Kamatha Performing the Five Fire Penances (top) and Parsvanatha Rescuing the Snake Dharana (bottom): Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript

15th century

Not on view

The Brahmin “heretic” Kamatha performs penances to test his faith before his conversion to Jainism. Four fires burn in altars and a fifth is represented as the blazing sun, seen to the left of the Brahmin’s head. In the lower register, Parsvanatha, the twenty-third jina, overseen by a lesser god (deva) on an elephant, rescues a snake from a woodcutter who disturbs it in a log. This snake proves to be the Naga king Dharana, who later protects the jina from floods and other calamities.

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Title: Kamatha Performing the Five Fire Penances (top) and Parsvanatha Rescuing the Snake Dharana (bottom): Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript
Date: 15th century
Culture: India (Gujarat)
Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions: Overall: 4 3/8 x 10 5/8 in. (11.1 x 27 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1955
Object Number: 55.121.38.20
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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