Kalpasutra (Jainism)

Kalpasutra (कल्पसूत्र) is a Jain ancient text containing the biographies of the last two Jain Tirthankaras,Parshvanath and Mahavira. It contains detailed life histories with illustrations. Adinath (or RishabhDev) andNeminath are two other Tirthankaras briefly mentioned in the text, with Adinath depicted in some of the illustrations.

The book is considered to be written by Bhadrabahu I, and it is considered written about 150 years after Nirvana of Mahavira..

Importance of the text

The book is read and illustrated in an eight day long festival of Paryushan by Jain monks for general people.

Origin of Illustrations

Harinegamesin Takes the Embryo of Mahavira from Devananda and Brings it to Queen Trisala, Folio from a Kalpasutra (Book of Sacred Precepts) Date circa 1450, from Collection of LACMA.

The Kalpasutra art has its origin acclaimedly in the 5th century. It is claimed that the Kalpasutras, though on a different medium, were part of the same sectarian art tradition as the ancient murals of Ajanta, Bagh and other monasteries. However, the earliest known Kalpasutras do not go beyond the 10th century and the number from the period from the 10th to 13th centuries is very small. The greater bulk of Kalpasutra paintings emerges from 14th to mid-16th centuries. These Kalpasutras are mostly from Western India, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the western region of Malwa. The Mandu (Malwa, now in Madhya Pradesh) Kalpasutras of 1439 and some of their contemporary renderings from Gujarat and western Rajasthan, Mewar and Marwar, are all masterpieces of Indian miniature art.

Tattvartha Sutra

Tattvartha Sutra (also known as Tattvarth-adhigama-sutra or Moksh-Shastra) is a Jaina text written byAcharya Umaswati or Umasvami. It was an attempt to bring together the different elements of the Jain Path,epistemological, metaphysical, cosmological, ethical and practical, otherwise unorganized around the scriptures in an unsystematic format. It is the first Jain text in sutra (aphoristic) form. The term Tattvartha is made of theSanskrit words: Tattva (things or realities) and artha (true nature). Umaswati is accepted by all the sects of Jains and is said to have lived around the 2nd century BC.

The Tattvartha Sutra is regarded as the most authoritative book on Jainism. It has the largest number of commentaries in different Indian languages from the fifth century onward. The first verse, "Samyag darshan jnana charitrani moksha margah" सम्यग दर्शन ज्ञान चरित्रानी मोक्षमार्ग:|| summarizes Jainism by saying that right knowledge, right faith and right conduct collectively only are the path to liberation or moksha. The first chapter deals with the process of cognition and details about different types of knowledge. The next three chapters deal with the Soul. The fifth chapter discusses Non-soul (Ajiva). The next three chapters deal with the karmas and their manifestations and the inflow and the bondage of the karmas. The ninth chapter describes the blocking and shading of the karmas. The final chapter discusses liberation of the soul or the moksha.

Jain Scriptures
Fourteen Purvas (The Prior Knowledge - considered totally lost)
Śvetāmbara (Canonical Texts)
Angāgama	Ācāranga sūtra · Sūtrakrtanga · Sthānānga · Samavāyānga ·Vyākhyāprajñapti or Bhagavati sūtra · Jnātrdhārmakathāh ·Upāsakadaśāh · Antakrddaaśāh · Anuttaraupapātikadaśāh ·Praśnavyākaranani · Vipākaśruta · Drstivāda (Now Extinct)
Upanga āgamas	Aupapātika · Rājapraśnīya · Jīvājīvābhigama · Prajñāpana ·Sūryaprajñapti · Jambūdvīpaprajñapti · Candraprajñapti ·Nirayārvalī · Kalpāvatamsikāh · Puspikāh · Puspacūlikāh ·Vrasnidaśāh
Chedasūtra	Ācāradaśāh · Brhatkalpa · Vyavahāra · Niśītha · Mahāniśītha ·Jītakalpa
Mūlasūtra	Daśavaikālika · Uttarādhyayana · Āvaśyaka · Pindaniryukyti
Prakīrnaka sūtra	Catuhśarana · Āturapratyākhyanā · Bhaktaparijñā · Samstāraka ·Tandulavaicarika · Candravedhyāka · Devendrastava · Ganividyā ·Mahāpratyākhyanā · Vīrastava
Cūlikasūtra	Nandī-sūtra · Anuyogadvāra-sūtra
Digambara Texts
Āgamas	Satkhandāgama · Kasāyaprabhrta
Pratham -ānuyoga	Padmapurāna · Harivamsapurāna · Ādipurāna · Uttarapurāna
Carnānuyoga	Mulācāra · Trivarnācāra · Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra
Ganitānuyoga	Sūryaprajñapti · Candraprajñapt · Jayadhavalātikā · Gommatasāra
Dravyānuyoga	Niyamasāra · Pancastikayasāra · Pravacanasāra · Samayasāra ·Tattvārthasūtra (Note1) · Āptamīmamsa
Commentary	Commentary on Tattvarthasūtra and Aptmimamsa
Tattvārthasūtra is accepted by both Digambaras and Śvetāmbara as their texts although Śvetāmbaras do not include it under canonical texts.

