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Folio 2, from a Great Poem about Twos (Dvyashraya Mahakavya) of Hemachandra with Commentary by Abhayatilaka

Unknown

1428

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Religious

Dominant colour

Folio 2, from a Great Poem about Twos (Dvyashraya Mahakavya) of Hemachandra with Commentary by Abhayatilaka is a 1428 unspecified by Unknown, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1428 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a monk in white sitting on a throne, holding a cloth to his mouth and a broom behind his back. This is Hemachandra, a Jain monk who wrote a book on grammar in 1160. The cloth keeps him from accidentally swallowing insects. The broom sweeps bugs from his path—both show Jain beliefs about not harming any living thing. Look up Jain manuscripts at The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more like this.

The story of this work

Overview

The author of the text, Hemachandra (1088–1173) is seated at the left, on a throne. He was a Jain monk, here shown clad in a white robe, with shaven head, holding a cloth before his mouth to screen out any insects he might inadvertently harm by swallowing. Also an attribute of Jain ascetics, who adhere to principles of committing no harm to any living being, is the broom behind his back, used to sweep insects from the path. He wrote this text in 1160, illustrating points of grammar with praiseworthy deeds of his royal patrons, such as King Kumarapala (reigned 1143–1172) of the Solanki dynasty…