Kalpasutra manuscript is mainly known in which school?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The correct option is 4: The Kalpasutra manuscript is fundamentally associated with the Jain School of painting. The Kalpasutra is a crucial Jain holy text containing the biographies of the Tirthankaras, particularly Mahavira, and its illustration became the most significant artistic project sponsored by the Svetambara Jain community in Western India (Gujarat and Rajasthan) from the 11th to the 16th centuries. The vibrant, highly stylized miniature paintings illustrating this text are the chief examples of the Western Indian style, also known as the Apabhransha style, which art historians frequently classify under the broader term "Jain School" due to the overwhelming dominance of Jain religious subject matter. The characteristic features of these illustrations, such as the protruding farther eye, angular figures, and extensive use of gold and bright colours, were specifically developed for these Jain manuscripts, underscoring the deep connection between the text and the school.

The incorrect option is 1:
The Pal School, or Pala period painting, flourished in Eastern India (Bengal and Bihar) from the 8th to the 12th centuries and was overwhelmingly dedicated to the illustration of Buddhist manuscripts, such as the Prajnaparamita texts. This school primarily used palm-leaf manuscripts and was a key centre for Mahayana Buddhism, having no primary association with the core Jain text, the Kalpasutra. Stylistically, the Pal School featured a distinctively curvilinear, graceful, and dark-toned style influenced by the murals of Ajanta, which is fundamentally different from the angularity of the Kalpasutra illustrations.

The incorrect option is 2:
The Rajasthan School of painting (Rajput painting) emerged and flourished later, primarily from the 16th to the 19th centuries, focusing predominantly on Hindu religious and secular themes. Its core subjects include Ragamala series, Raslila of Krishna, Ramayana, and courtly portraits, demonstrating a deep commitment to Vaishnavite and Saivite narratives. While some of its sub-schools developed out of the Western Indian style, the Rajasthan School as a whole is defined by its commitment to the Hindu Rajput court culture, not by the mass illustration of central Jain texts like the Kalpasutra.

The incorrect option is 3:
The Kalighat School is an entirely different and much more recent tradition, emerging in the 19th century in Calcutta (Kolkata) near the Kalighat Temple. This school is a form of bazaar art known for its quick, sweeping brushstrokes and commentary on contemporary social life, Hindu deities, and the British Babu culture, painted mainly on cloth and paper. It is entirely unrelated, both chronologically (it is centuries later) and geographically (it is from Eastern India), to the ancient practice of illustrating sacred Jain texts like the Kalpasutra in the Western Indian miniature style.