The V&A has recently acquired a large and splendid painting of Shatrunjaya Hill in Gujarat, one of the holiest Jain sites. Thousands of pilgrims climb up to the temples on top of the hills by a path with over 3,000 steps. Today (28 November 2012) is Kartik Purnima, the special day when these paintings are hung up and venerated in Jain temples. Detailed paintings of the sacred site, like this one, enable worshippers who are unable to be there to envisage and contemplate it.
The painting was acquired with assistance from the V&A Jain Art Fund.
Image courtesy of John Eskenazi
