The Art of the Book

Jain, Jainism, Religion, Faith, Asia, Collections

  • Jain manuscript cover, 19th century



    Jain manuscript cover depicting the fourteen auspicious dreams of Queen Trisala, Mahavira's mother, which heralded his birth
    Western India
    19th century
    Painted wood
    Museum no. IS.50-1983

    From the earliest Jain illuminated manuscripts, the folios were encased in wooden covers that are often decorated with religious or historical themes. These book covers, such as this 19th-century example, continued to be made in later centuries.

  • The Birth of Mahavira, from a Kalpasutra manuscript, Late 15th - early 16th century



    Page from a Kalpasutra manuscript showing the birth of Mahavira
    From the Kalpasutra Manuscript
    Western India
    Late 15th - early 16th century
    Opaque watercolour on paper
    Museum no. IM.8-1931

    The Kalpasutra (The Book of Ritual) is one of the two most popular texts and contains biographies of the four most significant Jinas, including Mahavira, and the Story of the Teacher Kalaka (Kalakacharyakatha), an influential moralising work frequently appended to the Kalpasutra.

  • Page from a Kalpasutra manuscript, late 15th - early 16th century



    Page from a Kalpasutra manuscript showing women of the royal household celebrating the sixth night after the birth of Mahavira
    Western India
    Late 15th - early 16th century
    Opaque watercolour on paper
    Museum no. IS.46:39-1959

    The Kalpasutra (The Book of Ritual) is one of the two most popular texts and contains biographies of the four most significant Jinas, including Mahavira, and the Story of the Teacher Kalaka (Kalakacharyakatha), an influential moralising work frequently appended to the Kalpasutra.

  • Page from a Samgrahanisutra manuscript, 1630



    Page from a Samgrahanisutra manuscript
    Western India, probably Rajasthan
    1630
    Opaque watercolour on paper
    Museum No: IS.2-1984

    The Samgrahanisutra is a cosmological text composed in 1136 that includes Jain ideas about the structure of the universe and the mapping of space. This page shows the influence of the prevalent Mughal style on Jain art in the early 17th century, when the Mughal empire was at its height. The V&A also has an 18th-century edition of the complete manuscript.

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