Monk preaching to a disciple with a lay audience, folio 2 (recto) from a Parshvanatha Charitra (Life and Stories of Lord Parshva) of Bhavadeva-suri (c. 1275–1300): Art, History and Details

Monk preaching to a disciple with a lay audience, folio 2 (recto) from a Parshvanatha Charitra (Life and Stories of Lord Parshva) of Bhavadeva-suri (c. 1275–1300) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

The scene of a senior monk teaching his disciple emphasizes the importance of oral transmission of stories and knowledge. Both wear the white robes of the Shvetambara sect, have whisk brooms for clearing the ground of living things, and hold shields in front of their mouths to prevent harm to insects that might fly in while they speak. Between them, on a tripod, rests a sacred manuscript with letters written on the side and flowers placed on top. Below, two women and two men, possibly the donors who paid for the production of the manuscript, press their hands together in veneration.

Object facts

• Title: Monk preaching to a disciple with a lay audience, folio 2 (recto) from a Parshvanatha Charitra (Life and Stories of Lord Parshva) of Bhavadeva-suri
• Date: c. 1275–1300
• Culture: Western India, Gujarat
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera and ink on palm leaf
• Dimensions: Overall: 6.7 x 32.4 cm (2 5/8 x 12 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1971.125.a

A detail from the museum

The book on the stand is called "substitute teacher" and refers to the monk's legitimate lineage of knowledge.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986.
• Coomaraswamy, Ananda K., and Richard J. Cohen. Essays on Jaina Art. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in association with Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 2003.

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.