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(All prices subject to change and do not includeS&H)
JAIN ART
ESSAYS ON JAINA ART (English)
By Ananda K. Coomaraswamy
Edited with Preface by Richard J. Cohen
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
2003 290 x 220 mm 110 pp + 55 Art Plates
81 7304 534 8 Hardcover Rs. 1450
To read a brief description, please click on
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JainandIndology/message/177
JAINENDRA SIDDHANTA KOSHA in 5 vols. (Hindi)
An Encyclopaedia of Jainism in Hindi
By Jinendra Varni
First published in 1970
2003 270 x 185 mm 2608 pp + many line drawings
81 263 0763 3 (Set) Hardcover Rs. 970
To read a review of this book, please click on:
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ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF INDIAN ICONOGRAPHY in 3 vols. (English)
Hinduism - Buddhism - Jainism
By Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao
2003 285 x 220 mm 1744 pp in 3 vols. + 2000 line drawings
81 7030 765 1 Hardcover Rs. 5000
To read a brief introduction to the book, please click on:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JainandIndology/message/158
MADHYA PRADESH KI JAIN KALA (Hindi)
By Madhulika Vajpayi
1993 250 x 190 mm 258 pp 26 line drawings 102 art plates
Hardcover Rs. 800
To read a description of this work, please click on:
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JAINISM IN INDIA (English)
Travel notes and photographs by Nicole Tiffen
Introduction by Collette Caillat
Published and Printed in Switzerland
1987 300 x 242 mm 116 pp all colour art plates
2 88301 000 5 Hardcover Rs. 995
This is a beautifully photographed coffee table book on Jainism. Traveller, photographer and poetess Nicole Tiffen saw the Jain temples at the time of their communion with light, and captured on film the throng of men, women and children making their way up three thousand steps to the temples of Shatrunjaya.Tiffen is a passionate lover of Asia, who has roamed the world for a quarter of a century in search of its unknown truths, has endowed stones with a texture as of flesh and drawn its very substance from every rock-fault. She is a great photographer and has blended pilgrims, flowers, monumental marble idols and saris into one great swirl of colour. The landscape shakes itself awake before the magic eye of her lens, affording a fleeting glimpse of a life vibrant with fervour and simplicity.
The Introduction by Prof. Collette Caillat, at once informative and precise.
Contents:
Introduction-Page 7
PALITANA-Page 17
SHANKHESHWAR & DILWARA-Page 75
RANAKPUR-Page 95The text by Nicole Tiffen waxes eloquent and is interlaced with poetry. Here is my favourite one:
The Jains' Pilgrimage to Palitana
Your soul, eternal light,
Facing the spirit and the flesh: Jain!
A festival for Lord Adinatha.
How your turbans and saris are sparkling!
They come walking, their feet bare,
Singing along the way,
Two thousand Jains, to worship with joy
Lord Mahavira, He who is everywhere.
Sitting closely together, draped in glistering reds,
Floating colours mingled with gestures,
Their fingers crossed as a holy symbol.
To them, it's bliss and communion,
Their eyes wide open, filled with tears.
From beneath the vast cotton canopy
Voices and percussions soar,
The Jains of India in Palitana
Go to the Puja of the Shatrunjaya,
At dawn, in perfect silence, the soul
Is reborn and purified of all evil.
A holy, sparkling look in his eyes,
The great priest, with red paste,
Draws the sign of absolution
On the forehead imploring him.
JAINA MONUMENTS OF ANDHRA (English)
By Dr. G. Jawaharlal
2002 253 x 190 mm 135 pp 50 colour plates
81 85616 86 8 Hardcover Rs. 1500.00
The earliest Jaina monuments in Andhra Pradesh conform to two types, Natural Caves and Structural Shrines. The Natural Caves were suitably scooped by cutting beds and drip-ledges to make them suitable for the Jaina ascetics who chose to meditate in them, and dwell in them during the caturmasa. The Jaina temples were built in conformity with the local Hindu style of that period. Not that it saved them from barbaric destruction at the hands of the fanatical Virasaiva movement, which targeted the Jainas and practically wiped out Jainism from Andhra Pradesh.This book is based on Jaina iconography and architecture found scattered in Andhra Pradesh. It provides a scholarly study of Jaina art and architecture in Andhra Pradesh.
The book is informative and analytically written. The author, an eminent epigraphist, relies on traditional accounts as well as epigraphic evidences to present his facts. He does not hesitate to describe in detail the large-scale conversion of Jaina monuments into Hindu temples. There is ample photographic evidence of this in the colour plates.
The book shall be highly useful to researchers and students of Indian and particularly Jaina art. The price of the book is surprisingly high since it has been published with contributions from the jñana khatas (temple funds specially set aside for promoting Jaina literature) of Svetambara Jaina temples in Andhra Pradesh.
