Parshva (800s): Art, History and Details

Parshva (800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Parshva is the 23rd of the 24 Jinas who achieved liberation. He is the only one who is depicted with a serpent. This sculpture was made for followers of the branch of Jainism called Digambara, who enforce the regulations of total nudity among those actively seeking liberation. The only adornment of his figure is the auspicious symbol on his chest and the wheels of righteousness on his palms. The stark form of thenude body standing in a posture of meditation is masterfully set off from the array of gods and serpent divinities who venerate him. He stands with his feet on a lotus pedestal, but his hierarchically tall form reaches to the heavens, where gods fly to honor him with flower garlands. Three umbrellas over his head indicate his status as a liberated being worthy of worship.

Object facts

• Title: Parshva
• Date: 800s
• Culture: Central India
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: sandstone
• Dimensions: Overall: 160.7 x 67 cm (63 1/4 x 26 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1961.419

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review 1962.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 49, no. 9 (November 1962): 199–227.
• Shah, U. P. “A Parshvanatha Sculpture in Cleveland.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 57, no. 9 (December 1970): 303–311.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 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.