Artwork Page for Monk Holding a Flower Venerated by a Lay Disciple: Folio 141 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya

Details / Information for Monk Holding a Flower Venerated by a Lay Disciple: Folio 141 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya

Monk Holding a Flower Venerated by a Lay Disciple: Folio 141 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya

1287
book authored by

Devachandra

(Indian)
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Culture
Western India, Gujarat
Medium
Gum tempera and ink on palm leaf
Measurements
Overall: 5.6 x 33 cm (2 3/16 x 13 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1971.127.b
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The colophon begins on this page; the next page contains the date when the manuscript was written.

Description

Palm leaf was the preferred material for sacred texts before the 1400s in India. The text here was often appended to the Kalpa-sutra, the most sacred book of Jainism. This story concerns the life of a Jain teacher named Kalaka, a prince who developed the ability to work magic after he become a monk, inspired by the teachings of a holy man.

The painting on this page shows a monk clad in white, indicating his affiliation with the Shvetambara (“white clad”) branch of Jainism. It is the second to the last page of the manuscript and includes the beginning of the colophon, which contains information about when and where this manuscript was produced.
A long, horizontally oriented palm leaf is painted with columns of black script divided by red vertical lines. Centered in the weathered surface is a rectangular hole. Within a red rectangular frame, a seated figure with large eyes faces right, offering a flower to a smaller, kneeling figure with palms pressed together. Red circular marks and black numerals detail the far ends. The composition is linear and balanced across the elongated, tan surface.

Monk Holding a Flower Venerated by a Lay Disciple: Folio 141 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya

1287

Devachandra

(Indian)
Western India, Gujarat

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