A Note on a Jain Artifact in the Lahore National Museum

Summary

The article reproduces a letter dated 6 October 1994 from Waldemar C. Sailer, a researcher based in Bangkok, to Ganesh Lalwani of the Jain Bhawan in Calcutta. Sailer describes how, while studying Buddha footprints, he visited the Lahore National Museum and discovered a Jain artifact that he initially thought depicted the “four Buddha theme.” On closer examination he realised the panel contained Jain motifs and an inscription that he could not decipher. Since the museum catalogue lacked information about the piece, Sailer sent photographs and a transcription of the inscription, appealing to scholars for assistance in translating and identifying the artifact’s iconography. The artifact’s inscription is in Prakrit and begins with an invocation to the arihanta; it records that the 14th day of the bright half of the month Asadha in the year 155 under the Vikramaditya era was chosen for the dedication of a stone slab bearing auspicious symbols. The donors are identified as a group of merchants and relatives from Rajapura, including Vira, Rattarika, Balia, Yakkha and others who collectively endowed the slab to commemorate the 24 Jain Tirthankaras. The article notes that the inscription lists the names and emblems of each Tirthankara along with parentage: for example, Rishabha (son of Nabhi and Marudevi) whose symbol is a bull; Ajita (son of Jitashatru and Vijaya) with elephant; Sambhava with horse; Abhinandana with monkey; Sumati with swan; Padmaprabha with lotus; Suparshvanatha with serpent; Chandraprabha with moon; Suvidhinatha with crocodile; Shitalanatha with swastika; Shreyansanatha with rhinoceros; Vasupujya with buffalo; Vimalanatha with boar; Anantanatha with falcon; Dharmanatha with thunderbolt; Shantinatha with deer; Kunthunatha with goat; Aranatha with fish; Mallinatha with pitcher; Munisuvrata with tortoise; Naminatha with blue lotus; Neminatha with conch; Parshvanatha with seven-hooded serpent; and Mahavira whose symbol is a lion. By publishing Sailer's letter and the accompanying translation, the journal hopes that scholars will be able to identify the artifact’s provenance and provide further information about the auspicious Jain symbols mentioned in the text. The piece thus functions as an appeal for collaborative research and highlights the importance of museum outreach, epigraphic studies and interfaith dialogue in understanding and preserving Jain heritage.