Research Paper
A Unique Partially Rock-cut and Partially Structural Jain cave temple: Cave no. 10 at Muktagiri
Authors: Oshin Bamb
Year: 2024, Volume: 15, Page/Article: 135-150, DOI: https://doi.org/10.47509/AA.2024.v15i.08
Abstract
Jainism in Vidarbha, especially of the medieval period, has been through a lot of continuity and transformations, in terms of rituals, sacred space, monastic order, and even architecture. The rise of pilgrimage centers, which the people of Vidarbha can fulfill their religious needs from, is yet another important feature. The landscape of the region was well explored and utilized to best suit the requirements for claiming the sacred nature for such tīrthas. Muktagiri, an important tīrthakṣetra, mentioned in the lines of Nirvāṇakāṇḍa, grew on to become a very famous pilgrimage center not just for Vidarbha, but for Jains coming from all parts of the country. The landscape and scenic beauty were very well used to make the best place for religious and spiritual endeavors. This article describes the unique partially rock-cut and partially structural cave temple no. 10 at Muktagiri, which is supposed to be the starting point of architectural activity at this place. Such early experiments at the site were still well-thought-out and planned before execution, and this has been further substantiated by the description of this cave temple in this article by the present author.
Keywords: Jainism, Cave-temple, partially rock-cut, Muktagiri, pilgrimage, landscape