A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c9.s2.85

c9.s2.85

The sandstone hills known as Khandagiri, Udayagiri, and Nīlagiri, situated in the Purī District, Orissa, a few miles from the Bhuvanesvara temples (*ante*, p. 25), are honeycombed with Jain caves of various dates, the oldest of which date from the second century B. C. The local worship appears to have been devoted chiefly to the early Tīrthankara, Pārsvanāth, who lived some centuries before Mahāvīra, usually regarded as the founder of Jainism. The elaborate, but ugly, and semi-barbaric sculptures in the Rānī Gumphā, or Queen's Cave, are interpreted as representing a procession in honour of Pārsvanāth. Plate XIX is a good illustration of the style, which shows no trace of foreign influence, so far as I can see.¹