An Illustrated Salibhadra Manuscript

Summary

This richly illustrated paper reproduces and interprets miniatures from a seventeenth‑century manuscript of the Salibhadra‑Caupaī, a beloved Jain romance that has circulated in many versions since at least the eighth century. The story recounts how Salibhadra, an affluent merchant prince surrounded by his thirty‑two wives and all the luxuries of court life, renounces worldly attachments after hearing a sermon by a wandering monk. The version analysed here was commissioned by two wealthy brothers of the Nagarā Gotra and illuminated by the court artist Salivahana for the Boston Museum. A colophon written in the Apabhraṃśa dialect dates the manuscript to 1681 V.S. (A.D. 1624) and reveals that it was produced under Śvetāmbara patronage free from Sthānakavāsī influence. Only five of the thirty miniatures are reproduced, yet they convey the richness of the cycle: the prince reclining on a terrace while his wives attend to him; Dhanya, his virtuous companion, preparing for his bath; the monks Dharmaghosa and his disciples preaching to lay followers; the ascetic couple Dhanya and Salibhadra spending their last days in seclusion; and a group portrait of the manuscript’s patrons. The author analyses the stylistic features of the paintings, noting the fusion of indigenous Rajput elements and Mughal techniques. Trees and rocks are treated as discrete pictorial units, clouds and cliffs impart a dramatic sense of isolation, and the restrained palette—reds, blues, pale yellows and greens—suggests affinities with the Kangra style. Human figures are sometimes schematic but occasionally exquisitely modelled, and the artist’s interest in court costume and ornaments makes the manuscript a valuable document of seventeenth‑century life. By focusing on these features rather than retelling the entire romance, the article demonstrates how Jain miniature painting can illuminate social history as well as religious narrative, highlighting the cosmopolitan milieu in which Jain patrons and artists engaged with broader currents of Indian art.