Black Stone Neminath Bhagwan Murti, 18in

The stone

Neminath Bhagwan, the twenty-second Tirthankar, is remembered in a dark complexion, and this eighteen-inch murti is cut from black stone to hold that convention. The block is a dense, fine-grained South Indian black stone from the Andhra-Karnataka quarry belt. It is the same family of stone southern temple workshops have carved devotional figures from for centuries, chosen because its tight crystalline grain takes a crisp edge without chipping. Worked to a soft satin polish rather than a mirror gloss, it reads as deep, even black under lamp light, with the carving lines staying legible instead of dissolving into reflection.

How it is carved

Carving begins in the Jaipur workshop with a rough block squared to the finished envelope, after which the seated mass, the stepped pedestal and the arched stele are brought out in that order. The face, the stacked hands, the srivatsa and the kachota pleats are cut entirely by hand with chisels and drill points. No machine finishing touches any of them, because the eyes and the fingers are where a Jina murti is judged. Polishing then runs in progressive grades on hand rotators until the satin sheen is even across curved and flat surfaces alike.

Reading the iconography

Iconography follows the Shvetambar Murtipujak derasar convention. He sits in padmasana with the hands laid flat in the lap, right over left, the srivatsa on the bare chest, a kandora waistband above pleated kachota, kundals at the elongated earlobes, and the gaze drawn down to the nose-tip. His lanchhana, the conch or shankha, is carved on the front face of the stepped pedestal, which is what separates him at a glance from the other twenty-three Tirthankars. Neminath's principal tirth is Girnar in Saurashtra, where he attained kevalgyan and nirvana.

Placing it in your derasar

At eighteen inches the piece suits a home derasar or a family shrine room, sitting at or slightly above seated eye level. Black stone reads best against a pale wall or a white marble backdrop, which is how most derasars are finished anyway; against dark panelling the carved detail flattens out. Allow roughly fourteen inches of clear width for the pedestal, plus room on either side for the ashta-prakari pooja articles, and keep the shelf level, since the stepped base is broad and carries real weight.

Commissioning yours

The same form can be cut at other heights, in Makrana white marble or Vietnam white marble if a lighter murti suits the derasar better, and with or without the arched stele behind the head. An inscription on the pedestal base is possible for a pratishtha gift. Message us on WhatsApp with the shrine dimensions and we will work back from there.