- Title
- Lustration of Jina Rishabhanatha (Adinatha), Folio from a Bhaktamara Stotra (Hymn of the Immortal Devotee)
- Date Made
- circa 1800-1825
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor on paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 11 1/4 x 7 3/8 in. (28.58 x 18.73 cm); Image: 10 3/4 x 6 7/8 in. (27.3 x 17.46 cm)
- Accession Number
- AC1992.170.2
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
In this painting commemorating the birth of Rishabhanatha (a.k.a. Adinatha), the baby Jina (Jain savior) is shown seated on a lotus throne on the summit of Mount Meru receiving lustration, while winged musicians perform at his sides. Beneath the golden child is a crescent moon indicating the heavenly realm. The sixty-three Indras and other celestials are represented by the crowned divinities who form lines on the sides of the mountain to pass the pots of water up from the cosmic ocean below. The sixty-fourth and principal Indra is at the foot of the mountain with his hands cupped to receive the divine oblations falling off the Jina.
The Bhaktamara Stotra (Hymn of the Immortal Devotee) was composed in Sanskrit by the Jain preceptor Manatunga (circa 7th century). It eulogizes the Jina Rishabhanatha, the first Jain savior (tirthankara) of the present time cycle of Jain cosmology. See also AC1992.270.1.
