Artwork Page for Birth of Mahavira, folio 30 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra

Details / Information for Birth of Mahavira, folio 30 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra

Birth of Mahavira, folio 30 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra

c. 1475–1500

Western India, Gujarat

View all records in artwork set
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Overall: 11.3 x 26 cm (4 7/16 x 10 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1932.119.30.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
Print

Description

Accounts of the lives of liberated beings of the Jain religion are illuminated with special emphasis on the miraculous circumstances leading to the birth of its historical founder Mahavira (500s BCE). For Jains, liberated beings are not reborn after they die; they exist eternally in a blissful meditative state.

After a divinity miraculously implanted the embryo of Mahavira into the womb of Queen Trishala, she dreamed of 14 good omens. Later in the manuscript is an intimate moment between the mother and her special newborn. The bold and costly palette lends the paintings an otherworldly quality.
A horizontally oriented manuscript page features Gujarati script in black and red ink breaking around a red circle in the center and is flanked by two more red circles. Left of the central circle, an illustration cuts across the page with a red background and blue and gold detailing depicting a stylized person colored gold and wearing dot and cross-hatch patterned clothes as they look down at an also gold baby in the crook of their arm.

Birth of Mahavira, folio 30 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra

c. 1475–1500

Western India, Gujarat

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please fill out the appropriate request form linked below:

Update or Correct Artwork Information

Imagery or Rights for Non-Open-Access Artworks

Report a Website Issue

Further Questions About This Artwork