Jain Tirthankaras of Vellore Museum, Vellore Fort, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu.

09^th September 2018.

The Vellore ASI Museum has a good collection of stone statues, of Hindu deities, Tirthankaras, arms like swords, metals icons, sculptures, inscription stone fragments, Hero stones, which are un earthed in and around Vellore and Thiruvannamalai. These antiques belongs to  from 8^th Century to 13^th Century.

In Tirthankaras, except one all are shown with Mukkudai, Ashoka tree leaves, whisk ( samara ) bearers, carved from a flat stone slabs. One Tirthankara is in the form of a statue. Mukkudai and whisk bearers might be a separate statues, which are not found. From the iconography, it is interesting to note that showing of pillows like arrangement behind Tirthankaras started from 10^th Century. The images of Padmaprabha and Parshvanath are only identified, but the rest could not be identified for want of lanchanam.

The Museum also has the collection of copper / impon ( Combination of 5 metals ) icons ranging from 9^th Century to 12^th Century.

 ---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---