Folio 2, from a Great Poem about Twos (Dvyashraya Mahakavya) of Hemachandra with Commentary by Abhayatilaka (1428): Art, History and Details

Folio 2, from a Great Poem about Twos (Dvyashraya Mahakavya) of Hemachandra with Commentary by Abhayatilaka (1428) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The author of the text, Hemachandra (1088–1173) is seated at the left, on a throne. He was a Jain monk, here shown clad in a white robe, with shaven head, holding a cloth before his mouth to screen out any insects he might inadvertently harm by swallowing. Also an attribute of Jain ascetics, who adhere to principles of committing no harm to any living being, is the broom behind his back, used to sweep insects from the path. He wrote this text in 1160, illustrating points of grammar with praiseworthy deeds of his royal patrons, such as King Kumarapala (reigned 1143–1172) of the Solanki dynasty (940–1244) of western India who sits before him.

Object facts

• Title: Folio 2, from a Great Poem about Twos (Dvyashraya Mahakavya) of Hemachandra with Commentary by Abhayatilaka
• Date: 1428
• Culture: Western India, Gujarat, possibly Patan
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera and ink on palm leaf
• Dimensions: Overall: 5.7 x 45.7 cm (2 1/4 x 18 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1971.131

A detail from the museum

Two barely perceptible inscriptions identify the monk and the layman as Hemachandra and Kumarapala.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Shah, Umakant P. Treasures of Jaina Bhaṇḍāras: Catalogue of Exhibition. Ahmedabad: L.D. Institute of Indology, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.