Seated on a Throne Cushion
India, Gujarat or Rajasthan, Solanki period,
First half of the 11th century
Marble

At the heart of daily Jain religious observance is the vernartion
of the image of the jina, the conceptual basis of which is the pan-Indian
ideal of the yogic ascetic. This ancient practice, celebrated in the Vedas,
equates the acquisition of superior knowledge ("spiritual wisdom") with
the pursuit of advanced forms of meditation, austerities, and withdrawal
from the material comforts of a householder's life. Those who attain such
a state are respected and revered. In Jainism twenty-four liberated souls
are recognized as having attained this level and are worshiped as the
twenty-four tirthankaras ("ford crossers").