Diagram of the Adhaidvipa (The Two-and-a-Half Continents) (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Jain monks would have used diagrams like this to teach lay followers about the structure of the cosmos. In Jain cosmography, the universe comprises two zones: aloka (non-space), where reside the Jinas, perfected beings who serve as role models for the faithful; and loka (space), the world itself, which in turn is divided into the celestial, middle, and lower worlds. The middle world madhyaloka, is the smallest of the three, and on its innermost two-and-a-half continents (Adhaidvipa) dwell human beings. This extensively annotated cosmogram shows Adhaidvipa as a design of concentric forms. The narrow blue circles and sinuous, snakelike configurations represent water; the broader buff areas the landmasses. The innermost continent, Jambudvipa, is centered on Mt. Meru, the world mountain, represented as a gold spot from which emerge stylized mountain ranges and rivers.
Jain Painting in the Western Indian Style
Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Gift of Paul Mellon
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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