On the left, sitting under a tree, is a man dressed in a simple white garment. He is holding up his long hair in one hand. Behind him is a four-armed figure sheltered by an ornamented canopy. At the foot of the painting is a tiny elephant next to some red and blue triangles.
This picture shows a key event in the life of the 24th Jina, Mahāvīra. Having now given up all the possessions of a prince, Mahāvīra wears only a single garment but is often shown in the pictures sporting his jewellery. He is catching his long hair in his hand, preparing to pluck it out in five handfuls. This is the symbolic gesture of giving up worldly life and entering religious life. Jain monks and nuns still perform this public act of dīkṣā today. On the right is the god Śakra, who is present at the most important points of the Jinas’ lives. Here he is shown seated under a canopy, indicating royalty, with a pair of his four hands ready to receive the hair of the future Jina.
Mahāvīra is sitting under an aśoka tree in a park, which is on slightly raised ground, represented by the blue and red mountain peaks. Mahāvīra has travelled to the park on the elephant shown at the bottom.
The long protruding eye is a typical feature of western Indian painting. Its origin is not clearly known.
This is a good example of an average Kalpa-sūtra manuscript. The paintings have a red background, but there are no other signs of an aesthetic object of special value.
The red circle in the centre is a symbolic reminder of the way in which manuscripts were bound at one time. Strings through holes in the paper were used to thread together the loose folios so the reader could turn them over easily. The circle is in the place where the hole would once have been.
The elaborate script used for the main text is the Jaina Devanāgarī script, in a form which recalls calligraphy. It is used for writing numerous Indian languages, here for Prakrit.
There are a few notable features of this script:
The Kalpa-sūtra is the most frequently illustrated Jain text of the Śvetāmbara sect. It is read and recited by monks in the festival of Paryuṣaṇ, which takes place in August to September each year.
The first part of the Kalpa-sūtra deals with the lives of the Jinas, especially Mahāvīra, Pārśva, Nemi and Ṛṣabha. It features almost identical stories of their births, lives as princes, renunciation, enlightenment and emancipation.
The second part – Sthavirāvali – is a praise of the early teachers of Jainism. The third part – Sāmācārī – deals with particular monastic rules to be followed during the rainy season.
This illustrated page from a 15th-century manuscript of the Kalpa-sūtra is provided by the National Gallery of Australia. At the beginning of the section dealing with the 22nd Jina, Ariṣṭanemi, also called Nemi, the painting shows the famous episode of Prince Nemi's decision to renounce worldly life just before his wedding. He is so appalled by the distress of the animals due to be killed for his wedding feast that he decides to become a monk.
http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm?View=LRG&IRN=147981&PICTAUS=TRUE
The National Gallery of Australia offers an elaborately illustrated page from a 15th-century manuscript of the Kalpa-sūtra. The 23rd Jina Pārśva sits in the lotus posture of meditation. He is easily identifiable from his seven-headed snake headdress.
http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm?IRN=177853&View=LRG
This rare palm-leaf page in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art comes from an early 14th-century manuscript of the Śvetāmbara scripture of the Kalpa-sūtra. The picture illustrates the episode where the antelope-headed god Hariṇaigameṣin transfers the embryo of the Jina-to-be Mahāvīra from the brahmin lady Devānandā to the kṣatriya queen Triśalā.
http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/131608.html?mulR=656|4
This illustration is from a page of the Śvetāmbara scripture of the Kalpa-sūtra in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It shows the last Jina, Mahāvīra, performing the rite of keśa-loca – ‘pulling out of the hair’ – which indicates indifference to the body. It is part of the initiation ceremony of dīkṣā, in which an initiate renounces the world and becomes a mendicant. He is watched by Śakra, king of the gods, who takes an active role in the lives of the 24 Jinas.
http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/105108.html?mulR=656|9
This manuscript of the Kalpa-sūtra is fully digitised on the Gallica Bibliothèque numérique website, part of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France) in Paris. Though the website is available in English, the information about the artefact is in French.
This highly decorated page from a 15th-century manuscript of the Kalpa-sūtra is provided by the National Gallery of Australia. A young man performs the rite of keśa-loca – ‘pulling out of the hair’ – which indicates indifference to the body. It is part of the initiation ceremony of dīkṣā, in which an initiate renounces the world and becomes a mendicant. He is watched by Śakra, king of the gods who takes an active role in the lives of the 24 Jinas.
http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm?IRN=177852&View=LRG
British Library. Or. 13341. Unknown author
British Library. Or. 13701. Sukha-sāgara for the commentary. 17th to 18th centuries
British Library. Or. 12744. 1522. Unknown author.
Victoria and Albert Museum. IM 161-1914. Unknown author. 16th century
Wellcome Trust Library. Gamma 3. Unknown author. 1503
British Library. Or. 5149. Unknown author. 1464
Victoria and Albert Museum. IM 11-1931. Unknown author. Circa 1490
Gamma 453. Wellcome Trust Library. Unknown author. 1512