Background
Glossary
Description
Other visual elements
The original paper is slightly damaged. But, as with many Kalpa-sūtra manuscripts, there is a clear intention to make the manuscript a valuable and remarkable object in itself. This aim is signalled by the:- coloured background for the text
- gold ink instead of the standard black ink
- decorated border with blue floral motifs
- diamond filled with gold ink, with ornamental blue border.
- Source:
Wellcome Trust Library
- Shelfmark:
Gamma 453
- Author:
unknown
- Date of creation:
1512
- Folio number:
86 recto
- Total number of folios:
139
- Place of creation:
western India
- Language:
Ardhamāgadhī Prākrit
- Medium:
watercolour on paper
- Size:
- Copyright:
Wellcome Library, London
- Image Copyright:
- +
- aAbhavya
- aAbhinandana
- aAbhiṣeka
- aĀcāra
- aĀcārāṅga-sūtra
- aĀcārya
- aAchalbhrata
- aAḍhāī-dvīpa
- aAdharma
- aAdho-loka
- aAdhyayana
- aAdvaita Vedānta
- aĀgama
- aAghātīya
- aAghātīya-karman
- aAgnibhuti
- aAgra
- aĀhāra
- aAhiṃsā
- aAhimsa Day
- aAjita
- aAjīva
- aAkampit
- aĀkāśa
- aAkbar the Great
- aAkṣaya-tṛtīyā
- aAlauddin Khalji
- aAlbert Einstein
- aAllah
- aAlms
- aĀlocanā
- aAloka-ākāśa
- aAmāri
- aAmbikā or Kūṣmāṇḍinī
- aAnagāra
- aAnanta
- aAnarthadaṇḍa
- aAnaśana
- aAnekānta-vāda
- aAṅga
- aAniconism
- aAnojjā
- aAntarāla
- aAntarāya-karma
- aAṇu
- aAṇu-vrata
- aAnukampā
- aAnuprekṣā
- aAnusvāra
- aApabhraṃśa
- aAparigraha
- aAra
- aĀrambha
- aĀrambhaja
- aĀratī
- aArdhamāgadhī Prākrit
- aArhaṃ
- aArhat
- aArśana-āvaraṇīya-karma
- aĀrta-dhyāna
- aĀryikā
- aĀryikā Jñānamati
- aĀśātanā
- aĀścarya
- aAscetic
- aAsceticism
- aAshram
- aAspiration
- aĀsrava
- aAṣṭa-maṅgala
- aAṣṭāpada
- aAstikāya
- aAstrolabe
- aAsura
- aAtheism
- aAticāra
- aAtiśayakṣetra
- aAtithisaṃvibhāgavrata
- aĀtma-vāda
- aĀtman
- aAuṃ
- aAurangzeb
- aAuspicious
- aAusterity
- aAvadhāna
- aAvadhi-jñāna
- aĀvaraṇī-yakarman
- aAvasarpiṇī
- aAvatāra
- aAvidyā
- aAxiom
- aĀyāga-paṭa
- aĀyambil
- aĀyu-karma
- aĀyurveda
- bBabur
- bBāhubali
- bBaladeva
- bBālāvabodha
- bBandha
- bBasadi
- bBazaar
- bBhadrankarvijay
- bBhagavant
- bBhaktāmara-stotra
- bBhakti
- bBhale
- bBharata
- bBhāṣā
- bBhāṣya
- bBhaṭṭāraka
- bBhāva
- bBhāva-pūjā
- bBhāvanā
- bBhavana-vāsin
- bBhavya
- bBhavyatva
- bBhaya
- bBhoga-bhūmi
- bBhogopabhoga
- bBodhi
- bBollywood
- bBrahmā
- bBrahma-deva
- bBrahmacārī
- bBrāhmaṇa
- bBraj Bhāṣā
- bBright fortnight
- bBritish Raj
- bBuddha
- bBuddhi-sagar
- bBuddhism
- bBuddhist
- cCaitya
- cCaityavāsin
- cCakravartin
- cCakreśvarī
- cCāmara
- cCandanā
- cCandragupta
- cCandraprabha
- cCanon
- cCāritra
- cCāritramohanīya-karman
- cCarũrī
- cCaste
- cCaturvidha-saṅgha
- cCaturviṃśati-stava
- cCāturyāma
- cCE
- cCelibacy
- cCha
- cChadmastha
- cChastity
- cCheda-sūtra
- cChristian
- cChristianity
- cClergy
- cCloning
- cColophon
- cCommentary
- cConch
- cConfession
- cCongregation
- cConsecration
- cCosmology
- cCremation
- cCrore
- cCult
- cCūrṇi
- dDādā-guru
- dDalit
- dDāna
- dDaṇḍa
- dDark fortnight
