Mahavira Jain Vidyalay Suvarna Mahotsav Granth Part 1

Author(s): Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya Mumbai
Publisher: Mahavir Jain Vidyalay

Page 858

NEW DOCUMENTS OF JAINA PAINTINGS: 359
An analysis of the manuscripts shows that Gujarat had the following centres of painting-Surat, Vyaghrasenapura, Patan, Cambay, Vadnagar, Matar, Ahmedabad, Anjar, etc. This shows a flourishing state of painting in Gujarat. Apparently there was a large demand for illustrated manuscripts from the Jainas of Gujarat and therefore painters started working in many centres to satisfy the ever-growing demand.
Whether these painters devoted themselves exclusively to painting the Jaina manuscripts it is not known. There is, however, every possibility that these painters were not always Jainas and they must have worked for the Hindus as well but unfortunately illustrated. Hindu manuscripts discovered so far, are very limited in number.
There is no doubt that there is hardly any difference between the Western Indian and Gujarati styles of painting. It is difficult to say whether the unplaced manuscripts in our list belong to Gujarat or Marwar. But the manuscript of the Samgrahani-sutra painted at Navaharnagar belongs to Bikaner area as Navahar is identified with Navghar.
Most interesting, however, are the two manuscripts of Meghadúta and Kumarasambhava which are apparently of Uttara Pradesh originone painted at Asani near Jaunpur and the second at Nautanpur not yet identified but probably in Uttara Pradesh.
Group I
Of special interest for the history of Indian painting are two illustrated Kalpa-sutras, one painted in 1346 A. D. and the other in 1501 A. D. at Patan. Unfortunately the provenance of the first is not given. But probably it was painted at Patan which was a great stronghold of the Svetämbara Jaina community from almost the tenth century A. D. onwards.
The format of the folios shows clearly that the first manuscript belongs to the early group and could not be dated later than second half of the 14th century (figs. 1-3). The composition is simple but effective though this was the period when the themes for painting the Kalpa-sutra and Kalaka-katha were being formulated, and, therefore, though the painter shows a certain liking for conventionalised figures, especially in the representation of the king and queen, the acȧrya preaching to the congregation, yet in certain scenes such as the birth of Mahāvīra and Indra carrying the baby the painter has expressed a joie de vivre which is pleasing. The colours used are simple: