Within a repetitive white and black pattern round three sides of the panel, ten richly dressed people are shown. They are arranged in three rows in this painting, all facing inwards. The top row depicts four figures, arms upraised. The middle row shows a man and a woman under a domed roof, flanked by a pair outside the building. The lowest row has two people facing each other across a colourful structure. The man holds a long sword.

This folio is the first one available from this incomplete manuscript. At this point, the narration proper has not yet started. The illustration does not represent a particular episode, but is a depiction of life in Rājapura. This is the capital of King Māridatta, whose name is found in the last line of the text alongside. The town is a fortress, shown by the surrounding rampart.

Within the city sit young couples in animated conversation in each row, accompanied by men or women who are probably their servants. The central row depicts the main couple in a palace, indicated by the domed roof. The bottom row probably shows the city gatekeeper, with a female companion to complete the symmetry of the painting.

Lively colours and precise drawings are a characteristic of this manuscript, the illustrations of which are extremely lively.

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.