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Jina and Kalpasutra Folio at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts VMFA By Dhruti Ghiya Rathi
by JainDigest
For this month, we feature two objects in the VMFA (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts), in Richmond, VA which are very interesting pieces in their collection, as they represent some anomalies from the popular understanding about them within the Jain community. These objects raise some interesting questions and thought-provoking conversations when looking at art from its historical context.
Jina and Kalpasutra Folio at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) has a very interesting collection of Jain Art objects. Of which we shall be discussing some art objects that arouse the curiosity of a museum visitor. The first one we shall be discussing is titled Jina of 1160 CE, a white marble statue that has some traces of pigment, indicating at one point it was an idol with color. The date, name of the Tirthankar, and its installation details are inscribed on the seat of the cushion as seen in Figure 1A and Figure 1B. The inscription states in its third line (Fig 1B), Sreyans Jina Pratima, idol of Shreyans Tirthankar, eleventh in the current series of the 24 Tirthankars.
In Figure 1B, the name Shreyansnath is clearly inscribed, but it is not with certainty that we can say it is the idol of Shreyansanath, as the lanchhan (symbol) in Figure 1C is a conch. Conch is associated with the twenty-second Tirthankar Neminath. Should we consider it as an error in the inscription or is there an error in the lanchhan? Or neither? What is the history of Jaina sculptures? Per Arpit, from Stories by Arpit, prior to the lanchhan, there were just inscriptions stating the names of the Tirthankars. Before the inscriptions, there were Yaksha and Yakshi on the sides of the idol, assisting the identification of the Tirthankar. And in the very early stages, we had some obvious clues, as the hair on the Rishabhadeva and the snake hood on Parshwanath Tirthankar. The sculptures were demonstrated with lanchhans only after the 7th century CE, per Arpit. Hence, in this case, the weightage should be given more on the inscription and hence, likely the idol was meant to represent Shreyansnath, and not Neminath.
The second object under discussion is a Kalpasutra folio which has interesting artwork depicting the Ashta Mangal. These are a group of eight (ashta) auspicious symbols, which per the Jain scriptures accompanied the Tirthankars as he travelled (vihar) and spread the knowledge. Digambar and Swetambar have a different list of Ashta Mangal symbols. The Swetãmbar Ashta Mangal are represented in the Kalpasutra Folio image in Figure 2.
The first row depicts (l to r): Darpan (mirror), Bhadrasan (seat), and Vardhamanak (Vessel). The second row from (l to r): Kalash (pot), design, and Matsya Yugal (Pair of Fish). The third row depicts from (l to r): SriVatsa, Swastik, and Nandyavarta.
By considering the middle square as a design here, we arrive at the eight symbols of the Ashta Mangal of the Swetambars. These folios often were the cover pages of manuscripts as shown in Figure 3. On comparison of the 15th century image in Figure 2 with Figure 3, we observe that the middle design in Figure 2 is shown as darpan in Figure 3 of the 16th century CE.
Further, the middle image of Figure 2 is shown as Vardhamanak in the late 18th century, as observed from another manuscript cover in Figure 4.
The last image of Figure 4 gives us a clue as to the possible identification of the middle square of Figure 2. It likely represents Vardhaman Mahavir (derived from Vardhamanak in Figure 4), or represents a Tirthankar, around whom the eight auspicious mangals rotated. These mangals were found under Asoka tree as noted from the Uvavai Sutta when Mahavir gave discourses after obtaining Keval Gnan. Multiple images of Ashta Mangals above also indicate to us that there was no order for depicting them. The Digambar Ashta Mangal list varied slightly with the inclusion of Chamar, Vyajan, and Dhvaj. Digambar Ashta mangal included Chattra (Parasol), Dhvaj (Flag), Chamar (Fly Whisk), Simhasan (Seat), Kalash (Water pot), Vyajan (Fan), Bhringra (Gilded Vase) and Darpan (Mirror).
Not only the Jains, but Buddhist and Hindus also have their set of Ashta mangal symbols. The Tibetan Buddhist list includes Parasol, White Conch Shell, Two Golden Fish, Knot of Eternity, Vase of Great Treasures, Victory Banner, Lotus Flower, and Dharmachakra. Matsya Yugal and Parasol (royalty or seat of honor) are common across the Jain and Buddhist traditions. The gilded vase and Dhvaj of the Digambars match the vase of great treasure and the victory banner of the Tibetan Buddhists. Thus, similarities are observed between the Jain and Buddhist traditions with respect to the symbols representing auspiciousness.
The above two objects highlight the importance of understanding the historical context of the development of art and practices in the traditions. The Jina idol points to some other meaning of conch shell. Since the Jina sculpture in Figure 1A is a consecrated idol, it was worshipped by the people, who understood conch shell as representing Shreyansnath. Similarities of the Ashta mangal symbols between the Swetambar, Digambar, and Buddhist sects indicate a common knowledge base and a contemporaneous period of Mahavir and Buddha
The author is immensely grateful to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya, for graciously allowing free usage of the licensed images The author would also like to show immense gratitude to Acharya Shri Nandighosha Suriji Maharaj for valuable information about Figure 2.
Dhruti is a New Jersey-based MBA, SAP and FJAS professional. Dhruti is Involved with Jainism-SaysBlogspot, she researches Jain Iconography, Epigraphy, Historical and Numismatic references in Jain literature overlooked by historians, and on the applications of Jain principles. Dhruti’s research was presented at the Dating of Mahavir Nirvana Symposium by ISJS. dhrutirathi@gmail.com
