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Queen Trishala's Grief and Happiness, Folio 29 (recto), from a Kalpa-sutra
c. 1475–1500
- Medium
- Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Overall: 12.5 x 25.7 cm (4 15/16 x 10 1/8 in.)
- Culture
- Western India, Gujarat
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Credit line
- Edward L. Whittemore Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This page discusses the pregnancy of Queen Trishala when she was anxious about why she could not feel the baby move. In the painting she addresses her handmaids: “Has the child in my womb been destroyed? Has he been killed? Have I suffered a miscarriage? The child used to move, but now he does not move.” The baby is Mahavira, who will grow to be the historical founder of the Jain religion. According to the text, he remained motionless out of compassion for his mother, not wishing to disturb her. Once he realized how worried she was, he made a little movement, and this filled her with joy.
