Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India c6.448

c6.448

The objection raised by Mr. N. C. Mehta about the U-shaped Vaishṇavite *tilaka* in the *Vasanta Vilāsa* is no cogent argument; as this *tilaka* also appears in the twelfth century Jaina painting, when Vaishṇavism does not seem to have been any potent force in Gujarāt. We shall show elsewhere that this *tilaka* is nothing but a simplification of the ancient *triratna* symbol of the Buddhists and the *tilaka-ratna* of the Jains, which was used as a religious and decorative symbol, and, therefore, does not connote any specific religious significance.