Jina is depicted naked and is seated in Ardha-Paryankasana (unlike Padmasana both feet are not placed over each other). He holds his hand Dhyani Mudra (meditative contemplation) with his palms resting face up in his lap. The body exudes in spiritual vitality that is almost palpable and his facial features are sculpted ideally with eyes engrossed in deep meditation and superb serenity of expression. <BR> <BR> This sculpture is probably made in South India because in the North, East and Central India a Jina like a Buddha has an ushnisa-like protuberance on the head, which in South (Karnataka, Tamil-Nuda) is conspicuously absent. Another southern trade is the absence of the srivatsa on the chest. <BR> <BR> In its scale and grandeur, this sculpture is comparable with a large Jina sculpture in Kalugumalai and with an example known from Tuticorin. The present monumental Tirtankara sculpture from South Tamil Nadu this place the vigour of the imperial early Pandya style and can be dated to the 9th century AD.<BR> <BR> Quality and rarity:<BR> This impressive stone image of a Digambara Jina must once have graced an important shrine in a temple of considerable dimensions. The sculpture is portrayed with imaginative splendour and beautiful abstract physical realization and is among the largest monumental sculptures known in Western collections. The pronounced body shapes are depicted with fine volumes and pure lines, and enhanced the spiritual presence of this Jina. The saint’s ascetic character receives added emphasis by the expression of his face which conveys the inner calm induced by deep meditation.<BR>