Architectural, Sculptural, and Religious Change: a New Interpretation

13 ARCHITECTURAL, SCULPTURAL AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE A new interpretation of the Jaina temples at Khajuraho Julia A. B. Hegewald Introduction: the continuity of religious sites It is a common feature of sacred architecture throughout the world that at times of political conflict, of changes in population or of religious belief in an area, sites sanctified by one religious sect have frequently been appropriated by the follow- ers of other faiths. Well-known examples of this are the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem1 and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. In some cases changes in the denomination of religious buildings have happened peacefully, by the adoption of deserted and decaying religious buildings and their conversion to the requirements of a new faith. Sometimes, however, the destruction and forceful re- appropriation of active places of worship have also been used as potent symbols of victory and proof of superiority by different peoples asserting their power. Ancient sacred sites are, however, not only potent places in political but also in religious geography. The latter derives its significance from the fact that holy sites are generally regarded to be qualitatively different from ordinary space. They are places where a break between the different hierarchical levels and spheres of the religious cosmos enables contact and communication with the divine.2 In South Asia, there are ample examples of the forcible expropriation of religious sites during the period of Muslim invasion and domination. Well-known examples are the Quwwat al-Islam Mosque (1197 CE) in Delhi (Dilli) and the Arhai-din-ka-jhonpra Mosque (1199 CE) in Ajmer (Ajmir). In Delhi, a large number of Hindu and Jaina temples and at Ajmer, a Jaina theological college (erected in 1153 CE), were destroyed and completely dismantled. The old building mate- rial was reused to build new edifices of the Islamic faith on the sacred sites. Although the mosques were constructed from the ruins of Hindu and Jaina edifices, and therefore display decorative elements associated with those religions, in layout and design the mosques do not resemble the former religious edifices. 401 JULIA A. B. HEGEWALD Robert Hillenbrand argues that such a ‘naked assertion of power’ is typical of the early period of the Islamic conquest and is followed by a more subtle and persua- sive approach.3 There are, however, also examples from later periods in the history of Islam in India where religious sites were forcibly islamicized: for instance, the Bina-Niv-ki-Masjid at Anantpeth in Ujjain (Ujjayni), constructed out of the remains of a Jaina temple in about 1400 CE, and the Bija Majdal Mosque at Vidisha (Vidifa), originally a Hindu temple from the eleventh or twelfth century, destroyed and converted by Aurangzeb (Alamgir) in the seventeenth century. The Muslims were, however, not the first to annex and convert ancient local places of worship, and there is a long tradition of the continuity of religious sites in South Asia. Sacred locations which were used for Vedic sacrifices were appropriated and converted by later forms of Brahmanism, Buddhist sites were recon- figured for Hindu worship and there was much mutual appropriation between Hindu and Jaina religious buildings. In these cases, the temples were usually not completely dismantled. The main religious images were replaced and the edifices were altered to a certain extent to adapt them to the distinct ritual of the new religion. Examples where Jaina temples were adopted and converted into Faivite temples are the Fvetambara Jaina temple at Bijolia (Bijauliya) in Rajasthan, now called the Undefvara Temple, and the Digambara Jaina temple in the village of Hallur near Bagalkot (Bagalkoth) in northern Karnataka. In both cases, prominent Jaina figures still adorn the temple exterior although their shrines (garbha-grha) now house fiva likgas. Because of the powerful position of Hinduism in India today, it is much rarer to find examples where Hindu temples have been adapted to Jaina worship. I would like to propose in this chapter that two examples illustrating this point, which show how Hindu temples were appropriated and altered by the Jaina community, are the Parfvanatha and Adinatha Temples at Khajuraho (Khajuraho) in Madhya Pradesh. The discussion of these two temples, with particular attention to the larger and more elaborate Parfvanatha Temple, will form the focus of this chapter. The Jaina temples at Khajuraho The temples at Khajuraho were constructed between the late ninth and the early twelfth centuries. The city was one of the capitals of the Chandellas who ruled the area of Jekabhukti, known today as Bundelkhand. Whilst the Hindu temples of the so-called Western Group have been well researched and documented