Background
The Ādityavāra-vrata-kathā is a popular story in Digambara circles. It shows the good and bad results of observing or not observing the so-called 'Sunday vow'. This is one of the numerous vows – vratas – which a Jain can keep to counteract the misfortunes of life, to acquire merit and diminish the quantity of karma. Observing such a vow means fasting, worshipping and also listening to specific stories. Some vows are connected with a given day of the week.
In this tale seven brothers gain success after numerous adventures, by worshipping Jinas and Jain deities.
Jains believe that there are 24 Jinas in each complete cycle of time in the human world. A 'victor' in Sanskrit, a Jina is an enlightened human being who has triumphed over karma and the neverending cycle of births in which the soul is trapped. Also known as a Tīrthaṃkara or 'ford-maker', a Jina teaches the way to achieve liberation.
Glossary
Description
Five figures sit in two rows, all in the lotus posture of meditation. Each figure sits in a small temple structure with pennants flying from the domed roof. In the middle of the lower row is probably the door of a Jain temple.
These figures are five of the 24 Jinas. In the Digambara Jain tradition, the Jinas are always represented entirely naked and without any ornamentation. The central figure in the first row can be identified as the 23rd Jina, Pārśvanātha or Lord Pārśva, from the snake-hoods above his head and the green colour of his body. He is one of the most worshipped Jinas.
Other visual elements
This Ādityavāravratakathā manuscript is quite decorative. There are broad floral borders at the top and bottom and there are treble red lines along the edges of the page.
Script
The elaborate script used for the main text is the Jaina Devanāgarī script. It is used for writing numerous Indian languages, although here it is used for Gujarati and Hindi.
There are a few notable features of this script:
- it is an old type in the way the sounds e and o are notated when used with a consonant, known as pṛṣṭhamātrā script
- the red vertical lines within the text divide the long sentences into smaller parts, but are not necessarily punctuation marks.
- Source:
The British Library Board
- Shelfmark:
Or. 14290
- Author:
Gangādāsa
- Date of creation:
1792
- Folio number:
14 verso
- Total number of folios:
19 (folio 8 missing)
- Place of creation:
central India
- Language:
Gujarati and Hindi in Devanāgarī script
- Medium:
opaque watercolour on paper
- Size:
27 x 11.5 cms
- Copyright:
CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)
- Image Copyright:
Five Jinas
- Source:
The British Library Board
- Shelfmark:
Or. 14290
- Author:
Gangādāsa
- Date of creation:
1792
- Folio number:
14 verso
- Total number of folios:
19 (folio 8 missing)
- Place of creation:
central India
- Language:
Gujarati and Hindi in Devanāgarī script
- Medium:
opaque watercolour on paper
- Size:
27 x 11.5 cms
- Copyright:
CC0 1.0 (Creative Commons Public Domain)
- Image Copyright:
Description
Five figures sit in two rows, all in the lotus posture of meditation. Each figure sits in a small temple structure with pennants flying from the domed roof. In the middle of the lower row is probably the door of a Jain temple.
These figures are five of the 24 Jinas. In the Digambara Jain tradition, the Jinas are always represented entirely naked and without any ornamentation. The central figure in the first row can be identified as the 23rd Jina, Pārśvanātha or Lord Pārśva, from the snake-hoods above his head and the green colour of his body. He is one of the most worshipped Jinas.
Other visual elements
This Ādityavāravratakathā manuscript is quite decorative. There are broad floral borders at the top and bottom and there are treble red lines along the edges of the page.
Script
The elaborate script used for the main text is the Jaina Devanāgarī script. It is used for writing numerous Indian languages, although here it is used for Gujarati and Hindi.
There are a few notable features of this script:
- it is an old type in the way the sounds e and o are notated when used with a consonant, known as pṛṣṭhamātrā script
- the red vertical lines within the text divide the long sentences into smaller parts, but are not necessarily punctuation marks.
