7th Lecture on JAIN ART

7th Lecture on JAIN ART by Prof. PARUL PANDYA DHAR at India International Centre, Delhi on October 15, 2022.

Topic: Jaina Art in Early Medieval Karnataka: Icons, Narratives, Temples and Memorials

About the Talk

This illustrated talk interprets a range of Jaina artistic expressions in early medieval
Karnataka. Jainism flourished in the region with generous patronage from royalty, nobility
and the laity. This led to the making of Jaina basadis or temples, memorials and pilgrimage
centres, sites where a rich architecture and iconography expressive of Jaina ideals, beliefs,
and narratives unfolded. In response to requirements of the religion and its patrons, artists
visualised fresh art vocabularies even as they drew from past traditions. The lecture explores
the development of a Jaina artistic language through representative sites such as Badami,
Aihole, Kambadahalli, and Shravana Belgola, among others.

Professor PARUL PANDYA DHAR teaches in the Department of History, University of Delhi. Her
research focuses on ancient and early medieval Indian art and architecture and connected
cultural histories of premodern India and Southeast Asia. She has authored and edited several
books and articles. Her most recent book is an edited collection of essays titled, The
Multivalence of an Epic: Retelling the Ramayana in South India and Southeast Asia (2021).
She is presently writing on the arts of ancient and early medieval Deccan and on aspects
relating to art and mobility across the Indian Ocean.