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śramaņa, Vol 56, No. 1-6/January-June 2005
probably in the same region, and contains some sketches, in one of which a royal figure is wearing a turban with a tall kulaha (a conical projection) on top. For convenience this new style can be referred to as the Neo-Gujarati Jaina painting style; to distinguish it from the old style. The Uttarādhyayana-sūtra painted in 1590, and several other manuscripts, also follow this new style, including the famous Gita Govinda (by the twelfth century poet Jayadeva) of the City Palace Museum, Jaipur, and the one in the N.C. Mehta Collection, Ahmedabad, and the Bhagavata Daśam Skandha(the tenth canto of the Brahmanical scripture extolling Vişņu as the Supreme Lord of the universe) which was painted by Govinda, the son of Narad, in 1610.
The Mughal style had in fact only begun to exert its influences on the Gujarati painting style from the beginning of the seventeenth century. It can be attributed to painters discharged from the royal atelier who had begun to work for a lesser clientele. One of the royal painters whose works have survived was Ustad Salivahan. He worked for the Jaina community in Agra and from his hand came the famous letter of invitation (Vijñaptipatra), which was sent, from Agra in 1610, to Vijayasensūri, who was then resident in Patan. The style of this painting and others by such royal painters working for the rich is known as the popular Mughal style. Somewhat simple in execution in comparison to the Mughal style, these paintings were done in less expensive pastel colours. The Sangrahaņisūtra painted in Agra in 1613, (now in Bharat Kala Bhavan in Varanasi), is another document in this style. The Jaisalmer Rāgamālā of 1604, and undated sets of the Nala Damayanti Rāsa in the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai (Bombay) and the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, are well known illustrated manuscripts of this style and were largely responsible for the spreading of the Mughal style to other regions, including Gujarat.3* These influences blended with local traditions and gave birth to new styles. The Mughal style was also absorbed by the Neo-Gujarati painting style. There are several Sangrahaņīsūtras painted in the Neo-Gujarati style where the Mughal
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