- dDarśana
- dDarśanamohanī-yakarman
- dDaśa-lakṣaṇa-parvan
- dDeity
- dDelhi Sultanate
- dDerāsar
- dDeśāvakāśika-vrata
- dDetachment
- dDevanāgarī
- dDevānandā
- dDevarddhi-gani
- dDevotee
- dDhamal
- dDhanuṣ
- dDhāra
- dDharma
- dDharma-dhyāna
- dDharma-sāgara
- dDharmastikaya
- dDhātakīkhaṇḍa
- dDholak
- dDhyāna
- dDiaspora
- dDig-vrata
- dDigambara
- dDīkṣā
- dDisciple
- dDīvālī
- dDivya-dhvani
- dDNA
- dDoctrine
- dDogma
- dDonor
- dDoṣa
- dDravya
- dDravya-pūjā
- dDrone
- dDuṣamā
- dDuṣamā-duṣamā
- dDuṣamā-suṣamā
- dDveṣa
- dDvīpa
- eEast India Company
- eEightfold Path
- eEkānta-vāda
- eEkendriya
- eElder
- eElders
- eEschatology
- eEtc up to
- fFarmān
- fFast
- fFatehpur Sikri
- fFestival
- fFestschrift
- fFiruz Shah
- fFly-Whisks
- fFolio
- fFour Noble Truths
- gGaccha
- gGaṇa
- gGaṇadhara
- gGanadharavada
- gGaṇeśa
- gGaṇin
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- gGarbha-gṛha
- gGaruḍa
- gGati
- gGene
- gGenomics
- gGhātī-yakarman
- gGhātīya
- gGhaznavid
- gGhiyasuddin Tughlaq
- gGhurid
- gGloss
- gGotra-karma
- gGujarāt
- gGujarati
- gGuṇa
- gGuṇa-sthāna
- gGuṇa-vrata
- gGupti
- gGuru
- gGuruṇī
- hHagiography
- hHajj
- hHaṃsa
- hHaribhadra
- hHariṇaigameṣin
- hHasta
- hHeresy
- hHiṃsā
- hHindi
- hHindu
- hHinduism
- hHīravijaya
- hHoroscope
- hHrīṃ
- hHumayun
- hHymn
- iIconoclasm
- iIconography
- iIdol
- iIndian Independence
- iIndology
- iIndra
- iIndrabhūti Gautama
- iIndriya
- iInitiation
- iIntercession
- iInvocation
- iIQ
- iIslam
- iIslamicate
- iIṣṭadevatā
- iĪśvara
- jJagat
- jJahangir
- jJain
- jJaina Devanāgarī
- jJaina Śaurasenī
- jJaina-dharma
- jJainaśāsana
- jJainness
- jJaisalmer
- jJamāli
- jJambū-dvīpa
- jJames Burgess
- jJanma
- jJanma-kalyāṇa
- jJarā
- jJāti
- jJina
- jJina-āgama
- jJina-bhavana
- jJina-bimba
- jJina-mātā
- jJinacandra-sūri
- jJinadatta
- jJinaprabha
- jJīva
- jJñāna
- jJñāna-āvaraṇīya-karma
- jJñāna-āvarṇiya
- jJñānsundar
- jJyotiṣka
- kKāla
- kKālakācārya-kathā
- kKālidāsa
- kKalpa-sūtra
- kKalpa-vṛkṣa
- kKalyāṇaka
- kKalyanvijay
- kKamaṇḍalu
- kKamaṭha
- kKarma
- kKarma-bhūmi
- kKarma-grantha
- kKarma-prakṛti
- kKarma-vāda
- kKarmon
- kKarnataka
- kKaṣāya
- kKathā
- kKāvya
- kKāya
- kKāyotsarga
- kKeśa-loca
- kKetu
- kKevala-jñāna
- kKevalin
- kKhalji
- kKharatara-gaccha
- kKnowledge
- kKriyā
- kKriyā-vāda
- kKṛṣṇa
- kKṣamā-śramaṇa
- kKṣapakaśreṇi
- kKṣatriya
- kKṣullaka
- kKulakara
- kKundakunda
- kKunthu
- lLabdhi
- lLaity
- lLakh
- lLāñchana
- lLands of Action
- lLaukāntika
- lLavaṇa-samudra
- lLeśyā
- lLiṅga
- lLinguistics
- lLoka
- lLoka-ākāśa
- lLoka-puruṣa
- lLoka-vāda
- lLotus
- lLotus lake
- mMadhya-loka
- mMahā-videha
- mMahā-vrata
- mMahābhārata
- mMahāmastakābhiṣeka
- mMāhārāṣṭra
- mMāhārāṣṭrī Prākrit
- mMahattarā Yākinī
- mMahāvīr Jayantī
- mMahāvīra
- mMakāra
- mMakkhali Gośāla
- mMalli
- mMāna-stambha
- mManaḥ-paryāya-jñāna
- mMaṇḍala
- mMaṇḍapa
- mMandit
- mMaṅgala
- mMantra
- mMantras
- mManuṣya-loka
- mMarāṭhī
- mMārgaṇā
- mMartyr
- mMarudevī
- mMaṭha
- mMati-jñāna
