Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India c10.s5.7

c10.s5.7

In the medieval Indian architecture, specially of Gujarāt, the wealth of decorative details is so overwhelming that it does not hesitate to sacrifice the æsthetic interest of the sculptures. In the medieval Western Indian painting of the palm-leaf period, however, the decorative patterns had to be necessarily restricted owing to the very limited surface of the palm-leaf. In the palm-leaf manuscript of the Nisīthachūrṇi, in the Sanghavinā Pāḍā Jñāna Bhaṇḍār, Pāṭan, written in 1100 A.D., 83 the decorative patterns are used in square panels and represent the pūrṇaghaṭa, rosettes in many combinations, an elephant rider in a roundel, etc., (Figs. 13–14). The lovely lotus rhizome on the wooden panel, depicting the battle between Bharata and Bāhubali (Figs. 201–203), clearly shows that the decorative traditions of Ajaṇṭā were not yet dead.