Jain Manuscripts

Composed in Ardhamagadhi Prakrit, the Kalakacharya Katha is a noncanonical text of the Svetambara Jains and an appendix of the Kalpasutra, which explains Jain cosmology. The manuscript surrounds the story of the Jain monk, Kalaka, on a quest to save his sister. It is divided into four episodes: Kalaka’s overthrow by king Gandabhilla of Ujjayini (present-day Ujjain); the date shift of the Paryushana festival by one night; Kalaka’s rebuke of the monk Sagaracandra; and Kalaka’s exposition of the nigoda doctrine. The manuscript, apart from serving as a religious text, reflects on artistic styles and cultural influences of Indian manuscript painting. 

The paintings of the Kalakacharya would have been tied using a string and stored in an envelope, much like the paper holders you see here.