Background
Glossary
Description
Other visual elements
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 shape and style of the script, which is close to calligraphy
- the red background of the text
- the use of gold ink instead of the standard black ink for the text
- the use of gold in the paintings themselves instead of ordinary colours
- the decorated borders with floral arabesques in blue, black and red
- the division of the text into two parts along the folio’s centre by a border decorated with beautiful blue arabesques.
Script
The elaborate script used is the Jaina Devanāgarī script, which is here like calligraphy. This script is notable because it is an old type in the way the sounds e and o are notated when used with a consonant. It is known as pṣṭhamātrā script.- Source:
Victoria and Albert Museum
- Shelfmark:
IM 7-1931
- Author:
unknown
- Date of creation:
circa 1490
- Folio number:
7 recto
- Total number of folios:
single folio
- Place of creation:
western India
- Language:
Ardhamāgadhī Prākrit
- Medium:
watercolour on paper
- Size:
25 x 10.5 cms
- Copyright:
V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, 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
- gGarba
- gGarbha
- 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 text describes how Hariṇaigameṣin, the commander-in-chief of Śakra, lord of the gods, modestly and politely accepts his master’s order. This is to transfer Mahāvīra’s embryo from the brahmin lady Devānandā to the kṣatriya Triśalā. The text describes how Hariṇaigameṣin magically transforms himself so he can enter the world of humans.
Other visual elements
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 shape and style of the script, which is close to calligraphy
- the red background of the text
- the use of gold ink instead of the standard black ink for the text
- the use of gold in the paintings themselves instead of ordinary colours
- the decorated borders with floral arabesques in blue, black and red
- the division of the text into two parts along the folio’s centre by a border decorated with beautiful blue arabesques.
Script
The elaborate script used is the Jaina Devanāgarī script, which is here like calligraphy. This script is notable because it is an old type in the way the sounds e and o are notated when used with a consonant. It is known as pṣṭhamātrā script.