Text, Folio 31 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra
1488
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1488
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Text, Folio 31 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra is a 1488 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a bright blue god sitting on a throne, holding a newborn baby in his lap. Around them, two priests hold golden bowls, and two cows float in the air above. This is a scene from Jain tradition—the first bath of Mahavira, the religion’s founder. The milk in the bowls washes away his earthly ties. The jagged mountains at the bottom show Mount Meru, a sacred place in Jain stories. The colors are flat and bold, with no shadows, so everything feels clear and direct. To see more art like this, look up the subject western india, gujarat.
The large, seated figure in the center of the composition is Indra, king of the gods, who holds in his lap the infant Mahavira, founder of the Jain religion. Indra had taken him to Mount Meru, indicated by the jagged peaks at the bottom of the painting, for his first bath. Two priests flanking them hold vessels for the bath, and the two cows above indicate that the vessels are full of milk. The milk bath washed away all the impurities of the birth.
Read the full account in the museum source.
