This is problematic because the three main elements on the page – the image, the caption and the text – do not agree. The illustration shows the birth of a Jina and a marriage scene. The same combination is found in other Kalpa-sūtra manuscripts where it relates to the life of the first Jina, Ṛṣabhanātha or Lord Ṛṣabha. Marriage is an important event only for this Jina. However, the caption on the top right says: Samosaraṇa siddhaṁ gata 20 or 'General assembly[.] 20 [Jinas] reached emancipation'. Going on this caption, the reader would expect to see an illustration of the 20 Jinas between Ajitanātha, or Lord Ajita, the second Jina, and Naminātha, or Lord Nami, the 21st Jina. On the contrary, these Jinas have sketchy biographies in the Kalpa-sūtra. On the other hand, the text beside the image relates to the final part of the section on the emancipation of the 23rd Jina, Pārśvanātha or Lord Pārśva.

Top level

The upper scene shows a lady on the left, lying on a couch in her bedroom. It is a future Jina’s mother. Ṛṣabha’s mother is named Mārudevī. She is holding the newborn Ṛṣabha in her arm and looking at him tenderly. On the right side is a female attendant, fanning the queen with a fly-whisk. This is the standard scene used to show Ṛṣabha’s birth, and, more generally, for the births of all Jinas.

Bottom level

A man and woman stand facing each other inside a decorated pavilion. The two peacocks above them show that the pavilion is in a garden. The couple is the first Jina, Ṛṣabha, and one of his brides. They are holding hands while their other hands are making a gesture that suggests their commitment to marriage. In the centre at the bottom is a fire, which indicates the marriage ritual in the Indian context. During the marriage rite the bride and groom ceremoniously circle the fire. The small figure seated on the left by the fire is difficult to identify. The long protruding eye is a typical iconographic feature of western Indian painting. Its origin is not clearly known.

Other visual elements

The bottom of the right margin contains the number 86, which is the folio number. The three red circles along the central horizontal plane are symbolic reminders of the way in which manuscripts were bound at one time. Strings through three holes in the paper were used to thread together the loose folios so the reader could turn them over easily. The circles are in the places where the holes would once have been.

Script

The elaborate script used is the Jaina Devanāgarī script, which is here like calligraphy. It is an old type in the way the sounds e and o are notated when used with a consonant, and is known as pṣṭhamātrā script. In this particular folio there are occasional rings above the main line of writing. These notate the nasalised vowels and are used instead of simple dots. There are examples above the first line.