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
Beneath a triple parasol a naked white figure sits in the lotus position of meditation in an ornate temple structure. Two smaller figures make gestures of worship to him.
This painting shows two Jain devotees paying homage to the eighth Jina Candraprabhanātha or Lord Candraprabha in the temple dedicated to him in Karanja.
The Jina is identified through his symbol, the crescent moon. As is usual in Digambara style, he is shown entirely naked without any ornamentation. The triple parasol over his head underlines his status as a king in the spiritual sense.
Other visual elements
This Ādityavāravratakathā manuscript is quite decorative. There are broad floral borders at the top and bottom and 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:
16 recto
- 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:
Worship of Candraprabha
- Source:
The British Library Board
- Shelfmark:
Or. 14290
- Author:
Gangādāsa
- Date of creation:
1792
- Folio number:
16 recto
- 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
Beneath a triple parasol a naked white figure sits in the lotus position of meditation in an ornate temple structure. Two smaller figures make gestures of worship to him.
This painting shows two Jain devotees paying homage to the eighth Jina Candraprabhanātha or Lord Candraprabha in the temple dedicated to him in Karanja.
The Jina is identified through his symbol, the crescent moon. As is usual in Digambara style, he is shown entirely naked without any ornamentation. The triple parasol over his head underlines his status as a king in the spiritual sense.
Other visual elements
This Ādityavāravratakathā manuscript is quite decorative. There are broad floral borders at the top and bottom and 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.