Harinegameshin Transfers Mahavira's Embryo from Devananda to Trishala

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Harinegameshin Transfers Mahavira's Embryo from Devananda to Trishala

c. 1450

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

This page comes from an illustrated copy of the Kalpasutra, the sacred Jain text that describes the life of the historical Jain savior-saint Mahavira, who lived in about the sixth century B.C. The lower register of the illustration depicts Harinegameshin, the goat-headed divine helper, taking the embryo containing Mahavira from the womb of the Brahmin (priestly caste) mother in whom he was conceived; the upper register shows him placing the embryo in the womb of Queen Trishala, the Kshatriya (ruler caste) mother to whom Mahavira must be born.

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Object Details

Title:

Harinegameshin Transfers Mahavira's Embryo from Devananda to Trishala
Page from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra (Story of the Jina Mahavira)

Date:

c. 1450

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Medium:

Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper

Dimensions:

Sheet: 4 7/8 × 11 5/8 inches (12.4 × 29.5 cm)

Classification:

Books/Manuscripts/Information Artifacts

Credit Line:

Gift of Howard A. Wolf, 1976

Accession Number:

1976-191-1(13a,b)

Geography:

Made in India, Asia Probably made in Gujarat, India, Asia

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