Mahavira Jain Vidyalay Suvarna Mahotsav Granth Part 1

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

Page 893

394 : SHRI MAHAVIRA JAINA VIDYALAYA GOLDEN JUBILEE VOLUME
Saṁgrahani. Some illustrated manuscripts of this work are described in the following pages.
Kierfel published a few illustrations of cosmographical charts (of the Jainas), most of which are available in illustrated manuscripts of the Samgrahaņī sūtras.
A large number of illustrated manuscripts of the Samgrahaņi are available in the Jaina Bhandaras and private collections but have not received the attention they deserve from art historians. Because of the nature of the text, most of the paintings illustrate cosmographical charts of the Universe, the different continents and oceans, which hardly have any aesthetic appeal as works of art. But every illustrated manuscript of the Samgrahani contains, besides charts, some illustrations of different classes of gods, their distinguishing symbols, the illustration of the Jaina theory of Leśyas (thoughtcolours) 44, the fourteen ratnas (jewels) of a Cakravartin, scenes of heavens and hells etc. These miniatures have some value from the point of view of art. Often such manuscripts are dated and are, therefore, more valuable to an art historian as is obvious from the Samgrahaņi painted at Matar in 1583 A.D. discussed below.
i S. M. Nawab first published a few miniatures of the Sargrahaņā in his Jaina Citrakalpadruma, Vol. I, figs. 269-271 and 273-278. The manuscript was reported to be in the collections of Muni Sri Caturvijaya and Muni śri Amaravijaya. With these may be compared the illustrated Samgrahani dated 1637 A.D. in the Prince of Wales Museum done in the Popular Mughal style.
Anand Krishna has discussed a complete undated yet profusely illustrated Samgrahaņi Sūtra manuscript in the collections of Muni Śrī Punyavijayaji of Ahmedabad and assigned it to c. 1550 A.D., and considered it as hailing from Gujarat45.
He has illustrated three paintings from this manuscript, which, as shown by him, have to be assigned to Gujarat on the evidence of style.
Khandalavala published a page from a Saṁgrahaņi Sūtra, dated
44 Upadhye A.N., Doctrine of Leśyas, paper read before the Prakrit
and Jainism in Section, Seventh All India Oriental Conference,
Baroda (1934). 45 Anand Krishna, Pre-Akabari examples of Rajasthani illustrations,
Marg, Vol. XI (March, 1958), No. 2, pp. 18 ff., figs. 6, 7, 8.