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In Jainism, from the very early times, the 蝉迟奴辫补 act as a main symbol of worship though there were various symbols in Jainism likes Caitya-tree, the 础峁ａ弓补-惭补峁単补濒补蝉, the Dharma-Cakra, the 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦, Tri-ratna, and 笔谤补迟颈尘腻蝉补谤惫补迟辞-产丑补诲谤颈办腻 etc. The worship of aniconic form was never allowed in Jainism to act as simply by itself as the likeness of the person or the thing symbolized. The aniconic representations had, however, such a meaning and implication as were to differentiate them from a purely decorative or artistic form. All these symbols are actually associated with 罢墨谤迟丑补峁卥补谤补蝉 and gradually 罢墨谤迟丑补峁卥补谤补蝉 come to be symbolized and the worship of the Jain images is said to be adoration of the aggregate of qualities which the pious worshipper strives to acquire himself. The Jain image thus essentially came to be a symbol of these qualities.

During the medieval period these symbols were also worshiped by Jain community and along with these they also worshiped the Fourteen or Sixteen Dreams seen by a Jaina鈥檚 Mother, the 础峁ａ弓腻辫补诲补, the 笔补帽肠补-Merus, the 狈补苍诲墨艣惫补谤补-Dvipa, the 颁补谤补峁嘺-辫腻诲耻办腻蝉 or Foot-prints and the 狈颈峁�i诲颈蝉 or the Memorial structure of great monks and nuns. Among these symbols the 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦, Caitya-tree, the 础峁ａ弓腻辫补诲补 and 笔谤补迟颈尘腻-sarvato-产丑补诲谤颈办腻 are very popular and these aniconic objects are also found from several archaeological sites. A good number of Jain 腻测腻驳补辫补峁璦蝉 (Pl.XV.D) belonging to the first century BCE to thired century CE were discovered from Kankali Tila, Mathura (Quintanilla 2007: 79-137). This became a major object of worship among the Jainas and it needs a brief introduction. U.P.Shah in his book  Jain Art鈥� had elaborately described about the symbol worship among the Jainas and he also specially emphasis on the 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s, which he divided into nine groups, based on the characteristic of the worship of the 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s (Shah 1955/1998: 77-82).

The large, intricately carved stone plaques known as 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦 have been understood as Jain votive tablets of homage. The 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s mostly are assignable to the later phase of the 艢u峁単a art; however, some of them belong to the period of transition to the Ku峁Ｄ佱箙a art (ibid: 77). The available archaeological, literary and epigraphical evidence suggests that 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s were integral elements of sacred grounds, where they were venerated as objects of worship and possibly used in meditation and teaching.

A study made by Sonya Rhie Quintanilla divides the 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s in two major categories on the basis of their relief of carvings and inscriptions and they are the diagrammatic and the pictorial. These were probably made throughout a period spanning at least four hundred years (Quintanilla 2000: op.cit.). There are controversies regarding the actual meaning as well as the purpose of the 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s^[1] . It is true that the meaning of the word imply that 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s themselves may have been objects of worship, rather than ornamental platforms for receiving offerings, slabs that adorned the exterior face of 蝉迟奴辫补s, or votive offerings to other images, as scholars have propounded.

The stone plaques that are identified as 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s are Jain in sectarian orientation, since they are carved with images of Jain 罢墨谤迟丑补峁卥补谤补蝉 (also Jainas), nude Jain monks, or they have inscriptions which invoke the arhats, which at that time referred to Jainas, the liberated beings of the Jain religion. The forms of 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s are broad, flat stone plaques, usually measuring about two to three feet square, though some are slightly rectangular, and about three inches thick. They are covered on only one face with carvings that can include iconic figures, celestial and mythical beings, auspicious symbols, and vegetal ornamentation^[2].

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

R. S. Mishra considered 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s to be renditions in stone of 谤补峁単补惫补濒颈蝉, temporary decorative offerings made of colored powders or paints used in the worship of Jainas (Mishra 1980: 23) and U. P. Shah equates 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s with 产补濒颈辫补峁�峁�补蝉, which he states should be understood as platforms on which lay 蝉谤腻惫补办补蝉 or 蝉谤腻惫颈办腻蝉 placed their offerings to tutelary deities or Jain gods (Shah 1941: 46), although elsewhere he does acknowledge that 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦s should be considered objects of worship.

[2]:

In this connection it should be mention here that a Jain 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦 was discovered from the Vaidyer Cak village of South 24 Parganas of the present study area. The object under study is a square plaque of sand stone (9 x 9 cm.) bearing two different theme of Jain religious ideology (Bandyopadhyay 2007:96). In one side the 膧测腻驳补辫补峁璦 depicts the ground plan of a temple complex with a 罢墨谤迟丑补峁卥补谤补 installed in the 驳补谤产丑补驳峁沨补, surrounded by an ambulatory path with four projections in four cardinal directions. In another side there is an eight-petalled lotus encircled by eight 濒腻帽肠丑补苍补蝉 symbolizing eight 罢墨谤迟丑补峁卥补谤补蝉. The lotus motife represents 苍墨濒辞迟辫补濒补, the