The Royal Asiatic Society was presented with this painting by Major-General William Miles on 17th June 1837. It had been given to him ‘by a Jain Priest of the Province of Marwar’ (see Head 1991). Besides his official activities in the army, Major-General Miles showed interest in the Jains, demonstrated by his contribution entitled ‘On the Jains of Gujerat and Marwar’ (Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society III, 1835: 335–371). F. E. Pargiter published the first description of this Two and A Half Continents painting in 1916 (see Pargiter 1916) in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Aḍhāī-dvīpa is the Hindi phrase for ‘Two and A Half Continents’ and describes the only part of the universe where human beings live in the Middle World of Jain cosmology. Frequently depicted in maps or colourful diagrams, it is the only part of the universe where people can be born so it is also known as ‘the World of Humans‘ – manuṣya-loka.
The Two and A Half Continents is formed of concentric rings of differing size. Every other ring is a continent, which is surrounded by a ring of ocean. Moving from the centre outwards, the order is as follows:
Mount Meru is the centre of the universe in Jain cosmology, at the heart of the central continent of Jambū-dvīpa. Jambū is where human beings live and is in the Middle World, one of the three worlds of traditional Jain cosmology.
The Middle World is the smallest of the three worlds that make up world space – loka-ākāśa. In world space all the souls live in the different body-forms they take according to their rebirths, in the various worlds. Outside world space is the non world space – aloka-ākāśa – which is endless. However, the Middle World is the most important area from the spiritual point of view because it is the only part where human beings can live.
Pictures in cosmological works are not intended to be merely attractive. Spelling out in visual form the complex explanations found in the writings, cosmological paintings form a long-established tradition of artwork in Jain heritage.
Jains cannot advance spiritually without understanding and meditating upon cosmological theories so understanding them is crucial. Certain key religious concepts run through these theories. These include the notion of a physical soul shedding karma by moving through the cycle of rebirth to eventual omniscience and final liberation, along with the cyclical nature of time, the interconnectedness of the universe, and the importance of symmetry, repetition and balance.
In the bottom-left corner, the text on the right side of the temple with a Jina, provides information that is found in the colophons of manuscripts. The first few lines are additional detail about the Jain universe, provided on the description tab.
From line 4 onwards, it gives the date and the name of the person who wrote, and perhaps painted, the object and of the owner.
4. // śrī // Br̥hat-Kharatara-gache śrī-Jinacandrasūri-ācārya-
5. vā° śrī-105-śrī-Kuśalabhaktajī-gaṇi / tat-śiṣya
6. vā°/ śrī-104-śrī-Rūpadhīrajī-gaṇi / tat-si-
7. ṣya paṃ°/ pra°/ Tilokacaṃdaḥ Dayācaṃda
8. liṣataṃ / saṃ 1873 rā varṣe Śāke 1739 pramite Yeṣṭha suda 3 di-
9. ne //
10. // paṃ pra śrī-105-śrī-śrī-
11. Pāsadattajī ro pāṭa chai sva-vācanā-
12. rthe liṣāyo
13. che subhaṃ bhava-
14. tu.
Written by Pandit Tilokacanda Dayācanda, pupil of the group-leader, the teacher Rūpadhīra, himself pupil of the group-leader, the respected teacher Kuśalabhakta, pupil of Jinacandra-sūri of the monastic order the Large Kharatara. The third day of the bright half of the year 1873 in the Vikrama era, 1739 in the Śāka era.
This is the painted cloth of Pandit Pāsadatta. It was created for him to read. May there be auspiciousness!
The language is Sanskrit, mixed with Rajasthani. The words rā and ro mean ‘of’ in this language.
The numbers 105 and 104 accompanying the honorific title śrī, which is used with the proper name of a religious teacher, are auspicious. The number 108 may also be used in the same way.
The Br̥hat-Kharatara-gaccha is one of the main Śvetāmbara monastic orders. Arising in the 12th century, this sect is active today and is largely represented in Rajasthan or Gujarat.
In the long history of this monastic order there have been several heads with the name Jinacandra-sūri. This one is probably the Jinacandra-sūri who was born in 1752 and died in 1799 (1809–1856 of the Vikrama era). Thus he had died before this aḍhāī-dvīpa was made.
The date is expressed according to the traditional Indian calendar. Here the year is indicated in two different eras, namely the:
The complete date as given in the document corresponds to 19 May 1817 in the Common Era (Pargiter 1916: 539).
The word pāṭa is the technical name for paintings on cloth or paper that are meant to be rolled so they can be carried.
The final phrase is customary at the end of manuscripts.
Raymond Head
Nalini Balbir
Nalini Balbir
Julia A. B. Hegewald
Julia A. B. Hegewald
Julia A. B. Hegewald
G. R. Jain
Two and A Half Continents and numerical information