The commander of the celestial army takes an embryo from a brahman caste woman, from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra (Book of Ritual)

This painting depicts a scene related to the birth of the last of the jinas, the original teachers in the Jain religion, Mahavira. When Mahavira descended to earth, he entered the womb of the wife of a brahman priest, the most elite group in the Indian caste system. However, while Mahavira could be conceived by a brahman, it was decreed that he could not be born to a brahman. Thus, as illustrated, the commander of the celestial army—represented as a man with an antelope's head—removed Mahavira's embryo from the brahman woman's womb. The Kalpasutra, a religious Jain text on the lives of the jinas, centers on the birth and life of the historical Mahavira. A contemporary of the Buddha (approx. 400s bce), Mahavira renounced a privileged lifestyle to become an ascetic and pursue enlightenment. The Asian Art Museum is fortunate to house the complete Kalpasutra manuscript of which this painting is a part.