Cleveland Museum of Art

Birth of Mahavira, folio 40 (verso) from a Kalpa-sutra

Date: c. 1400
Medium: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Culture: Western India, Gujarat
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

A queen and her golden newborn lie on a swing, gazing at one another as two attendants hold fly whisks to honor them. The infant is Mahavira, founder of the Jain religion, who lived during the 500s BC in northern India. Though palm leaf was preferred for sacred texts, Jain communities transitioned to the more readily available material of paper during the 1300s. A hole in the central red dot was made for a binding string. The margin notes beginning with the “=” sign are comments explaining the text. Under the swing bed is a box decorated with two geese, filled with paan (betel nut, lime, and spices wrapped in betel leaf).

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