We are fortunate to have agreed an extension to the exhibition of the Jain treasures displayed in the John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library. The free display is now on until the end of June, allowing you more time to look through the collection and more opportunities to have a tour of the display through JAINpedia volunteers. (more…)
The Institute of Jainology (IoJ) in partnership with the British Library is holding a reception, guided tour and lecture at the British Library on 22nd March 2011. Our expert scholar Prof. Nalini Balbir will give a lecture on the importance and history of the collection of Jain treasures at the British Library. We look forward to seeing members from the Jain community, Jain schools, stakeholders of the JAINpedia project and various others at this event. As the display is only on until the end of June, this is a great opportunity to see the objects on display and learn more about them.
The IoJ recently published the book Jain Tales, with original artwork by Kamini Gupta, and text by Colin Hynson. The book has been designed for young readers, giving them an insight into the Jain religion, ethics and principles through stories that illustrate the Jain teachings. The launch of this book adds to the entry-level book, Discover Jainism, which is part of the English religious education curriculum.
We look forward to seeing more of you at the next event at the British Library on 15th April 2011. This event will be held to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti, a Jain festival celebrating the birth of Mahavira. Look out for more details of this FREE event!
On 8 October, the British Library launched JAINpedia in a stunning display in the Treasures Gallery running until the end of April 2011.
Consisting of around 40 striking objects from the library’s Jain collection, the display appears in the rotating Sacred Texts permanent exhibition in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery, also known as the Treasures Gallery of the British Library.
As a professor of Indian studies at the Sorbonne, my academic interests include not only Jainism but Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Theravada Buddhism, and Hindi languages and literature of the 20th century. Although I am fully involved with Jainpedia and have worked for some years with the Institute of Jainology and other institutions in the UK on Jain-related projects, my work in Jainism arose only towards the end of my undergraduate career. (more…)
I’m very pleased to report that a few weeks ago we received nearly all of the digital images of the manuscripts we requested from the Wellcome Library.
You will be able to start appreciating the beauty of these artefacts in these small photos.
A manuscript is made up of a number of folios. A folio is a sheet of paper or other material that has writing and sometimes an illustration on each side of the sheet. Each folio bears the handwriting of a scribe who used ink to write by hand. Many of the folios are also painted in full colour.
Kālakācāryakathā © Wellcome Library, London
For most of the manuscripts we’ll be displaying on the forthcoming full Jainpedia website, each page (one side of the sheet) has been photographed. Sometimes a manuscript will consist of only one or two folios, because of its age, its material or the conditions in which it was kept before being held in a professional curated environment. (more…)