Like Buddha, Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, practiced meditation in the yogic tradition and sought release from the suffering and pain of earthly existence by the denial of desires. Therefore, there is little physical difference between representations of seated Buddhas and Jain saints (tirthankara) in Indian art. They both appear in the yogic lotus position and both display markings appropriate for enlightened beings: the serene face; the skull protuberance (ushnisha); the elongated earlobes, which symbolize heavy princely jewelry once worn but now cast off; and the symbolically perfect body filled with prana (sacred breath). The auspicious srivasta mark on the chest, and the lack of an urna (tuft of hair in the middle of the forehead denoting wisdom) indicate that this figure is a Jain tirthankara.

The focus of worship in a Jain temple is an image of a tirthankara like this one, which probably was placed in the temple’s inner sanctum. Numerous smaller surrounding shrines would have contained other tirthankara images.