The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (250 page)

. But the same is possible in all the arts (e.g.
dance
,
music
, drama) because there is nothing in the cosmos which is not sustained in being by Brahman. The recognition of this is equally obvious in the attention paid to the sacred orientation of space. The order made apparent in astronomy, geometry, mathematics (hence the early Hindu commitment to these arts which the West would regard as sciences) led to a mapping of that cosmic order on to space in miniature (e.g. through the
ma
ala
) or in the planning of towns, but above all in the architecture of temples and shrines.
The temple is the major source and expression of Hindu art. Its shape, laid down in the
stras
, was originally a square, designed to concentrate force. Above the shrine is a tower (the
ikara
, a symbolic mountain), channelling the deity into the shrine and the worshipper, and radiating power upward as well. From the temple derive carving (to entice the deities or spirits), dance, the creation of manuscripts, and the decoration of textiles. The temple then reaches out into everyday life through the corresponding decoration of house and body. Thus the creation of the classical music, the
r
ga
, is understood as the ‘building of a temple’: ‘In the improvised pieces, you start like building a temple: you lay the foundations, then gradually you build up the building, then you do the decorative things, like the painting and carving. Finally you bring out the deity, into that temple.’
Jainism
Jain art is devoted mainly to the decoration of temples (
s
mavasar
na
, regarded as assembly halls of the
jinas
, not as places where God or gods are worshipped) and to reverence for the jinas. While Jain art shares much of the styles and techniques of Indian art in general, it is different in important respects. Above all (since a controlling metaphor of paramount importance for Jains is
ahi
s
), the atmosphere of Jain art is one of great peacefulness. For the same reason, materials are avoided which might involve the taking of life, e.g. clay and ivory. The main figures represented are those of the jinas, but the
sanadevat
s