ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author take this Jaina temple as a point of departure for thinking about the ways in which acts of de- and re-construction can powerfully index the mobility of communities and reveal layers of lived presence. He begin at the level of site, with the temple as he have been able to reconstruct it on the basis of what he recorded in the field prior to its destruction. He will then look outward towards local and regional contexts to situate it within a history of mobility and migration. He will conclude by returning to the present-day, to reflect on the recent deconstruction and the notion of “liberated” Jain icons. The austerity of the sanctum walls, adorned only by a single niche image situated on the central wall projection, formed a deceptively simple frame for the colossal image of the Jain saint that had been housed within as the main object of devotion.
