Background
These animals represent the 12 heavens of the Upper World, which is one of the three worlds in Jain cosmology. The Vaimānika gods live in the Upper World. Their name comes from the Sanskrit word for 'palace' – vimāna. Although they are found in the heavenly Upper World, Jain deities can live in any of the three worlds.
Animals often feature in dreams as meaningful symbols. Dreams were taken very seriously by Jains and feature in many key tales.
This manuscript of the Saṃgrahaṇī-ratna contains the Prakrit verses followed by a commentary in Gujarati. Such writings have generated many commentaries in Sanskrit or the vernacular languages. A rich pictorial tradition has also grown up round the Saṃgrahaṇī works, as visualisation is part of the transmission of knowledge on the Jain universe and is helpful as a means of understanding.This manuscript is a carefully executed artefact with a large panel of paintings and charts.
Jain cosmology is complex. Human beings live in the Middle World, which is the smallest of the three worlds that make up world space – loka-ākāśa. In world space all the souls live in the different body-forms they take according to their rebirths, in the various worlds. Outside world space is the non‑world space – aloka-ākāśa – which is endless. However, the Middle World is the most important area from the spiritual point of view because it is the only part where human beings can live.
Jains cannot advance spiritually without understanding and meditating upon cosmological theories so understanding them is crucial. Certain key religious concepts run through these theories. These include the notion of a physical soul shedding karma by moving through the cycle of rebirth to eventual omniscience and liberation, along with the cyclical nature of time, the interconnectedness of the universe, and the importance of symmetry, repetition and balance.
Transcription
Prāṃṇateṃ geṃḍā nu cihna 10
- ga 9 khaggī
Āraṇa vṛṣabha nū cihna 11
- 10 vasahā 11
Acyūta iṃdra mīḍhā nu cihna 12
- huḍū [?] 12 māiṃ
e cina jāṃṇavā 11
- ciṃhnāiṃ 11
Saudharma iṃdra Iśāneṃ ineṃ neṃ 84 hajā 80 hajāra
- cūlasii a
Sanatakumāreṃ iṃneṃ 72 hajāra
- sii bāvanna
There are five numbers in the text. The numbers 9, 10, 11, 12 in lines 1 to 3 refer to the number of the animals in the sequence.
In line 4 the 11 is the stanza number, which, as usual, is given at the end. Note that the 11 stands for 111 because it is usual to miss out the digit specifying hundreds or thousands.
Glossary
Description
The painting shows the 12 animals that symbolise each of the 12 heavens – kalpas – of the Upper World.
They are depicted in three rows of four in the standard sequence. Looking from top to bottom, left to right, they are as follows:
- black antelope, buffalo, kind of boar, tiger
- goat, frog, horse, elephant
- snake, unicorn animal, bull, kind of ram.
There are several differences between the animals in the painting and the names in the text, namely:
- number 2 – the buffalo is much thinner than a more naturalistic version would be
- number 3 is supposed to be a boar, with a tusk shown in the painting, but the body is not as massive as is expected
- number 4 is referred to as sīha – 'lion' – in the text but it looks more like a tiger in the painting. Indian artistic representations of lions often show them as tigers because while the tiger was common on Indian territory the lion was never so.
- number 6 is named as a kind of frog in the text but the painting is not a naturalistic depiction. Paintings of frogs in Indian art often resemble the strange form seen here.
- number 10 is referred to as khaggī, which normally means 'rhinoceros'. The rhino is found in Assam in eastern India so the painter would probably have known what it looks like but the body is rather thin here, and the animal in this painting is a cross between a unicorn and a rhino.
- number 12 is a white antelope in the text but the painting looks very like a ram.
|
Animal in painting |
Name of animal in the text and meaning |
Heaven |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
black antelope |
miya – antelope |
Saudharma |
2 |
buffalo |
mahisa – buffalo |
Īśāna |
3 |
boar |
varāha – boar |
Sanatkumāra |
4 |
tiger |
sīha – lion |
Māhendra |
5 |
goat |
chagala – goat |
Brahmaloka |
6 |
frog |
sālūra – frog |
Lāntaka |
7 |
horse |
haya – horse |
Śukra |
8 |
elephant |
gaya – elephant |
Sahasrāra |
9 |
snake |
bhuyaṃga – snake |
Ānata |
10 |
unicorn-rhino |
khaggī – rhinoceros |
Prāṇata |
11 |
bull |
vasaha – bull |
Āruṇa |
12 |
white antelope |
viḍima – a 'kind of antelope' in printed editions, but huḍūma here |
Acyuta |
Other visual elements
The bottom of the right margin contains the number 18, which is the folio number.
