The making of the Jain manuscript is an interesting process in which many tools, inks and surfaces are employed. It is important to know how these tools were prepared and used because they influenced the size of the manuscript and invariably the layouts.

So let’s get to know a little more about the surfaces, tools, inks and the process of making a Jain manuscript.

In ancient India, the oral medium of instruction was preferred over the writing tradition. The early Jains too used the spoken word to propagate the knowledge and philosophies of their religion. However, the Jains understood the limitations of the oral tradition during a massive famine attack. Legend has it that after this natural calamity, the Jains started to transcribe their teachings from the oral to a written form. In the Jain tradition, writing started only after the fourth century CE. There are mixed opinions regarding the date of the earliest written manuscript. Some suggest that the oldest transcribed manuscript available is not earlier than the tenth century CE, what is certain is that they gradually became popular after that period.

From the eleventh century onwards, deliberate efforts were taken to restore the manuscripts in order to preserve Jain teachings. Donations for manuscript making were encouraged around this period. Gradually, the commissioning of manuscripts of sacred texts became a religious activity among Jains. These written texts were decorated with rich colours, religious symbols and paintings. They were always deposited in ‘Shashtra-Bhandaras’ and considered to be sacred objects. In these Shashtra-Bhandaras a variety of illustrated books, palm-leaf manuscripts, paper manuscripts and cloth patas (cloth paintings) are found. Thus, due to its multifaceted artwork, the Jain writing tradition is of interest to many artists, painters and calligraphers.