Lisa N. Owen’s Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora presents a thorough analysis of its subject. The expansive site at Ellora has been studied for a long time, but the Jain excavations have been considered a sort of footnote to the Hindu and Buddhist ones there. The site’s chronology has already been established, so Owen does not need to dwell on stylistic analysis to come up with relative dates but instead considers these caves in a much more focused way. Where Jain art has often been treated in a superficial manner, Owen considers from a Jain perspective the features of the excavations, along with their plans and iconography.

Owen begins by precisely describing what she will discuss, and the organization of the book unfolds clearly from there. Owen first analyzes the ways in which two of the caves represent samavasaraṇa, the universal teaching in the four directions by a newly enlightened Jina. In presenting the relationship between the carved and painted iconography, Owen ties it with the southern tradition of the Digambara, or sky-clad (i.e., naked), sect of the religion. Owen demonstrates how the organization of the sacred space itself transforms the caves into representations of the construction of the samavasaraṇa where the various classes of people, gods, and demi-gods come to hear the newly enlightened Jina preach, as described in southern Digambara texts. It relates quite closely to the description in the Ādipurāṇa by Jinasena, a text associated with the dynasty that ruled over the area and which fits the time of the excavations. Parallels between the architecture of the caves and samavasaraṇa run throughout Owen’s book. Her discussion of the tall pillar forms, mānastambhas, as appropriate for depictions of the samavasaraṇa, is accurate, although there should be one in each of the four directions, which is obviously impossible in cave architecture. The pillars could also suggest a depiction of Indra’s heaven where single pillars are described in Jain texts.

Owen then considers sculptures of the Jina within the shrines, works that contain the eight auspicious symbols (aṣṭamahāprātihārya) associated with these liberated beings. In doing so, Owen contrasts some features with elements found in representations of Buddhist and Hindu figures in other excavations at the site, illustrating how certain elements are appropriate for one or the other tradition. She rightfully points out that scholars in the past have been too quick to try to distinguish the identity of these Jina images. When these caves were excavated, the iconography of the twenty-four Jinas had not been fully developed. Elements like lions on thrones have been read as associated with Mahāvīra, the last of the twenty-four Jinas, but they can also be read as a throne type found throughout the site in Hindu and Buddhist excavations as well.

Owen goes on to describe the evolving iconography of gods and goddesses within Jainism. This is important because the Jain pantheon of gods developed slowly, and Ellora represents some early iconography and pairings of these figures. Owen discusses the names associated with these images, but rather than pigeonhole them with later iconographic nomenclature, she considers them for their function as bestowers of well-being on the devout and looks at their placement in liminal positions in the architectural schemes. This demonstrates their apotropaic qualities for the worshipper. Part of her examination of goddess figures—in particular one concerning the seven mothers, the saptamātṛka—may be a bit difficult to follow for a novice to iconography.

Owen then moves on to other carved figures, especially the images of donors, and considers the epigraphical evidence to understand the way patronage worked at the site. The identification of donors as representing a wide assortment of types of laymen and monks is detailed and interesting. The suggestion that some of these figures point to the activity of an extinct sect of Jainism, the Yāpanīya, who were active especially in northern Karnataka just south of the site, is significant. In some ways Owen underemphasizes this assortment of donors, considering that it is one of the most important points in her book. It counteracts some conventional wisdom, which ties the excavations at Ellora to the powerful Rāṣṭrakūṭa dynasty. The Rāṣṭrakūṭas are often credited with much of the patronage at Ellora despite the lack of any inscription to prove it. This distancing from a belief in the primacy of royal patronage has ramifications well outside the purview of this one study.

Owen then considers how the site functioned for the contemporary worshippers, and how the cave complexes were organized to facilitate certain devotional practices. These include actual offerings, mental worship, and the all-important rite of abhiṣeka, the lustration of the figure of the Jina. Owen explains that the offerings made to the Jina images function differently from Hindu practice where the image itself is considered the god and gifts are offered to the deity in exchange for spiritual or material favors. Jinas as enlightened beings are not present in these images, which means that offerings are essentially acts of renunciation by the devotee. Owen ends her study with a consideration of a number of added excavations that date from after the initial work. These illustrate the growth of certain iconographical types associated with later Jainism including what Owen considers tritīrthikas, carvings depicting three Jinas. A number of them actually are pañcatīrthikas, a combination of five Jinas, and that should have been mentioned. Both groupings were extremely popular throughout later Jain iconography from both the Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions. Her description of the current ritual practices surrounding a late Pārśva image elucidates much of her proposed rituals for the older caves.

The pairing of Pārśva with the figure of Bāhubali is discussed in passing yet could have been considered at greater length, especially since the pairing is found elsewhere. Owen’s decision to label Bāhubali as Gommaṭeśvara is mistaken. Although the name is generally used in southern India for Bāhubali, it is a title that was first used for a later colossal sculpture at Shravana Belgola, much farther south. The placement of this pair of figures illustrates a function quite similar to the carvings such as the pairs of gods and goddesses. They also protect liminal spaces, and the narratives of Bāhubali and Pārśva braving the elements represent the contrast of the tribulations of the world with the quiet, passive nature of kevalajñāna, the enlightened state. Where the gods serve an apotropaic function, these two figures offer the laity examples for emulation.

My one disappointment with the book involves the editorial decision to put the references to primary texts in the bibliography under the names of the translators. Since many of these texts are referred to in the footnotes, usually by title without the accompanying author’s name, it can be extremely difficult to find these references. A separate section of the bibliography might have been set up for primary sources, or the works should have been listed under the author of the original text. There should also have been a glossary for easy definition of the many Jain terms and names used in the book. Some terms appear very early in the study and are only defined much later when they reappear; others are simply not translated. But overall, Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora offers a new and clear interpretation of how the Jain excavations functioned in the past. Owen’s suggestions as to the order in which the devotee would visit the various shrines is entirely plausible, tying what could be seen as disconnected shrines into a logical whole.