Cleveland Museum of Art

Nemi's Omniscience and First Teaching (below) and Nemi in the Realm of Liberation (above), Folio 51 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra

Date: c. 1475–1500
Medium: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Culture: Western India, Gujarat
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

Nemi, who was the cousin of the Hindu god Krishna, lived in the ancient mythic past. Like every other Jina, after achieving enlightenment he gave a mystical teaching to all the gods and animals and appeared to the assembly simultaneously in all directions. This exposition of Jain teachings is depicted by the circular diagram with Nemi seated in the center. The crescent moon under the seated figure of Nemi at the top of the page reveals that he is depicted in the realm of liberation, above the world of birth and death, in eternal meditative bliss.

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