Description

A male figure dressed in a white, full-skirted robe and small cap gestures to a large dog. White with black spots, the dog is very lively, bouncing on its paws. Between the dog and the man is a large bowl on a platform. The white flowers and curving white and blue bands along the top indicate that this scene is outside.

The dog is described in the text as being very strong and rather terrifying. The painting shows him being fed by a man who is his caretaker.

The dog is the first rebirth of Candramatī, mother of King Yaśodhara. As punishment for the violence of having sacrificed a cockerel made of flour to the Goddess Caṇḍamāri, Yaśodhara and Candramatī have to suffer many rebirths where they will meet and remain connected. In the first set of parallel rebirth, Yaśodhara is reborn as a peacock and Candramatī as a dog.

The long protruding eye is a typical feature of western Indian painting. Its origin is unclear.

Other visual elements

This is a good example of an average manuscript. A red background is used for the painting but there is no use of gold, intricate design elements or elaborate script.

The bottom of the right margin contains the number 4, which is the folio number.

In the upper and lower margins there are syllables missing from the main text, or corrections. The number before them is the line number where they should be inserted.

Script

The script used for the main text is the Jaina Devanāgarī script. It is used for writing numerous Indian languages, here Apabhraṃśa Prakrit.