10th century Jain Chaumukhs found in Siddipet
HYDERABAD: Jain Chaumukhs, four-sided pillars with sculptures of four Jain Teerthankaras on each side, belonging to 10th century were found by a young farmer of Kurella village in Koheda mandal of Siddipet district on Wednesday. P Mahender Reddy found one pillar near a canal in the village and another one in his agricultural field.
Dr. E Sivanagireddy, archaeologist and CEO of Pleach India Foundation, and A Karunakar from Kotha Telangana Charitra Brindam, who were informed about the discovery, reached the village and explored it to assess their historical significance.
Sivanagireddy revealed that the Jain Chaumukh sculptures representing Adinatha, Nemunatha, Parswanatha and Vardhamana Mahavira of the ‘Naked Digambar’ sect of Jainism were seen meditating in ‘padmasana.’ Based on the style of the art and iconography, he dates them to the Rastrakutas or the Chalukyas of Vemulawada, who had ruled the area.
He said that there were three sets of Jain Chaumukhs in the village and that one of them which was located near the village’s Pochamma temple was already reported in the past. The two sets of Jain Chaumukhs discovered now, were found near the Tollabanda located 2 km away from the village, where Dalits used to clean the skin of animals.
Interestingly, during his exploration, Sivanagireddy has identified three rock-cut grooves inside a boulder, in which the three Chaumukhs fit perfectly when inserted, which implied that in medieval times these sculptures used to be placed there and devotees used to offer their prayers there.