Pataini temple or Pataini devi temple in a 5th century

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

located near

Unchehara Unchehara is a town and a nagar panchayat in Satna district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is a block and one of six ''tehsils'' of Satna district. The town lies in the vicinity of Vindhya Range in Central India. Kabir Math and Raj Ma ...

town in the state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. The temple was constructed during the reign of

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

Location

The temple is located on a lofty hill North of Unchehara on Satna-Unchehara road in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

History

This temple, discovered by

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...

in 1873-74, is noted to date back to Gupta Empire. The temple houses a 10th—11th century inscription that details the name of residing deities. The temple is wedged out by from the back wall corner indicating an attempt was made to pull down the temple but was possibly interrupted by villagers.

Architecture

Pataini Devi Hindu temple plan, 1879 sketch

The temple is a small structure notable for its massive Gupta style single flat slab roof. The temple enshrines a idol of Jain Goddess ''Pataini Devi'' flanked by two male figures inside a small

mandapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

. The idol originally had 4 arms but are now damaged and thus idol is not recoginsable. The temple entrance has an ornate door frame and features two remarkable mouldings which is a common feature of Gupta architecture.

Sculptures

Mohar Gupta Empire era Jain temple, Madhya Pradesh, Pataini Devi

The mandapa of the temple enshrines an idol of Jain Goddess ''Pataini Devi'' flanked by two male figures. The idol is surrounded by small figures, 5 above, 7 to the right and left, and 4 below the idol. Above these figures are carvings of

Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a 'ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the ''dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable passag ...

s in

lotus position Lotus position or Padmasana ( sa, पद्मासन, translit=padmāsana) is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha ...

with image of

Neminatha Neminatha, also known as Nemi and Arishtanemi, is the twenty-second ''tirthankara'' (ford-maker) in Jainism. Along with Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Rishabhanatha, Neminatha is one of the twenty four ''tirthankaras'' who attract the most devo ...

seated on a pedestal with symbol ''

Shankha A Shankha ( conch shell) has religious ritual importance in Hinduism. It is the shell of any suitable sea snail which had a hole made for the performer's embouchure. In Hindu history, the shankha is a sacred emblem of The Hindu preserver god V ...

'' (conch). According to a 10th—11th century inscription, the figures are named as follows: The doorway outside has three figures, in the middle is an image of

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...

seated under a canopy with a bull pedestal. On the left and right sides, there is a five-headed snake hood image of

Suparshvanatha Suparshvanatha ( sa, सुपार्श्वनाथ ), also known as Suparśva, was the seventh Jain '' Tīrthankara'' of the present age ('' avasarpini''). He was born to King Pratistha and Queen ''Prithvi'' at Varanasi on 12 Jestha Sh ...

and a seven-headed snake hood image of

Parshvanatha ''Parshvanatha'' (), also known as ''Parshva'' () and ''Parasnath'', was the 23rd of 24 ''Tirthankaras'' (supreme preacher of dharma) of Jainism. He is the only Tirthankara who gained the title of ''Kalīkālkalpataru (Kalpavriksha in this "Kal ...

. The presiding idol of Pataini Devi was identified Jain Goddess based on these three images by Alexander Cunningham. There are carvings of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

below the images of

. The bottom of the door jabs bears images of Goddess

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...

and

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

with attendants.

Notes

References

Citation

Sources

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External links

Pathain Devi statue image
{{Authority control Jain temples in Madhya Pradesh 5th-century Jain temples