Kalpa Sutra

Jainism evolved from the spiritual ferment that took place in India during the sixth century BCE. Mahavira, 'the Great Hero', a contemporary of the Buddha was born in c.599 BCE. Like the Buddha, he renounced a privileged lifestyle to become an ascetic. After twelve years, he is reputed to have attained enlightenment and became ajina, or conqueror, from which his followers took the name, the religion of the conquerors.

The Kalpa sutra, a religious Jain text deals primarily with the lives of the 24 Jinas the founders of Jainism, and ends with the birth and life of the historical Mahavira. This is one of the most popular Jain texts to be illustrated and is still read aloud to the laity every year during the rainy season.

Each of the 24 Jinas was first conceived in the womb of a Brahmin lady and then miraculously transferred to that of a Ksatriya or warrior lady. This was the only caste that a Jina, a perfected religious leader could be born into. Here, Harinaigamesi replaces the foetus conceived by Queen Triśala with the foetus of Mahavira removed from the Brahmin woman.

Wellcome Indic Sanskrit 3, Folio 42v, dated 1503. Image no. L34114)

Jaina Kalpasutra: Jaina Kalpasutra - A Visual Treat

Jaina Kalpasutra - A Visual Treat

The Kalpasutra is held in great honour especially by the Svetambara sect of Jainism. A work in Prakrit, its composition is originally attributed to the celebrated author Bhadrabahu (BC 433 to 357).

The Kalpasutra shows the early stage of the development of Jainism, the succession of pontiffs and the rules for Jaina monks during the four months of monsoon or chaturmasa when the monks are not on the move. The text records the five auspicious events - the descent from heaven, birth, initiation, obtaining of omniscience, and death - and many legends of the last three Pathfinders or Tirthankaras: Aristanemi, Parsvanatha, and Mahavira, and those of Rishabhanatha, the first of the 24 Tirthankaras. The arrangement of Bhadrabahu's book moves back in time.

The tradition of 24 Tirthankaras became established among the Jainas around the first or second century AD though its older roots are not denied. As an illuminated manuscript, the Kalpasutra, representative of Jaina visual culture, contains some masterpieces of Jaina miniature paintings. The western Indian Jaina miniatures have left a significant mark in subsequent Indian painting.

An illuminated manuscript is a handwritten book that is embellished with brilliant inks and dyes - largely silver and gold. During the middle ages, many such manuscripts were created in the monasteries in different parts of the world. Illuminated manuscripts came in many forms and certain characteristics of these forms were essentially global. The brilliance of gold symbolises transcendental light. The calligraphy in some illuminated manuscripts of the Qur'an, for example, consists entirely of gold.

European scholars have compared the Kalpasutra's hagiographic manuscript with the Christian Book of Hours. According to A Dieter, the two manuscripts resemble in division of sections: "The Book of Hours devotes sections to the important events in the Virgin Mary's life and the calendar of saints, similarly, the Kalpasutras of the 15th and 16th centuries had a Jinacarita that illustrated the auspicious events in the lives of important Jaina figures. As each of the Christian saints is illustrated with their own symbols, the pictures of the Jains are accompanied by illustrations of their specific symbols".

Among many other details, the Kalpasutra gives a list of 42 rainy seasons spent by Mahavira since he renounced the life of a householder. He stayed the first chaturmasa in Asthikagrama, three in Champa and Pristichampa, 12 in Vaisali and Vanijyagrama, 14 in Rajagraha and Nalanda, six in Mithila, two in Bhadrika, one in Alabhika, one in Panitabhumi, one in Sra-vasti and the last one in the town of Papa in king Hastipala's chamber.

The Kalpasutra is significant for its narration of geographical locations most of which have been identified to be in the modern state of Bihar and some parts of Bengal and UP. A major portion is devoted to the biography of Mahavira and includes details of his birth, lineage, parentage, childhood, marriage and journey to asceticism and finally, his death. Before his birth, Mahavira's mother is said to have seen a number of dreams. The Kalpa- sutra describes 14 dreams.

This important Jaina canonical text is the oldest available on the life of the Tirthankaras. Once a year during the auspicious Paryusana festival, a Kalpasutra manuscript is taken out in procession and read by the monks before the laity. Great merit is attributed to hearing the Kalpasutra.