The book is well organised, with an excellent introduction, detailed appendices & bibliography. The contents are listed below:
Preface
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Jaina Caves
Chapter 2 - Jaina Temples
Chapter 3 - Conversions of Jaina Monuments
Chapter 4 - Svetambara Jainism in Andhra
Chapter 5 - Kulpak A Jaina Tirthaksetra
Chapter 6 - Sculptural Arts
Appendix
List of Jaina Centres
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations (on art plates)The cover of the book depicts an exceptionally graceful, beautifully sculpted idol of Bhagavan Parsvanatha in khadagasana.
THE JAIN COSMOLOGY (English)
Commentary by Prof. Collette Caillat
Foreword by Ravi Kumar
English rendering by R. Norman
1981 320 x 270 mm 200pp 108 colour plates
Hardcover
Rs. 3000.00
This is a beautiful book, lovingly and lavishly produced. It has been printed in Italy and the colour plates on art paper are simply breathtaking!"The cosmos has been for the Jains, from the very earliest times, a gigantic theatre where souls play out their roles. They travel across the wild ocean of samsara, struggling from one rebirth to another, until the time comes when they are liberated and finally win the spiritual perfection of the Siddhas.
The Jains make no distinction between this vision of the transcendental world and the experience of life. Whatever is fated for the souls occurs in a world which has been made known to us by astronomical, geographical and other observations, and which thinkers of every Indian community from the very earliest times have tried to interpret. It consists of countless rings of seas and continents, one inside the other, upon which millions of stars shed their light.
In the middle is the circular island of Jambudvipa, and in the very centre of the island is Mount Meru, with its two suns and two moons...India-bounded by the Himalaya mountains, crossed by the great rivers, and adorned by princely capitals where live civilised men who can profit from the teachings of the Jinas.
Jain cosmology has inspired many descriptions of this kind. There is also a tradition of manuscript illustration more than 1000 years old, which depsite its age remains amazingly fresh."
Prof. Caillat holds a chair at the University of Sorbonne (Indian and South-East Asian Civilisation) and is the guiding spirit of the Centre for Buddhist and Jain studies. She is a deeply respected scholar of Jainism and indology. She has worked with the legendary scholar Dr. A.N. Upadhye in the past.
JAINBADRI (SHRAVANABELGOLA) KE BAHUBALI (Hindi)
TATHA DAKSHIN KE ANYA JAIN TIRTHA
By Surendranath Shripal Jain; Foreword by Sarojini Jain
Preface by SwastiShri Charukirti Bhattarakji
Photography by Mahendra Visaria, Gopal Bodhe, Sameer Chawda
Jain Publicity Bureau, Mumbai;1st edition 1953
2nd paperback edition 2003; 73 art pages
Rs. 250.00
This is a very well researched Art Book on the Jain TirthaShravanabelagola and its surrounding areas. The book was originallywritten as a scholarly travelogue. It has 60 pages of breathtakinglybeautiful full-colour photographs and is printed on deluxe artpaper.
The book is extremely low priced, as it has been published for analtruistic motive.
Review:The idol of Bhagwan Bahubali at Shravanabelagola is deeply revered by Jains and inspires devotion in them second only to Sammed Shikharji in Bihar. It is at once an inspiring work of sculpture and an awesome icon of the asceticism of Jain saints. The sheer grace of the granite idol resplendent against the backdrop of the Chandragiri Hills is breathtaking, a site that would be etched forever in the memory of the onlooker.
The Gommateshwar Bahubali idol is the largest one piece idol in the world. It is made of granite and is 57 feet tall. The site holds special significance for Jains as the last Shruta Kevali Acharya Bhadrabahu spent his last years here along with his disciple Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. It is here that both of them passed away in the traditional Jain manner of Sallekhana (voluntary death).
The Tapa of Bahubali has inspired many odes in Indian literature. Bhagwan Bahubali is unmatched for his valour and his asceticism. One moment he convincingly beat Bharat Chakravarti (the ruler of the world) in single combat, and in the next he gave it all up to become a naked Jain monk. The Digamber idol standing in Kayotsarga position symbolises the mendicant deep in meditation. The highest stage of meditation is said to be "Shukla Dhyana" where the the soul is fully engrossed in itself, free of all temporal bondages. This idol of Bhagwan Bahubali eloquently conveys the non-attachment, the enlightened self-absorption of the soul engrossed in itself, and the beatific bliss of Dhyana achieved by the Yogi.
