Unusually, this single scene takes up nearly three full pages of the manuscript.
This is the third page, on which are two objects in individual panels. The heap of jewels and a smokeless fire represent the last two dreams.
A woman lies on a richly decorated couch at the bottom. She is the brahmin lady Devānandā.
This page and the previous two pages represent the 14 dreams that were dreamt by Devānandā, who bore the embryo of Mahāvīra before it was transferred to the kṣatriya queen, Triśalā. The embryo Mahāvīra was transferred by Hariṇaigameṣin, the commander-in-chief of the god Śakra. Śakra ordered him to do this because Jinas cannot be born of a brahmin mother. These dreams announce the Jina’s great destiny.
The first six dreams are on one page while the Textnext six dreams are on the following page of the manuscript.
This is a painting in popular style.
This manuscript is different from the mainstream Kalpa-sūtra manuscripts from Western India, which in style are thought of as more suitable as religious objects.
This example represents a more popular style very different from the usual artistic canon.
The script used for the text is the Jaina Devanāgarī script. It is used for writing numerous Indian languages, here for Prakrit and Gujarati.
There are a few notable features of this script:
The larger size script is used for the Prakrit text of the Kalpa-sūtra, the smaller size for Gujarati explanations of words and phrases.
This is a fairly unusual depiction of the 14 auspicious dreams in Kalpa-sūtra manuscripts created in Western India.
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 manuscript does not contain the Prakrit text of the Kalpa-sūtra, but a narrative commentary in Gujarati that focuses on Mahāvīra’s previous births.
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
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
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
Victoria and Albert Museum. IM 10-1931. Unknown author. Circa 1490
Victoria and Albert Museum. IS 46-1959. Unknown author. Late 15th to 16th centuries
British Library. Or. 13959. Unknown author. 1639
British Library. Or. 13701. Sukha-sāgara for the commentary. 17th to 18th centuries
British Library. Or. 13701. Sukha-sāgara for the commentary. 17th to 18th centuries
British Library. Or. 13701. Sukha-sāgara for the commentary. 17th to 18th centuries
British Library. I.O. San. 3177. Unknown author. 1437
Wellcome Trust Library. Gamma 3. Unknown author. 1503