This intricate Jain artwork is built around a meditating Jina at its centre, with the entire composition expanding outward in carefully arranged circles and rows of divine figures.
At the heart of the painting, the Jina sits in complete meditation. Around him are concentric bands containing inscriptions, smaller deities, sacred symbols and narrative imagery. The circular arrangement gives the work the character of a mandala, with everything ultimately returning to the still figure at its centre.
Surrounding the mandala is an extraordinary assembly of individually painted divine and protective figures. Look closely and they are all different — their skin colours, gestures, attributes and objects change from one figure to another, representing the complex world of beings found within Jain religious tradition.
Smaller narrative scenes, animals, flowers and sacred symbols appear between the larger figures, so the painting reveals much more when viewed closely.
What makes the composition particularly powerful is the contrast at its heart: an incredibly busy and detailed universe surrounds a completely still meditating Jina. The work becomes a visual expression of Jain philosophy — placing spiritual focus and the path towards liberation at the centre of a much larger cosmic order.