Large fragment of Jain Pata from a large pilgrimage painting

Large fragment of Jain Pata from a large pilgrimage painting

India, Gujarat, 18th century

Pigments on canvas, depicting a site with complex architecture, including temples, courtyards and ponds, planted with trees of various species, and populated by several characters and animals (storks, monkeys, dogs, elephants, dromedaries). (Two snags, framed). 80 x 55 cm In the 18th and 19th centuries, the patas of Shatrunjaya were used as maps, photographs, souvenirs and shrines. Shatrunjaya is a hill in Gujarat, home to the main temple of Adishvara, the first Tirthankara or Jain spiritual leader. The three-hour trek to the summit is also the most important pilgrimage for Jains of the Shvetambara sect. The patas (cloth paintings) commemorating this journey are intricate, large-scale representations of this special landscape. On a Shatrunjaya pata, the main temple is always located in the upper left-hand corner, while the rest of the canvas is occupied by devotees and monks winding their way down the hillside, smaller shrines enclosed in square grids, the flora and fauna of the region, and the Shetrunji River. Although the artist has not sought to reproduce scale or perspective with precision, certain aspects remain true to reality, such as the winding path leading to the temple. This allows believers to experience the yatra in their minds and receive darshan from a distance. Fragment of a "Jain Pata", belonging to a large pilgrimage painting, India, Gujarat, 18th century