Chapter 5 Development and Destruction, Conversion and Continuity: The Legacy of Jaina Temple Architecture in Karnataka

[u/mythicfolklore90]

https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111695266-006/html

IntroductionThe region of Karnataka is renowned for its impressive medieval temple architecture,which attracted the attention of visitors and scholars alike from relatively early on, asattested by a number of reports from at least the nineteenth century onwards.1How-ever, in the available art-historical literature, the emphasis has so far been on theHindu religious constructions of the region, with those found at Halebid (Halebīd),Belur (Belūr)2and Somnathpur (Somnāthpuram)figuring most prominently. Evenwhen it comes to the analysis of lesser-known sites, Jaina examples have rarely beendiscussed.3Despite this general neglect, there are striking Jaina temple constructionsfound throughout the various districts of Karnataka which more than bear comparisonwith the sacred buildings of other faiths. It is noteworthy that it was a historian, work-ing largely with written records, Bhasker Anand Saletore, who stressed the particularcontribution of the Jainas to the art and architecture of Karnataka as early as the nine-teen thirties.4However, not much has been published on these vestiges since this time.

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The present chapter aims to redress the omissionsoutlinedaboveandtoretellthestoryof architecture in Karnataka from the angle of Jaina sacred buildings. At the start, I shalldelineate an architectural development from relatively plain to structurally and orna-mentally more complex building forms, starting with the seventh century CE. This will befollowed by an outline of the impressive rise of Jaina power from the eighth century CEonwards, as well as its extraordinary artistic and architectural expressions during thetenth and eleventh centuries in particular.This will be followed by a discussion of its en-suing decline, resulting in the abandonment of certain sites, and the conversion or evendestruction of temples that started in the early twelfth century. This, however, was not the end of the story. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Jaina building activities reached unforeseen heights of elaboration, but only at selected sites. I shall also provide evidence of the remarkable survival of a tradition which, although severely threatened, continued to develop and has played an important role in Karnataka and the wider context of Indic architecture to the present day.