On the left sits a man in a tent-like robe next to a richly clad man. In front of them stand two figures swathed in white robes. At the lower level stand two men wearing small caps and bearing long swords, their other hands upraised. Their dark complexions indicate they are low-caste people.
Inside the temple dedicated to the Goddess Caṇḍamārī sits her most fervent devotee, the ascetic, Bhairava. Next to him is King Māridatta, whom the Śaiva ascetic Bhairava has enthralled with promises of magical powers. Both of them are on a raised platform, as befits their high status.
Below are the two men sent by the king to bring a man and a woman to be sacrificed to Caṇḍamārī. They have performed their task, as their hand gestures show. As in other images in this manuscript, they are depicted with dark complexions, a sign of their low social status.
The figures in white are two Digambara Jain novices, twins Abhayaruci and Abhayamati. Seized in the forest, they now stand in front of King Māridatta.
The large sword intended to kill the young people is depicted separately. It has not yet been used, and never will be. Intrigued by their noble appearance and behaviour, the king first wants to listen to their story. When the long tale of their successive rebirths comes to an end, he is converted to non-violence and will thus never perform the sacrifice.
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 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 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
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
Wellcome Trust Library. Beta 1471. Raïdhū. Perhaps 15th century
Wellcome Trust Library. Beta 1471. Raïdhū. Perhaps 15th century
Wellcome Trust Library. Beta 1471. Raïdhū. Perhaps 15th century