- mMauryaputra
- mMecca
- mMendicant lineage
- mMetarya
- mMiracle
- mMithyādṛṣṭi
- mMohandas Gandhi
- mMohanīya-karma
- mMokṣa
- mMonastic order
- mMonasticism
- mMonk
- mMonotheism
- mMosque
- mMount Meru
- mMount Sammeta
- mMṛgāvatī
- mMughal
- mMuhammad
- mMuhammad bin Tughlaq
- mMuhpattī
- mMūla-sūtra
- mMūlaguṇa
- mMumbaī
- mMuni
- mMunisuvrata
- mMurad Bakhsh
- mMūrti-pūjaka
- mMuslim
- mMysticism
- nNābhi
- nNāga-kal
- nNāgapurīya Tapā-gaccha
- nNāgarī
- nNāma-karma
- nNamaskāra-mantra
- nNami
- nNandīśvara-dvīpa
- nNandivardhana
- nNandyāvarta
- nNāraka
- nNāraki
- nNasalisation
- nNātha
- nNavrātrī
- nNaya-vāda
- nNemi
- nNidāna
- nniggaṃthāṇa vā 2
- nniggaṃtho vā 2
- nNigoda
- nNihnava
- nNikṣepa
- nNirgrantha
- nNirjarā
- nNirvāṇa
- nNiryukti
- nNiṣidhi
- nNitya
- nNiyati
- nNo-kaṣāya
- nNudity
- nNun
- oOcean of milk
- oOmniscience
- oOrdination
- ppa°
- pPadmaprabha
- pPadmāsana
- pPadmāvatī
- pPādukā
- pPalanquin
- pPalette
- pPañca-muṣṭi
- pPāṇḍava
- pPaṇḍit
- pPandit Dalsukh D. Malvania
- pPandit Sukhlalji
- pPāṇipātra
- pPāpa
- pParamātman
- pParameṣṭhin
- pPāraṇā
- pParigraha
- pPariṇāma
- pParīṣaha
- pParokṣa
- pPārśva
- pPārśvanātha
- pParyāya
- pParyuṣaṇ
- pPaṭa
- pPatan
- pPātra
- pPenance
- pPersian
- pPhala
- pPhilology
- pPicchikā
- pPilgrimage
- pPīr
- pPolymath
- pPoṣadha
- pPossession
- pPothī
- pPrabhas
- pPradakṣiṇā
- pPradeśa
- pPrākāra
- pPrakīrṇaka-sūtra
- pPrākrit
- pPramāda
- pPramukhā
- pPrati-vāsudeva
- pPratikramaṇa
- pPratimā
- pPratiṣṭhā
- pPratyākhyāna
- pPratyakṣa
- pPravacana
- pPrāyaścitta
- pPrayer
- pPre-modern
- pPreach
- pPredestination
- pProtestant
- pProvenance
- pPudgala
- pPūjā
- pPujārī
- pPukharavara-dvīpa
- pPuṇya
- pPūrva
- pPuṣkara-dvīpa
- pPuṣpadanta
- pPyre
- qQur’an
- rRāga
- rRāhu
- rRainy season
- rRajasthan
- rRajasthani
- rRājimatī
- rRajoharaṇa
- rRajput
- rRāma
- rRāmāyaṇa
- rRangoli
- rRās-garbā
- rRasa
- rRathanemi
- rRatna-traya
- rRātri-bhojana
- rRaudra-dhyāna
- rRecto
- rRelic
- rRenunciation
- rRetroflex
- rRevatī
- %Ṛg-veda
- rRite
- rRosary
- %Ṛṣabha
- %Ṛṣabhanātha
- rRupee
- sSaciyā Mātā
- sSādhu
- sSādhvī
- sSāgāra
- sSaint
- sŚaivaism
- sŚaka-saṃvat
- sSallekhanā
- sŚalya
- sSamacatuṣṭha
- sSamādhimaraṇa
- sSamaṇi
- sSāmarambha
- sSamavasaraṇa
- sSāmāyika
- sSaṃbhava
- sSamiti
- sSaṃjñā
- sSaṃkalpaja
- sSaṃsāra
- sSamudghāta
- sSaṃvara
- sSaṃvega
- sSamyak-cāritra
- sSamyak-darśana
- sSamyak-jñāna
- sSamyaktva
- sSaṃyama
- sSanctuary
- sSandalwood
- sSaṇgha
- sSanskrit
- sSant
- sŚānti
- sSapta-bhaṅgi-naya
- sSārambha
- sSarasvatī
- sSarvajña
- sSāsan-devi
- sŚāsana-devatā
- sŚāstra
- %Ṣaṭ-jīvanikāya
- sSatī
- sSatīmātā
- sSatya
- sSchism
- sScribe
- sScripture
- sSect
- sSecularism
- sŚenāī
- sSermon
- sŚeṣavatī
- sSevā
- sSeven fields of donation
- sShah Jahan
- sShantidas Jhaveri
- sShrine
- sSiddha
- sSiddha-śilā
- sSiddhacakra or Navadevatā
- sSiddhānta
- sSiddhārtha
- sSiddhi
- sSikh
- sSikhism
- sŚikṣā-vrata
- sŚīla
- sSin
- sSindh
- sŚītala
- sŚiva
