In the centre of a stepped panel painting, a golden figure sits in the lotus posture of meditation – padmāsana – with a śrīvatsa on his chest. Either side are two worshippers fanning him with fly-whisks. Above him is a triple umbrella, which is a symbol of his power.
The golden figure is the last Jina, Mahāvīra, easily recognisable from the emblem of the lions below him. On the right side is a white lotus with eight petals, which is an auspicious sign.
In this manuscript this image, at the centre of the page, recurs at the end of each chapter – sandhi. This is at the end of chapter 2. The text of the final colophon occupies lines 3 to 6 of the page. It is emphasised by orange powder.
It reads:
iya siriJasaharacarie daya-lakkhaṇa-dhamma-bhāvaṇā-sarie siri-paṃḍiya-Raidhū-virai[e] siri-mahābhavva-Hemarāja-sāhu-ṇāmaṃkie piṭṭhamaya-kukkuḍa-devī-valivihāṇa-vaṇṇaṇo ṇāma bīuṃ saṃdhi paricheu.
Thus ends the second chapter, describing the cockerel made of flour and the ceremony of offering to the goddess, in the story of Yaśodhara, devoted to reflection and doctrine, having the characteristic of compassion, which was composed by Pandit Raïdhū and is dedicated to the glorious noble Hemarāja.
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 37, 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 |
---|---|
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