Prof. Dr. Nagarajaiah Hampana
Tri-tīrthaka
Another very rare sculpture in the Jaina temple no.l, at Deogadh (Lalitpur District of Madhya Pradesh), shows three Jinas (tri-tīrthi) in kāyotsarga posture -Ajitanātha and Sambhavanātha, - and a four-armed Sarasvatī beside the figure of Ajitanātha! Sarasvatī is depicted in the same size as the two Jinas and on the same simhāsana.
[25] Tri-tīrthaka, DevagaḍhThe three-Tīrthaṅkaras standing on the same (single) pedestal is a common theme in Jaina iconography. Usually three Tīrthaṅkaras standing in a row side by side is depicted and such sculptures are found at a number of temples in the country. They are unique at Devagaḍh where, apart from the usual pair of three Tīrthaṅkaras, tri-tīrthaka of Jinas with Sarasvatī, and tri-tīrthīs (eleventh century) of Jinas with Bāhubali, fashioned in buff sandstone, are also extant.
Śrutadevī, standing on the same pedestal as the Jinas in triple-flexion posture, is depicted next to Ajitanātha, the second Tīrthaṅkara. She is also endowed with bhāmaṇḍala, 'orb of light', decked with boxed-crown, and a flying mālādhara, 'garland bearer', in the left flank. Besides, two devotees with namaskāra mudrā, 'folded hands in veneration', are seated near her feet. Since Devagaḍh shrines belong to Digaṁbara tradition, Śrutadevī's mount mayūra, 'peacock', figures beneath the pādapīṭha, 'pedestal'. Śrutadevī is wearing sārī and kuppasa, 'bodice', kaṅṭhahāra, 'necklace with pendants', stana-hāra, 'breast-ornament', karṇapūra, 'ear-pendants', mekhalā, 'girdle' (with suspended festoons), bāhupuri, 'armlets' (ornament of upper arm), and kaṅkaṇas, 'bracelets' (ornament of waist). This eleventh century none-other tri-tīrthika image needs special attention:
'Instances of Jina images containing a tiny figure of Sarasvatī on the parikara are known, but the representation of Sarasvatī, in the same size as that of Jina figures, in the tri-tīrthika Jina image has not been known earlier. To that extent the present image could be considered unique amongst all the known Jina images from all over the country' [Tiwari, M.N.P.: 1983: 56, F.N. no. 2].
[26] Palm-leaf, 1127 CE, Śāntinātha Bhaṇḍāra, Cambay (Gujarat)Interestingly, tri-tīrthakas of Jinas with Bāhubali, Bharata Cakravarti, 'Universal emperor', and Ācāryas, 'spiritual preceptors', are also found at the Devagaḍh site. Since the ancient Jaina literature does not mention such representations, the extant instances are innovations of the local artists and patrons alike.
While giving the titles of Dhavalā, 'the luminous', the Jayadhavalā, 'the victoriously luminous', and the Mahādhavalā, 'the greater luminous', for their commentaries on the Ṣat-khaṇḍa-Āgama, 'the scripture of six parts', the illustrious spiritual saint-scholars Vīrasena and Jinasena Ācāryās meant that the Dhavalā was synonymous for Sruta(devī).