- sSkandha
- sSomanatha
- sŚraddhā
- sŚramaṇa
- sŚrāvaka
- sŚrāvakācāra
- sŚrāvikā
- sŚreyāṃsa
- sŚrī
- sŚrīvatsa
- sŚruta-jñāna
- sŚruta-pañcamī
- sSthānaka-vāsin
- sSthāpanācārya
- sSthāvara
- sSthavira
- sSthiti
- sStrīmukti
- sStūpa
- sSubcontinent
- sSudarshana
- sŚuddhi
- sSudharma
- sŚūdra
- sSufism
- sSukha
- sŚukla-dhyāna
- sSulasā
- sSultan
- sSumati
- sSundarśrī
- sSupārśva
- sSūri
- sSuṣamā
- sSuṣamā-duṣamā
- sSuṣamā-suṣamā
- sSūtra
- sSuyam me ausam! Tenam bhagavaya evamakkhayam
- sSvādhyāya
- sSvāhā
- sSvastika
- sŚvetāmbara
- sŚvetāmbara Terāpanthin
- sŚvetāmbaras
- sSwan
- sSyād-vāda
- tTabla
- tTantra
- tTapā-gaccha
- tTapas
- tTāraṇ Svāmī Panth
- tTattva
- tTattvārtha-sūtra
- tTemple
- tTemple-city
- tThe Enlightenment
- tTheology
- tThree worlds
- %Ṭīkā
- tTilaka
- tTīrtha
- tTīrthaṃkaranāma-karman
- tTīrthankara
- tTransliteration
- tTrasa
- tTrasa-nāḍī
- tTriśalā
- tTriṣaṣṭi-śalākā-puruṣa-caritra
- tTti bemi
- tTughlaq
- tTunk
- uUdumbara
- uUniversal History
- uUpādhyāya
- uUpāṅga
- uUpaniṣads
- uUpāsaka
- uUpasarga
- uUpāśraya
- uŪrdhva-loka
- uUtsarpiṇī
- uUttarādhyayana-sūtra
- vVāhana
- vVaimānika
- vVairāgya
- vVaiṣṇava
- vVaiśramaṇa
- vVaiśya
- vValabhī
- vVanaspatikāya
- vVandana
- 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 partly damaged caption in the upper-right corner says: dīkṣā Neminātha – ‘Neminātha’s initiation‘.
On the left side is Neminātha or Lord Nemi, who has now given up all the possessions of a prince. He wears a single garment but is often shown in the pictures as keeping his jewellery. He is sitting under an aśoka tree. On the right is the god Śakra, depicted with four hands and seated under a royal canopy.
Nemi is catching his long hair in his hand, preparing to pluck it out in five handfuls. This is the symbolic gesture of giving up worldly life and entering religious life. Monks and nuns still perform this act of dīkṣā today.
Śakra is present at the key points of Nemi’s life. Here he is shown ready to receive the hair of the future Jina.
Nemi performs his initiation ceremony in public in a park outside the city of Dvāravatī. According to some sources, this park is on slightly raised ground. This is symbolised in this painting by the bottom row, which represents mountain peaks.
Other visual elements
The original paper is slightly damaged. But, as with many Kalpa-sūtra manuscripts, there is a clear intention to make the manuscript a valuable and remarkable object in itself. This aim is signalled by the:
- coloured background for the text
- gold ink instead of the standard black ink
- decorated border with blue floral motifs
- diamond filled with gold ink, with ornamental blue border.
The diamond in the centre is a symbolic reminder of the way in which manuscripts were bound when they were on palm leaf. Strings through holes in the paper were used to thread together the loose folios so the reader could turn them over easily. The diamond is in the place where one of the holes would once have been.