Sakra commands Harinaigamesin to carry Mahavira's embryo from the Brahmani Devananda to Queen Trisala
Date15th century
MediumOpaque watercolors and gold on paper
CultureIndian
ClassificationsManuscripts
Credit LineGift of Edward Brohel
Terms
- Manuscripts
- Manuscripts
- Calligraphy
- Crowns
- Embryos
- Headgear
- Inscriptions
- Jainism
- Jewelry
- Jinas
- Kalpasutra
- Mahavira
- Necklaces
- Religion
- Sakra
- Svetambara
- Tirthankharas
- Indian
Object number64.0936
Label CopyTwo main religious texts serve the Svetambara (“white clad”) sect of Jainism: the Kalpasutra, which relates the biography of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Jina; and the Kalakacharyakatha (Story of Kalaka). Donors would commission copies of Jain texts as an act of merit, to present to their spiritual teacher and to eventually be housed in the temple library. This page comes from a manuscript made in Western India, probably Gujarat.
The Vedic deity Indra, or Sakra, came to the aid of the twenty-fourth Jina Mahavira from his conception to his birth. In this illustration Sakra commands the goat-headed deity Harinegameshin to carry the embryo of Mahavira from his Brahmin mother Devananda, who had fourteen auspicious dreams on the night that Mahavira descended from Pushpottara heaven to enter her womb. Harinegameshin carries the embryo to Mahavira’s surrogate mother Queen Trisala, who also has auspicious dreams on the night that she receives the embryo. Harinegameshin is an ancient Indian folk deity worshipped as a patron of children and provider of safe childbirth.
Collections
Unidentified artist
late 15th century
Atelier of Ibrahim Sultan ibn Shah Rukh
1438
late 19th or early 20th century
20th century