Jainism
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Kalpasutra (कल्पसूत्र) is a Jain ancient text containing the biographies of the last two Jain Tirthankaras, Parshvanath and Mahavira. It contains detailed life histories with illustrations. Adinath (or RishabhDev) and Neminath are two other Tirthankaras briefly mentioned in the text, with Adinath depicted in some of the illustrations.

The book is considered to be written by Bhadrabahu I, and it is considered written about 150 years after Nirvana of Mahavira.

[edit] Importance of the text

The book is read and illustrated in an eight day long festival of Paryushan by Jain monks for general people. Only Monks can read this scriptures. Ordinary people are not suppose to read the Scripture.

[edit] Origin of Illustrations

Harinegamesin Takes the Embryo of Mahavira from Devananda and Brings it to Queen Trisala, Folio from a Kalpasutra (Book of Sacred Precepts) Date circa 1450, from Collection of LACMA.

The Kalpasutra art has its origin acclaimedly in the 5th century. It is claimed that the Kalpasutras, though on a different medium, were part of the same sectarian art tradition as the ancient murals of Ajanta, Bagh and other monasteries. However, the earliest known Kalpasutras do not go beyond the 10th century and the number from the period from the 10th to 13th centuries is very small. The greater bulk of Kalpasutra paintings emerges from 14th to mid-16th centuries. These Kalpasutras are mostly from Western India, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the western region of Malwa. The Mandu (Malwa, now in Madhya Pradesh) Kalpasutras of 1439 and some of their contemporary renderings from Gujarat and western Rajasthan, Mewar and Marwar, are all masterpieces of Indian miniature art.

[edit] References

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"The Kalpa Sûtra" translated in English by Hermann Jacobi is published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers in Delhi in " The Sacred books of the East" (Vol 22) (1989) ISBN 81-208-0123-7