parshvanatha are dated respectively to 1066 and 1078 CE. ^[12]

See also

• Hansi hoard
• Aluara bronzes

References

Citation

1. Shah 1995, p. 4.
2. Shah 1995, p. 68.
3. Mishra & Ray 2016, p. 159.
4. Goetz 1955, p. 38.
5. Collins 1988, p. 97.
6. Owen 2012, p. 82.
7. Pereira 1977, p. 6.
8. Britannica & Western Indian bronze.
9. Ludvik 2007, pp. 242–244.
10. Shah 1987, p. 115.
11. Shah 1987, p. 249.
12. Mishra & Ray 2016, p. 148.

Source

• Mishra, Susan Verma; Ray, Himanshu Prabha (2016), The Archaeology of Sacred Spaces: The temple in western India, 2nd century BCE–8th century CE, Routledge, ISBN   9781317193746
• Goetz, Hermann (1955), The Early Wooden Temples of Chamba, Brill Archive
• Ludvik, Catherine (2007), Sarasvatī: Riverine Goddess of Knowledge: From the Manuscript-carrying Vīṇā-player to the Weapon-wielding Defender of the Dharma, BRILL, ISBN   9789047420361
• Pereira, José (1977), Monolithic Jinas: The Iconography of the Jain Temples of Ellora, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN   9780842610278
• Shah, Umakant Premanand (1995), Studies in Jaina Art and Iconography and Allied Subjects in Honour of Dr. U.P. Shah, Abhinav Publications, ISBN   9788170173168
• "Western Indian bronze". Encyclopædia Britannica.
• Shah, Umakant Premanand (1987), Jaina-rūpa-maṇḍana: Jaina iconography, Abhinav Publications, ISBN   9788170172086
• Collins, Charles Dillard (1988), The Iconography and Ritual of Siva at Elephanta: On Life, Illumination, and Being, SUNY Press, ISBN   9780887067730
• Owen, Lisa (2012), Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora, BRILL, ISBN   9789004206304