Folio 141 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
Palm leaf was the preferred material for sacred texts before the 1400s in India. The text here was often appended to the Kalpa-sutra, the most sacred book of Jainism. This story concerns the life of a Jain teacher named Kalaka, a prince who developed the ability to work magic after he become a monk, inspired by the teachings of a holy man. The painting on this page shows a monk clad in white, indicating his affiliation with the Shvetambara (“white clad”) branch of Jainism. It is the second to the last page of the manuscript and includes the beginning of the colophon, which contains information about when and where this manuscript was produced.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionSimilar works
Folio 2 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya
Folio (recto) from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya of Devachandra: Text
Folio 2 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya of Devachandra
Text, folio 22 (verso) from a Yoga-shastra of Hemachandra
Text: Folio 2 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra
Jain monk with disciple and two laymen, two nuns, and a laywoman, folio 22 (recto) from a Yoga-shastra of Hemachandra