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Parshva Undergoes Physical Trials, Folio 46 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra
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Parshva Undergoes Physical Trials, Folio 46 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra

c. 1500 · Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

Parshva stands in a yogic posture of meditation, bearing the hardship of the elements, unmoved. When stormwaters threatened his life, serpents shielded him so that he could complete his meditations and reach liberation. One cobra stretched his seven-hooded canopy over his head like an umbrella, while a serpent king and his wife praise him. The abstract gold lines on the blue background represent the waters that rose to the level of his shoulders. In this painting, the image of Parshva wears a white lower garment, which indicates that this manuscript was made for the prominent branch of Jainism that allows monks and nuns to wear white robes.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineParshva Undergoes Physical Trials, Folio 46 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra, c. 1500. Western India, Gujarat, late 15th-early 16th century. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; overall: 12.5 x 25.7 cm (4 15/16 x 10 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1932.119.46.a

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