Kālaka and Śakra

The Śvetāmbara monk Kālaka and the king of the gods, Śakra, discuss Jain doctrine. The National Gallery of Australia provides this highly decorated page from a 15th-century manuscript of the Kālakācāryakathā.

http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm?IRN=3131&View=LRG

Kālakācārya-katha folio

The richly decorated page of a manuscript of the Śvetāmbara Kālakācārya-katha contains the text of the story of ‘the religious teacher Kālaka'. Although it does not have a conventional illustration, the lavishly coloured page boasts figures in the side margins, floral borders and silver writing. Held in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the 14th-century folio is from Gujarat. The whole tale relates how Prince Kālaka is inspired to become a monk and goes through various adventures in which his religious practice gives him magical powers.

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/96057.html?mulR=32227|10

Kalpa-sūtra of Bhadrabāhu – Gallica Bibliothèque numérique

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.

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000521k/f1

Kalugumalai sculptures

This 2012 YouTube video explores the cave temple at Kalugumalai in Tamil Nadu, which boasts striking examples of rock-cut sculptures of Jinas as well as a cave temple. Over one hundred figures are carved into the cliff face outside the cave temple, nearly all of whom are Jinas, who mostly sit in meditation. There are numerous other stone statues at the site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXG33KzA4uo

Karma

Chapter 4 of the 2006 book Introduction to Jainism, by Rudi Jansma and Sneh Rani Jain, describes the Jain theory of karma. The online version is presented on the HereNow4U website.

To move to the next page of the chapter, click on one of the arrows or slide the button along the scroll bar at the top and bottom of each page.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=65969

Karma, passions and karmic stain

Jinalaya.com provides a detailed explanation of the complex doctrine of karma in the Jain faith, including the related notions of passions – kaṣāyas – and 'karmic stain' – leśyā – which indicates a soul's spiritual condition.

http://www.jinalaya.com/jainism/karma.htm

Karmavād – Causality

In this chapter from his book Jainism: the Eternal and Universal Path for Enlightenment, Narendra Bhandari summarises the Jain theory of karma. HereNow4U provides this online version.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=81759

Karmavāda

Sadhvi Vishrut Vibha summarises the Jain concept of karma-vāda or karma in her 2007 book An Introduction to Jainism, provided on the HereNow4U website.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=67058

Kārttika Pūrṇimā – part 1

The festival of Kārttika Pūrṇimā marks the end of the rainy season and the start of ordinary activities, which stop during the monsoon period. Men chant and clap loudly before the idol of a Jina from the temple is borne in procession – ratha-yātrā.

This two-part YouTube video records the 2010 Kārttika Pūrṇimā festival celebrated in Kolkata in West Bengal by Śvetāmbara Jains. This is the first part and you can watch the second part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5SnSFbxbq4

Kārttika Pūrṇimā – part 2

The Kārttika Pūrṇimā festival celebrates the end of the rainy season, when ordinary life can begin again. The image of a Jina from the temple is carried in procession through the streets – ratha-yātrā – while people wave fly-whisks before it, a symbol of royalty. People throw rice grains or sacred powder on to the idol. Though common in many Jain festivals, the idol procession is often a key part of Kārttika Pūrṇimā.

This two-part YouTube video records the 2010 Kārttika Pūrṇimā festival in Kolkata in West Bengal, as celebrated by Śvetāmbara Jains. This is the second part and you can watch the first part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxT_EH55mn8

Kattiawar from the road up to Pallitana, Western India

This painting, called Kattiawar from the road up to Pallitana, Western India, is one of the views produced by English artist Marianne North, who travelled in India in 1877 to 1878. It forms part of the Marianne North Online Gallery at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew in the United Kingdom.

http://www.kew.org/mng/gallery/796.html

Khalji gold coin

The British Museum displays a gold coin minted in 1318 under Sultan Qutb al-Din Mubarak Shah I, final ruler of the Khalji dynasty. Thakkaur Pheru was master of the mint for three sultans of Delhi, and may have been the first Jain to gain a prestigious position at the imperial court.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1911-0709-2053

Kin guna bhayo re udāsī bhamarā

This 2011 video on YouTube shows Piyush Nagar singing a song of devotion by the 17th-century poet Ānandghan. It is preceded by a modern Hindi translation of the poem, which is known as Kin guna bhayo re udāsī bhamarā after its first line. Recordings of Ānandghan's songs are very popular among contemporary Jains around the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1bXee6Wzzo

