Jaina Sculptures from Bangladesh
Summary
P. C. Das Gupta surveys a group of medieval Jain sculptures preserved in museums in Bangladesh and discusses their significance for the history of Jain art in eastern India. The essay opens with a sketch of Jainism’s long presence in Bengal, noting that literary sources and early Buddhist and Mauryan inscriptions suggest that Jainism flourished in the region from at least the time of the nirgrantha teachers Rsabhanatha and Parsvanatha. Although Bengal is normally associated with the great pilgrimage sites of Sammeta Śikhara in Bihar and the Samavasarana of Mahavira, the author argues that eastern Bengal and what is now Bangladesh also yield important Jain material. He then describes several stone images illustrated in plates: two seated figures of Rsabhanatha from Surohar and Bhelowa in Dinajpur district dated to the tenth and eleventh centuries; a standing image of Śāntinātha from Mandoli; a standing Tīrthaṅkara from Govindapur; a pair of divine couples from Deopara, Rajshahi; and a marble image of Pārśvanātha from Dacca. Each description notes the iconographic features – the kāyotsarga or dhyāna posture, presence or absence of śrīvatsa mark, attendant figures and stylistic qualities – and situates the piece within the Pāla or later Pāla stylistic tradition. Das Gupta stresses that these finds demonstrate a continuous Jain presence in Bengal and a regional artistic idiom influenced by Bengal’s Buddhist and Hindu sculpture. He acknowledges the scarcity of documented Jain relics from Bangladesh but suggests that the examples illustrated hint at a richer heritage that has been overlooked due to political boundaries and the dominance of Buddhist studies. The article closes with an appeal for organised exploration and excavation in Bangladesh to recover more Jain images and to compare them with finds from West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Such comparative work, the author believes, will shed light on regional variations in Jain iconography and help reconstruct the broader history of Jainism in eastern India.
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Conclusion
Das Gupta’s survey of sculptures from Bangladesh reveals that eastern Bengal once supported an active Jain community whose artistic output paralleled that of better‑known Jain centres in western and northern India. Although only a handful of images have been recorded, their iconography and style demonstrate a distinctive regional variant of Pāla‑period sculpture. The author concludes that systematic study and excavation in Bangladesh are essential for understanding the full geographical spread of Jainism and for integrating the region’s neglected artefacts into the history of Indian art.