The illustration takes up most of the page while the text is on the right. The text contains two languages. The larger script is the Prakrit text used for the sūtra or verse while the smaller script above and below it is almost a literal translation in Gujarati.
- Source:
Victoria and Albert Museum
- Shelfmark:
IS. 35-1971
- Author:
Śrīcandra
- Date of creation:
18th century
- Folio number:
18 recto
- Total number of folios:
56
- Place of creation:
Rajasthan; copied in Srāparanagara
- Language:
Jaina Māhārāṣṭrī Prākrit and Gujarati
- Medium:
watercolour on paper
- Size:
25 x 11.5 cms
- Copyright:
V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Image Copyright:
- +
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- vVaṇik
- vVarṇa
- vVāsudeva
- vVāsupūjya
- vVayubhūti
- vVeda
- vVedanīya-karma
- vVegetarianism
- vVehicle
- vVernacular
- vVerso
- vVidyā
- vVidyā-devī
- vVihāra
- vVijñapti-patra
- vVikrama-saṃvat
- vVikṛti
- vVimala
- vVinaya
- vVipāka
- vVirji Vora
- vVirodhaja
- vVīrya
- vVisarga
- vViṣṇu
- vVītarāga
- vVizier
- vVotive
- vVow
- vVrata
- vVS
- vVyakta
- vVyantara
- vVyasana
- yYakṣa
- yYakṣī
- yYantra
- yYaśoda
- yYaśovijaya
- yYati
- yYātrā
- yYoga
- yYoginī
- yYojana
Description
The painting shows the 12 animals that symbolise each of the 12 heavens – kalpas – of the Upper World.
They are depicted in three rows of four in the standard sequence. Looking from top to bottom, left to right, they are as follows:
- black antelope, buffalo, kind of boar, tiger
- goat, frog, horse, elephant
- snake, unicorn animal, bull, kind of ram.
There are several differences between the animals in the painting and the names in the text, namely:
- number 2 – the buffalo is much thinner than a more naturalistic version would be
- number 3 is supposed to be a boar, with a tusk shown in the painting, but the body is not as massive as is expected
- number 4 is referred to as sīha – ‘lion’ – in the text but it looks more like a tiger in the painting. Indian artistic representations of lions often show them as tigers because while the tiger was common on Indian territory the lion was never so.
- number 6 is named as a kind of frog in the text but the painting is not a naturalistic depiction. Paintings of frogs in Indian art often resemble the strange form seen here.
- number 10 is referred to as khaggī, which normally means ‘rhinoceros’. The rhino is found in Assam in eastern India so the painter would probably have known what it looks like but the body is rather thin here, and the animal in this painting is a cross between a unicorn and a rhino.
- number 12 is a white antelope in the text but the painting looks very like a ram.
|
Animal in painting |
Name of animal in the text and meaning |
Heaven |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
black antelope |
miya – antelope |
Saudharma |
2 |
buffalo |
mahisa – buffalo |
Īśāna |
3 |
boar |
varāha – boar |
Sanatkumāra |
4 |
tiger |
sīha – lion |
Māhendra |
5 |
goat |
chagala – goat |
Brahmaloka |
6 |
frog |
sālūra – frog |
Lāntaka |
7 |
horse |
haya – horse |
Śukra |
8 |
elephant |
gaya – elephant |
Sahasrāra |
9 |
snake |
bhuyaṃga – snake |
Ānata |
10 |
unicorn-rhino |
khaggī – rhinoceros |
Prāṇata |
11 |
bull |
vasaha – bull |
Āruṇa |
12 |
white antelope |
viḍima – a ‘kind of antelope’ in printed editions, but huḍūma here |
Acyuta |
Other visual elements
The bottom of the right margin contains the number 18, which is the folio number.
The illustration takes up most of the page while the text is on the right. The text contains two languages. The larger script is the Prakrit text used for the sūtra or verse while the smaller script above and below it is almost a literal translation in Gujarati.