Posted on: 11 October 2011

Giant Demon Attacks a Ship - 1775
Opaque watercolor on plain-woven fabric support attached to a fabric covered panel.
H: 129.2 W: 123.3 cm
India

Popular tales and lively images played a role in transmitting beliefs and values to the Jain community. The Shripalarasa is a narrative that recounts the wondrous adventures of the Jain Prince Shripala, who travels to distant lands in search of trade and wealth. In this unusually large and vivacious painting, the artist represents the Prince's ship as a British vessel. The inscriptions scattered across the painting, which repetively identify parts of the ship, indicate a fascination with seafaring. The depiction of the Union Jack lends immediacy to a story that took place long before the British came to India.

Source : Smithsonian Museum


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That version of the Union Jack was in use up until 1801 and is the correct one for thids depiction of a later 18th century British warship.

Jain canonical literature like Angas, Upangas, gathas, Churinis and their commentaries has lots of travel related anecdotes.What is remarkable is the kind of details that they wrote about navigation,boat designs,maps quite unmindful of the fact that whether such descriptions go well with the framework of story or not. Maybe it stemmed from the fact that Jainism was chiefly the religion of merchants and thus making it pragmatic in its approach.