Sacred Space in Modern and Contemporary Śatruñjaya Paṭas

Paintings of Jain tīrthas (sacred sites) have served as objects of devotion, with the earliest extant examples depicting yantras (mystic diagrams), Tīrthaṅkaras, and cosmic diagrams, dating back to the 15th century. Among these paintings, paṭas (cloth paintings) of Śatruñjaya have garnered the most interest due to their large size, striking colors, and iconographic representations. In this lecture, Dr. Hawon Ku examines the Śatruñjaya paṭas, particularly those from the late 18th and 19th centuries. She argues that these Jain tīrtha paṭas indicate changes in the Jain community’s perception of Śatruñjaya. Specifically, during this period, Śatruñjaya shifted from its traditional status as one of the five important pilgrimage sites to becoming one of the most prominent sites for Śvetāmbar Jains. In addition to the traditional temples on Śatruñjaya, contemporary paṭas show a more extensive sacred space that includes a depiction of the town of Pālītāṇā and its recently constructed temples. In the lecture, Dr. Ku explores these developments of “sacred space” through selected examples of paṭas and discusses how the stylistic changes reflect the rise of a modern Jain identity.