Jain Siddhapratima Yantra

Jain Siddhapratima Yantra

Western India

19th century

height: 16.5cm, width: 11.3cm

This simple but majestic copper or brass image or siddhapratima is a magic diagram (yantra) of a liberated soul (siddha). No longer do siddhas possess a physical body, and so the liberated soul is transparent and otherwise invisible to the human eye and so must be represented in terms of an outline marking out empty space.

The silhouette, which is cut from a single piece of thick, flat metal sheet, takes the form of a Jina standing in a meditative pose known as kayotsarga. According to van Alphen (2000, p. 193), the image commemorates the most important moment in the life of a Jina – his death, in meditation and his soul’s liberation (moksha).

The item is in excellent condition, with some minor casting unevenness to the line of the lower edge of the base. The item sits evenly and solidly.

References

van Alphen, J., Steps to Liberation: 2,500 Years of Jain Art and Religion, Ethnographic Museum Antwerp, 2000.

Provenance:

UK art market; most probably the item has been in the UK since colonial times.

Inventory no.: 3025

SOLD