This four-sided Jain shrine, known as “auspicious on all sides” (sarvatobhadra), would have originally been surmounted by an honorific parasol (chattra) or architectural tiers. The four Jinas are Rishabhanatha (or Adinatha), the first Jain savior recognizable by his long hair; Parshvanatha, the 23rd Jain savior identified by his serpent canopy; and likely Neminatha, the 22nd Jain savior; and Mahavira, the 24th Jain savior, both of whom are indistinguishable. All the Jinas are naked, indicating that the shrine was commissioned by a member of the Digambara (‘sky-clad’) Jain order. Each Jina is seated in the meditation posture (dhyana asana) under a sacred Ashoka tree (Saraca asoca), rather than under the individual trees prescribed in some Jain texts.
