Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Identifying Jainism in Indian Art

Posted on August 16, 2013June 2, 2015 by Dharma Documentaries
In this lecture at the Metropolitan Museum in New York John Guy discusses the similarities and differences in Buddhist and Jaina art.

Identifying-Jainism-01

As anyone who has seen Jaina artworks and sculptures will know the iconography is very similar to Buddhist art.

In this lecture at the Metropolitan Museum in New York John Guy discusses the similarities and differences in Buddhist and Jaina art, with many fine examples to illustrate his points.

There is a such a similarity that, if one is not familiar with Jaina art, on first glance you may think you are looking at Buddhist art.

The Buddha and Mahāvīra are shown in similar postures and environment, even having the same hair and long ears.

The main difference, and the easiest to identify, is that in Jainism at least the torso of the sage is naked, whereas in Buddhist art the Buddha is always clothed.

In fact there are two main schools in Jainism: the Dīgambara, who do not use clothes, and the Svetambara, who employ one simple while cloth, which is also reflected in the art works of these schools.

 

if the video does not appear on the page, please first try reloading the page, and if that doesn’t work, leave a comment so I can update the page (the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Arts, India, Jainism, Lectures, Sculpture

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comments do not appear straight away, but are moderated before publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/2EP

Donations

This site has taken more than a dozen years and 1000s of hours to build, and has 800+ documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Related Posts

  • John Guy, Identifying Jainism in Indian Art
  • Bopearachchi, Spread of Gandhāra Art
  • Bopearachchi, Convergence of Hellenism and Buddhism
  • Envisioning the Buddha
  • Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures of the Silk Road
  • Eternal Ancestors - Buddha's Relics
  • Beliefs Made Visible - Hindu and Buddhist Art in South Asia
  • Bronze Technology in Cambodia
  • Divine Dwellings: The Architectural Context of Khmer Sculpture
  • China Cultural Heritage: Qingtian Stone Sculpture

Recent Posts

  • Angkor Wat, Ancient Hydraulic City
  • The Magical Mountain of Tibet
  • Lords of Water
  • Radioactive Waste, A Nuclear Nightmare
  • Beyond Boundaries, Buddhist Art of Gandhāra
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 3
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery 3, 45-88
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery 3, 1-44

Random Posts

  • The Plow That Broke the Plains
  • Kodaiji Zen Temple, Kyoto
  • Doing Time, Doing Vipassana
  • China Cultural Heritage: The Iron Paintings of Wuhu
  • Schooling the World
  • Awakening the Sleeping Goddess
  • The Thangka Collection at Yale
  • Lost Civilisations: Ancient Tibet
  • Earth in 1000 Years
  • Until Space Remains, the Dalai Lama and India
© 2023 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme