Decorated in minimal jewellery and faces holding serene smiles, a set of Rishabha Devar idols are intricately carved using the art form of lost wax, native to the town of Swamimalai, elucidated in texts like Madhuchista Vidhana. Reverently mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana, Rishabha is one of the twenty-four incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The name Rishabha translates to “bull” and its history dates back eons and eons earlier.
He is said to be the father to Bharata, after whom the country of India was named Bharata. There is also a curious overlap between Hinduism and Jainism, wherein Jainism, Rishabha is considered to be the first Tirthankara while in Hinduism, he is considered to be the manifestation of Vishnu, the sustainer of the cosmos. In Jainism, he is also said to be the same person as King Ikshvaku, ancestor to both Lord Rama and Gautam Buddha. These statues are cast using panchaloha (five alloys) bronze, molten into shape by expert sthapathi hands. They stand on upside-down lotuses, the petals delicate and beautifully shaped under their feet. The details of their faces, bodies, garbs and even their pedestals have been attended to lovingly, shining faintly in their bronze colour.
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