The caption in the left-hand margin says: Jasomati paṭṭavandhu – 'Yaśomati's coronation'.
In the centre a man sits on a throne atop a high platform, the ornate parasol above him indicating his royal status. Either side stands a figure holding aloft a jar.
The coronation of Prince Yaśomati is shown here. On each side is an attendant who carries a jug of sacred water used in the coronation ceremony. The ceremony is technically called 'anointment' – abhiṣeka – which implies the pouring of water.
The sacrifice of the cock made of flour and other experiences have created disgust for worldly life in the heart of King Yaśodhara. He therefore thinks of renouncing the householder life and becoming an ascetic. Before doing that he has to guarantee the preservation of the kingdom. He thus decides that time has come for his son Yaśomati – called Jasamai or Jasavai in the original language of the text – to rule as king.
The scene is a replica of Yaśodhara's coronation shown on folio 20 verso.
The long protruding eye is a typical feature of western Indian painting. Its origin is unclear.
This is a good example of an average manuscript. A red background is used for the painting but there is no use of gold, intricate design elements or elaborate script.
The bottom of the right margin contains the number 34, which is the folio number.
The script used for the main text is the Jaina Devanāgarī script. It is used for writing numerous Indian languages, here Apabhraṃśa Prakrit.
The 15th-century Digambara poet Raidhū composed a version of one of the most important Jain tales – the Story of Yaśodhara. Called the Jasahara-cariu, which means 'the story of Yaśodhara' in Apabhraṃśa Prakrit, Raidhū’s version has the subtitle of 'having the characteristic of compassion' – daya-lakkhaṇa. This underlines the main teaching of the story, which is a manifesto against violence of all types and a defence of non-violence.
A story with several episodes, the tale of Yaśodhara is a good representative of religious teaching in narrative form – dharma-kathā. Its importance comes from the fact that it shows very clearly the working of karma and rebirth and refers to key concepts, such as:
Ultimately, all the protagonists become pious Jains and will be emancipated.
The text is divided into four sections called sandhi, which go into detail about all the rebirths that are recounted in the story within a story:
Section |
Events |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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This version of the story has not yet been published. It is known from very few manuscripts, which are all illustrated and in India. However, not a single manuscript is complete. So this one, held in the Wellcome Trust in London, is a precious document, even though it is only the first half of the story. It is probable that the second half of the document is a manuscript originally kept in Delhi, dated 1454 CE. It is also very likely that a single folio in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is part of the same manuscript (see Balbir, forthcoming).
Like other versions of the tale of Yaśodhara, Raidhū's narrative poem is a major inspiration for illustrations in Digambara manuscripts.
Wellcome Trust Library. Beta 1471. Raïdhū. Perhaps 15th century