A Caturvimasti-patta Metal Image from Bhagalpur
Summary
Ajoy Kumar Sinha’s brief study “A Caturvimasti-patta Metal Image from Bhagalpur” analyses an exquisitely crafted bronze plaque depicting twenty‑four Tirthankaras from the Svetambara Jaina Temple at Campanagar, a suburb of Bhagalpur. The caturvimasti-patta, also called a caubisi, is a small portable shrine that allows devotees to venerate all twenty‑four Jinas in a single tableau. Sinha describes the plaque, which measures roughly twenty‑seven centimetres high and sixteen centimetres wide, and notes that an inscription on the reverse records its installation in the Samvat 1551 (A.D. 1494). The central figure (mūlanāyaka) is Bhagavan Adinatha, seated in padmāsana on a lion‑throne within a shrine. Above his chest the śrīvatsa mark is prominently carved. The representation includes a miniature shrine with a central sanctum, crowned by a richly ornamented umbrella (chatra) supported by truncated elephants and flanked by two standing Tirthankaras in kāyotsarga mudrā. Alongside the mūlanāyaka’s halo are two seated Tirthankaras. Below, the lower frieze depicts Ādinātha’s śāsanadevī, likely Ambikā, with musicians and dancers, while the lowest band includes a dharmacakra (wheel of Law) and the goddess Sāntidevī. Devotee figures stand on either side of the pañcaratha pedestal. The remaining twenty‑three Tirthankaras are arranged symmetrically around the shrine, each shown seated in meditation. Sinha compares this Bhagalpur caturvimasti-patta with similar examples from western India displayed in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Hyderabad’s Salar Jung Museum, noting stylistic affinities such as the pyramidal superstructure and the presence of maṅgala-kalaśas. He suggests that all three plaques date to the second half of the fifteenth century and likely originated from western India. The Bhagalpur example may have been brought east by a Jain devotee attracted to the region’s religious sanctity. The article situates the object within the iconographic tradition of small caubisi shrines that combine artistic virtuosity with devotional practicality.
AI-generated summary, automatically checked against the article text.
Conclusion
Sinha concludes that the Bhagalpur caturvimasti‑patta is an important example of late medieval Jain bronze art. Its intricate composition, hierarchical arrangement of the twenty‑four Jinas and inclusion of attendant deities reflect mature iconographic conventions. Comparison with similar plaques from western India suggests a common stylistic lineage and reinforces the hypothesis that the Bhagalpur piece was transported eastward by a devout layman. The author emphasises that studying such portable shrines broadens our understanding of regional connections in Jain art and the ways in which devotees preserved and disseminated complex iconographies through small, easily movable objects.