Artwork Page for Transfer of the Embryo of Mahavira, Folio 12 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra

Details / Information for Transfer of the Embryo of Mahavira, Folio 12 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra

Transfer of the Embryo of Mahavira, Folio 12 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra

c. 1475–1500

Western India, Gujarat

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Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Overall: 12.5 x 25.7 cm (4 15/16 x 10 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1932.119.12.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The tiny captions written in Sanskrit to the right of the painting identify the subject of this scene: “abduction of the embryo” and “transfer of the embryo.” The embryo is the unborn founder of the Jain religion.

In this miraculous episode, a goat-headed divinity who presides over miscarriage and childbirth gently takes the embryo in his cupped hands away from the reclining Brahmin lady in the scene above. Below, he carries it to a queen, who will be the birth mother.
A horizontally oriented tempera and ink painting features dense rows of black script surrounding a central red orb. At the right, within a red-bordered panel, two stacked scenes reveal women in shimmering gold garments reclining on beds. Above each, a small animal-headed figure—one blue and one gold—stands in attendance. Throughout the page, thin red vertical lines rhythmically punctuate columns of text against cream paper, creating a vibrant, patterned composition.

Transfer of the Embryo of Mahavira, Folio 12 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra

c. 1475–1500

Western India, Gujarat

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