King Hemabrahma and Queen Hamesri

JainSquare.com provides a story associated with the Bhaktāmara-stotra hymn. This tale of King Hemabrahma and Queen Hamesri is associated with the ninth verse of the hymn. Unfortunately, the level of English makes it difficult to understand in places.

https://jainsquare.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/

King of mantras

An image of a contemporary Br̥had Sūrimantra Paṭa on Flickr. This maṇḍala is used in rituals of worship, specifically by the highest-ranking monks in the various Śvetāmbara Mūrti-pūjak orders. This example is mainly made up of colourful illustrations, with auspicious symbols, mantras and figures surrounding Indrabhūti Gautama, in the centre. As the lead disciple of Mahāvīra, Gautama is the role model of the perfect ascetic leader.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/herenow4u/8178185138/

King puts a merchant down a well

JainSquare.com provides a story associated with the Bhaktāmara-stotra hymn. This tale, found in Guṇākara's famous 14th-century commentary, is associated with the first two verses of the hymn. Unfortunately, the level of English makes it difficult to understand in places.

https://jainsquare.wordpress.com/?s=Blessings+from+The+Goddess

King Shrenik hears about leśyā

Jain Square offers the story of King Shrenik, who hears an illustration of the concept of karmic stain or soul colour – leśyā – from the 24th Jina. Mahāvīra explains how the colour of the embodied soul changes according to its mental and spiritual condition. This affects the progress of the soul through the cycle of rebirth.

https://jainsquare.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/king-shrenik-illustration-lesya/

Knowledge – Jñāna (part 1)

Shugan Chand Jain discusses the concept of knowledge in these study notes from the International School for Jain Studies, provided on the HereNow4U website. This is the first part of the study notes on this topic; the second part is also available.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=66204

Knowledge – Jñāna (part 2)

Shugan Chand Jain discusses the concept of knowledge in these study notes from the International School for Jain Studies, provided on the HereNow4U website. This is the second part of the study notes on this topic; the first part is also available.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=66205

Kubera the yakṣa

This 2011 photograph on Flickr shows a large sculpture of the yakṣa Kubera. He is the male attendant deity of the 19th Jina, Malli. As with many of the Jinas' guardian gods, Kubera is often worshipped, because he can intervene in human affairs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spaceman-nishant-spiff/6760999341/

Kundakunda

The HereNow4U website provides a summary of the life and works of the philosopher Kundakunda.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=64633

Kunthunātha altarpiece

The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, provides a zoomable photograph of a small altarpiece featuring the 17th Jina, Kunthunātha or Lord Kunthu. The metal figure is surrounded by his retinue of divine attendants and symbols of royalty, such as the parasol. Sitting in meditation, he displays typical indications of advanced spirituality, such as elongated earlobes and the bump of wisdom on his head.

http://www.nortonsimon.org/collections/browse_title.php?id=M.2010.1.51.S

Kūṣmāṇḍinī at Ellora

A damaged figure of the yakṣī Kūṣmāṇḍinī or Ambikā beneath a mango tree in cave 32 of the Ellora temple complex in Maharashtra. Attended by servants, the Digambara statue wears an elaborate headdress and jewellery, and sits on her lion vehicle. Only half of the image of the small child sitting on her thigh has survived. This zoomable photograph is part of the Beyond the Taj: Architectural Traditions and Landscape Experience in South Asia project at Cornell University Library in the USA.

https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:3861983

Kūṣmāṇḍinī at Shravana Belgola

Flickr image from 2009 of the goddess Kūṣmāṇḍinī at Shravana Belgola, Karnataka. The powerful goddess is the guardian divinity of this major Digambara pilgrimage centre, although she is popular among all Jain sects. She is the female attendant deity – yakṣī – of the 22nd Jina Nemi and is associated with motherhood and children. Her left foot rests on her divine vehicle of a lion, which is straddled by two small figures, probably representing her sons. She is known as Ambikā to Śvetāmbara Jains.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/s_w_ellis/4213605578/

Kyā sōvē uṭha jāga bā’u rē

This hymn by Ānandghan is available to listen to on the Tattva Gyan website. Works by this 17th-century mystic poet are very popular today among Jains in India and around the world. Non-Jains also appreciate the non-sectarian nature of the songs, which emphasise inner spirituality.

http://tattvagyan.com/jain-pad/kya-sove-u%E1%B9%ADha-jaga-bau-re/

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