Cleveland Museum of Art

Folio 1, from a Great Poem about Twos (Dvyashraya Mahakavya) of Hemachandra with Commentary by Abhayatilaka

Date

1428

Medium

Gum tempera and ink on palm leaf

Culture

Western India, Gujarat, possibly Patan

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The first two folios of this manuscript commentary have adjoining paintings: the first is the green image of Parshva, a liberated being known as a Jina, and the second depicts the author of the text, Hemachandra (1088–1173), as a monk with his royal patron Kumarapala (reigned 1143–1172). The text of this manuscript illustrates grammatical points of both Sanskrit and Prakrit—a living language derived from Sanskrit—with examples of the wondrous deeds of his kings. Hemachandra was a celebrated poet, historian, grammarian, philosopher, and theologian of medieval India.

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