Ancient manuscripts can often reappear in relevance. The art of Jain manuscripts brings back traditions, concepts and artwork from millennia long past. And curiously, these manuscripts were seldom studied until 150 years ago, when they were first translated to the world. Until then, Jain manuscripts were exclusively read in monasteries.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the work of scholars like James Tod, George Bühler, R.G. Bhandarkar and Peter Peterson. Without the efforts of the Archaeological Survey and prominent Indian and European Orientalists many priceless Jain texts would have been lost to time.

 

 

The rediscovery of Jainism – which had until then been considered a sub-sect of Buddhism by the British – would have many implications. One was the rediscovery of mathematical insight by P.C. Mahalanobis, who in his paper on the ‘Foundations of
Statistics ‘, identifies an ancient Jain scholar as giving
rise to the concept of probability. In the manuscripts of Bhadrabahu, we find an ancient explanation of probability in the concept of Syādvāda. Mahalanobis has divided it into seven empirical statements:
 (1) May be, it is ; (2) maybe, it is not ; (3) may be, it is and it is not ; (4) may be, it is indescribable; (5) may be, it is and yet is indescribable ; (6) may be, it is not and it is also indescribable ; (7) may be, it is and it is not and it is also indescribable.  In modern statistics, such an inference was made possible through experiments such Pavlov’s dog and the like. But Bhadrabahu achieved this through meditation and logic alone. The legacy of Bhadrabahu is vast and spans many fields. He lived in the third century B.C., and was the last universally acknowledged Acharya (saint) to have achieved the state of Shrut Kevalin.  From Bhadrabahu’s time, Jains split into two sects – the Digambara and Svetambara. He is the author of the key Jain manuscript known as the Kalapasutra. The
Svetambaras consider this the most important canonical text for their practice, as it contains the biographies of all the Jain Tirthankaras, including Parshvanatha and Mahavira (the last two in chronological order). During the eight-day festival of Paryushan, it is read aloud to members of the Svetambara sect. The Jain manuscripts, of which the Kalapasutra is but one, are a source to many insights crucial to the epistemology of the Jain faith. But they are also, in themselves, works of art

The Art of Jain Manuscripts

The oldest datable painted manuscript

India was from the Svetambara school in the mid-12th century A.D. From the 10th-11th centuries, it’s known that these manuscripts were painted on palmleafs . But by the 15th century, a version of the Kalpasutra was painted with gold and lapis lazuli colours. These were inspired by Persian paintings. One reason for this change in style was the growing spread and reach of the Jain merchant community. For ultimately, all art needs a patron. The Jains of Gujarat were renowned traders, who expanded across Central and North India by the 15th century – prompting a blending of styles from those of Western India with those of the Delhi Sultanate, encompassing colours and techniques from across the world. This Kalapasutra, known as the Jaunpur folio, contains a depiction
of the 14 auspicious dreams of Mahavira’s mother. Each symbol, from the elephant to the bull to the smokeless fire, represents an element of virtue and purpose that her soon to-arrive son, Mahavira, would possess.

There are differences between both the art style and conceptualisation of the two schools in Jainism, Svetambara, and Digambara. In Digambara art the Jina is always depicted in the nude – reflecting the community’s own practise of open nudity. Nudity is significant to the Digambaras, as it represents the discarding of all material possessions. Thus, the free-standing ‘Bahubali’ monolith in Sravanbelgola is nude, as are the sculptures. Whereas the Svetambaras, known to wear white clothing, always depict their
icons as clothed. Some manuscripts, though made in the 16th century, represent some of the oldest Jain wisdom to be found. The Uttaradhyayanasutra, believed to be from 16th century Gujarat or Rajasthan, represent an ancient Jain work that documented the very words of Mahavira – believed to have died in 526 B.C. Two millennia passed between his final words and their visual record on a manuscript. The Uttaradhyayanasutra contains 36 chapters, each illustrated with a miniature in the traditional style. Returning to Bhadrabahu, there is one final legend around him that is intrinsically tied to the history of India. The great legendary king, Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Mauryan Empire that was the first large kingdom to encompass the Indian subcontinent, is believed to have cast away his riches and wealth towards the end of his life. His teacher, according to Digambara belief, was none other than Bhadrabahu. Chandragupta’s moment took place, like that of Mahavir’s mother, through a series of dreams – 16 in the Mauryan emperor’s case. Asked to interpret these, Bhadrabahu understood them as foreboding a terrible famine. This led him to lead a large exodus of Jains from the Northern reach of the empire down South to Sravanbelgola. Chandragupta is said to have joined him to Sravanbelgola, where he lived and performed penance for 12 years. According to the legend, here, he fasted to death according to the Jain vow of Sallekhana.  His tutor, Bhadrabahu, did the same, and the Chandragupta temple nearby contains the scenes of the lives of both the emperor and the saint. From art to mathematics, philosophy and the final days of India’s greatest emperor, Jainism has played a crucial role in reshaping India’s intellectual. cultural and artistic landscape.