The book has seven chapters describing Vindhyagiri, Chandragiri and the nearby Tirthakshetras in vivid detail, including the hitherto unphotographed Jina idols of Moodabidri. The text is well researched, interesting and concise; the still camera plays the role of the major narrator. Interesting historical details are thrown in. In the accompanying socio-historical narrative, the contributions of 20th century Jain stalwarts such as Seth Manikyachandra Jain, Seth Sukhanandji and Pt. Nathuramji Premi are not forgotten by the diligent author.
Altogether, a cogent effort by a scholarly writer who, inspired by the visual splendour of Gommateshwar Bahubali, draws a historically accurate picture of Jain history, Jain culture and Jain iconography as found in the Shravanabelagola and other Jain shrines in the Deccan.
Splendid photography lends aesthetic value to this well-produced book.
Reviewed by Manish Modi
JAIN TEMPLES OF RAJASTHAN
By Sehdev Kumar
EE
Rs. 2500.00
Jain temples in Dilwara & Mount Abu inspire admiration, awe and wonder. The tourist is left incredulous at the sheer magnitude of the grandiose temples and minutely perfect artistry. At a distane of 200 kilometers, teh Ranakpur Jain temple is renowned for its magnificent architecture and its thousand columns, each sculpted uniquely.In this book Professor Sehdev Kumar uses these three temples as nodal points for a photographic and reflective tour-de-force that takes in the aesthetic nuances of these stunningly beautiful works of art in the context of India's rich and varied tradition of temple architecture and iconography.
Adding to the literary and scholarly value of the 224 page book divided into 9 chapters, are liberally sprinkled great scholarly quotes. For instance, on page111 one finds :
"One who has man's wings
And a woman's also
Is himself a womb of the world
Continously, endlessly giving birth"- Lao TzuThe book is co-published by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Art.
JAINISM AND THE TEMPLES OF MOUNT ABU AND RANAKPUR
Photography Thomas Dix, GermanText Lothar Clermont
Eng. Tr. Chitra Harshvardhan
EE
Rs. 1295.00
Despite the rather austere Jain philosophy, Jain extravagance is unleashed in the case of Jain temples whose architectural excellence and extraordinarily beautiful sculpture set new benchmarks of iconographic pulchritude. Verily, the temples are paeans of design and beauty reflecting a rich heritage of temple architecture.Unlike other coffee table books, the text* is very well written, and manages to provide a concise overview of Jainism, the Karma Siddhant, the concept of god, exploring the historical veractiy of the Jain Tirthankars; examining the various strands that go into the making of the Jain religion as we know it today.
*Sourced mainly from standard German scholarly works on Jainism and Indian Philosophy, such as von Glasenapp's "Der Jainismus. Eine indische Erlosungsreligion", "Die Religionen Indiens"; Schubring's "Die Jainas.." and "Der Jinismus.."; Eliade's "Geschichte der religioesen Ideen"; and Mette's "Durch Entsagung zum Heil. Eine Anthologie aus der Literatur der Jain".
SACHITRA JAIN RAMAYAN (GUJARATI)
By Acharya Gunratnasuri
Jingun Aradhak Trust
Rs. 500.00
This is a beautifully illustrated coffee table book depicting the entire Ramayan (Shwetamber Jain version) in simple language, boasting of scores of original paintings. The inside cover is a clever collage of masterpieces of classical Indian schools of painting, depicting the Ramayan.The book is lavishly produced and comes in a matching box pack. The price of the book is low as it has been heavily subsidised by Jain Shravaks.
SACHITRA JAIN RAMAYAN (HINDI)
By Acharya Gunratnasuri
Jingun Aradhak Trust
Rs. 500.00
This is a beautifully illustrated coffee table book depicting the entire Ramayan (Shwetamber Jain version) in simple language, boasting of scores of original paintings. The inside cover is a clever collage of masterpieces of classical Indian schools of painting, depicting the Ramayan.The book is lavishly produced and comes in a matching box pack. The price of the book is low as it has been heavily subsidised by Jain Shravaks. The Hindi translation could have been better.
Panorama Of Jain Art (English)
BHARATIYA GYANPITH
By C. Sivaramamurti
Price: Rs. 650.00
Jain Art (English)
M. R. M. L.
By Ananda Coomarswamy
Price: Rs. 750.00
Jain Kala Avum Sthapatya (Hindi)
BHARATIYA GYANPITH
Ed. Laxmichandra Jain
Price: Rs. 550.00
Ambika: In Jain Art And Literature (English)
BHARATIYA GYANPITH
By Dr. Maruti Nandan Prasad Tiwari
Price: Rs. 100.00
Jain Shilalekh Sangrah (Hindi)
BHARATIYA GYANPITH
By Dr. Vidyadhar Zohrapurkar
Price: Rs. 40.00
Deogadh Ki Jain Kala (Hindi)
BHARATIYA GYANPITH
By Dr. Bhagchandra Jain
IN PRINT
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