There is a caption in red in the right-hand margin: māhīyārī gorasa vahiravai 44 – 'A milk-woman offers curdled milk 44'.
Each illustration in this manuscript is numbered in sequence so '44' means this is the 44th painting in this manuscript.
On the right are Dhanya and Śālibhadra as Śvetāmbara Jain monks. They are identified as monks from their robes and the staff – daṇḍa – they each carry.
A woman stands under a tree. A pot is cooking on the fire in front of her. One of the two monks hands her his bowl, into which she pours the food.
The woman is selling milk and was Śālibhadra’s mother in his previous birth as Sangama.
There are a few items to be noted about this page, namely that:
The diamond-shaped blank space in the centre is for decoration. It is also a symbolic reminder of the way in which manuscripts were bound when made of palm leaf. Strings through one or three holes in the paper were used to thread together the loose folios so the reader could turn them over easily. The blank space is in the place where the hole would once have been.
The elaborate script used is the Jaina Devanāgarī script.
The ultimate purpose of Śālibhadra’s story – Śālibhadra-caupaī – is to illustrate the virtues of giving alms to Jain monks. But, like most Jain stories, it is eventful and full of lively characters. The Śālibhadra-caupaī is very popular in the Jain tradition. It is known from the many interpretations that have been written in Prakrit, Sanskrit and the vernacular languages.
This manuscript features the famous telling by Matisāra, written in Old Gujarati. Matisāra’s version of the story has often been illustrated in different styles.
The text is a narrative poem in verse, known as rāsa or caupa. This type of composition is popular in Gujarāti literature. The poem is divided into 29 sections called ḍhāla. Each section starts with a refrain verse and is associated with a specific musical mode – rāga. Such poems are meant to be read, but also performed, with recitation and musicians.
"The words of Lord Vīra cannot be false, but we cannot get into the house. How, indeed, had this puzzle truly come about? Am I a son to a barren woman?"
Sādhus with their begging bowls do not enter a household where they are not wanted. Sadly, they turned away, as is the custom of munis. It was the time to break a month’s fast, but not for a moment did their minds wander. Without success they had to endure still more austerities to gain support for their bodies. On their way back they met a milkwoman carrying a pot of curdled milk on her head. When she saw the form of Prince Śāli, she stopped and could not move a step out of the way. Her eyes opened wide; her body quivered.The Sālibhadra-Dhanna-Carita
translation by Ernst Bender
American Oriental Society, New Haven, Connecticut
pages 342 to 343, 1992
Here and in the sentences that follow on the next page, the extreme joy that a potential donor of alms feels and should feel is expressed. Giving alms to a Jain mendicant is considered a kind of fulfilment for lay people.
1. (middle) vacana alīka na thāyau Vīra
2. nau re / paisaṇa piṇa na lahāṃ ghara-māṃjhi re / e syuṃ aoṣāṇao sāco tha-
3. yo re / ika māharī mā naiṃ vali vāṃjha re //7// tiṇi kuli sādhu
4. na paisai pāṃtaryau re / jiṇi kuli jātāṃ huvai aprīta re / ema
5. vimāsī nai pāchā valyā re eha jasu vihita muni nī rī-
6. ta re //8// huṃto māsa-ṣamaṇa nau pāraṇo re/ paṇi (sic)
7. maṇi ḍolāvyo na ligāra re / adhakero tapa aṇalā-
8. dhai huvai re/ lādhai dehī no ādhāra re //9// valatāṃ māra-
9. gi māhi āvī milī re / māthai upari gorasa-māṭa re / thaṃbhāṇī paga-
10. bhari na sakai ṣisī re / deṣī Sālikumara nau ghāṭa re //10// locana vi-
11. kasyā tanu mana ulasyo re / romaṃcita thaī sārī deha re/ …
The eJainism website provides a version of the tale of Śālibhadra for children.
The Institute of Jainology reports on the celebrations of the 2009 Mahāvīr Jayantī festival in London. One of the highlights of the two-day celebration was the performance of Tyagveer Shalibhadra. Young people from the Shree Chandana Vidhyapeeth school performed this original play in Gujarati, which featured music and dancing, short dialogues and narrations.
http://www.jainology.org/235/jains-in-the-uk-join-hands-to-celebrate-mahavir-jayanti-2009/
Children perform the story of Śālibhadra in this YouTube video from 2011. The play was organised by the Jain Vishwa Bharati of North America, which is based in New Jersey, USA.
This amateur video on YouTube shows a scene from the Hindi-language play of Śālibhadra, which was performed in August 2010 to commemorate the opening of the Jain Vishwa Bharati centre in Houston, Texas, USA.
This YouTube video presents the tale of Śālibhadra performed by children from the Jain Center of Northern California. This play was part of the celebrations for the 2012 festival of Mahāvīr Jayantī, which took place on the 4th April.
This YouTube video films children from the Jain Center of Greater Phoenix, in Texas, USA performing an English version of part of the story of Śālibhadra. Children often perform a shortened version of the tale, which emphasises the duty of giving alms to monks and nuns.
The first part of the story of Śālibhadra is presented as an animation on YouTube, uploaded in 2012. In this part of the tale, the young boy Sangama offers alms to a Jain monk, which is one of the key episodes in the story. The story of Śālibhadra is a Jain favourite that underlines the importance of lay Jains giving alms to mendicants.