Rare Jain sculpture ‘Sthapanacharya’ found in Telangana’s Nanganuru

A senior researcher from the Group, Kolipaka Srinivas identified the "Sthapanacharya," when he saw the stone pillar, a Jain sculpture, lying near the Anjaneya temple in his native village Nanganuru.

Hyderabad: The members of Kotha Telangana Charitrabrindam on Tuesday announced that they have identified a “Sthapanacharya” Jain sculpture in Nanganuru, Siddipet district.

A senior researcher from the Group, Kolipaka Srinivas identified the “Sthapanacharya,” when he saw the stone pillar, a Jain sculpture, lying near the Anjaneya temple in his native village Nanganuru.

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Before the advent of idol worship in Jainism, there was the worship of symbols. Among them, the Dharmachakra, Manastambha, Silapatam, Ayagapatta, Stupas, Panchaparameshti Siddhachakra, Ashtamangalas, Triratna, Chaityavriksha, Nandeeshvaradweepam, Charanapadukas, Nishidhus, and Sthapanacharya are important.

A sculpture carved with a Jain saint holding a book, a Vyasapeetha, and disciples is called a Sthapanacharya. Such sculptures, which are identified as Jain educational centers such as Pustakagachha and Saraswathigachha, are basically ‘Sthapanacharya’, the members of the Charitrabrindam said.

The Convenor, Kotha Telangana Charitrabrindam, Sriramoju Haragopal, who conducted the examination of the artifact, identified the Jain sculpture seen in this sculpture as a rare Jain sculpture, dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries, which was confirmed by the Stapathi, a historian Dr.Emani Shivanagi Reddy.