in detail, the temple structures to the east of the village, today comprising mainly Jaina edifices, have received much less scholarly attention. The Eastern Group consists of four large Digambara Jaina temples: the ruined Ghajtai Temple, the Parfvanatha Temple (Figure 13.1), the Adinatha Temple (Figure 13.2) and the Fantinatha Temple. It also includes several smaller Jaina shrines, many of them constructed either on the foundations of earlier structures, or out of the reused building mate- rial of previous temples.4 A large number of Jaina images, the earliest bearing 402 ARCHITECTURAL, SCULPTURAL AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE Figure 13.1 The small shrine attached to the rear of the Parfvanatha Temple. inscriptions from the beginning of the eleventh century, were uncovered in the area and are now housed in the small Government Museum next to the complex of Jaina temples. It is noteworthy that although several art historians have drawn attention to the prominent Hindu imagery on the walls of the Parfvanatha and the Adinatha Jaina Temples, few have even begun to question the belief that these edifices were originally built as Jaina shrines. It appears that so far no research has analysed the structure of the buildings in sufficient detail to suggest that they were initially designed for Hindu worship. The present chapter will examine the architectural design and certain aspects of the sculptural format5 of the Parfvanatha and the smaller Adinatha Temples, 403 JULIA A. B. HEGEWALD Figure 13.2 The Adinatha Temple adorned with Hindu sculptures. and argue that the two religious edifices were originally constructed as Hindu temples. The original shrines seem to have been deserted during the Islamic destructions of Khajuraho between the eleventh and the thirteenth centuries,6 and then taken over by the local Jaina community during the thirteenth century. As will be shown here, the buildings continued to change over the centuries and as some parts were closed, new elements were added to distinguish them from their Hindu neighbours and to suit the ritual requirements of the Jaina faith. Both temples seem to have changed their name and main sacred image, once again within the Jaina religious framework. The fact that the conversion process from Hindu to Jaina worship has largely remained unnoticed shows how well and with how 404 ARCHITECTURAL, SCULPTURAL AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE much sensitivity the reconstructions and conversions of the temples were carried out. The results are convincing specimens of Jaina architecture. The Jaina temples and shrines of the Eastern Group are located in a walled enclosure, typical of Jaina temple complexes not only in this region, but all over India.7 Only the remains of the dilapidated Ghajtai Temple are located outside this walled temple area, about a quarter of a mile (c.500 metres) to the north-west. Today, the Fantinatha Temple is the largest edifice within the temple compound and represents the principal place for Jaina worship at Khajuraho. It is a multi- shrined construction, consisting of several smaller temples (devakulika), dating from the early eleventh and later centuries, which were linked and arranged around a central courtyard. Although the main sanctuary houses a large standing image of Fantinatha, dated to VS 1085, or 1028 CE,8 the temple as a whole is largely a modern architectural arrangement. Amongst the older temples on the site, the Parfvanatha Temple is the largest and most elaborate. It is the best pre- served of the religious edifices in this group, and one of the finest at Khajuraho. In the entrance pavilion, placed on the left doorjamb, is a Sanskrit inscription dating the temple to VS 1011, corresponding to 954 CE. It has been unanimously accepted that this inscription, which is written in the Nagari script, is a copy of an earlier record re-engraved during the thirteenth century. The re-writing of ancient inscriptions is relatively common at Khajuraho.9 Although the inscription is a copy, the structure is so close in style and sculptural treatment to the Laksmaja Temple, constructed between 930–950 CE, that a dating of the Parfvanatha Temple to 950–970 CE has generally been accepted.10 This dating makes the temple one of the earliest edifices on the site. The Parfvanatha Temple was constructed of fine-grained buff sandstone and is raised on a large but relatively low platform ( jagati),11 providing the temple with an open ambulatory for the performance of the rite of circumambulation ( pradaksija). The temple measures about eighteen metres in length and nine metres in width (about 60 by 30 feet). It was planned along an east – west axis with the entrance facing east. It consists of a small, beautifully decorated porch (mukha-majdapa) with a profusely ornamented doorframe,12 a closed

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