Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives

This paper begins with an examination of early Indian speculation about colors, their number, their use, and their significance. It ranges widely from the <i>Upaniṣads</i> to the <i>Nāṭyaśāstra</i>, from Śvetāmbara Jain canonical texts to Buddhaghosa&#8217;s treatise on m...

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Main Author: Phyllis Granoff
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-12-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/1/9
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author Phyllis Granoff
author_facet Phyllis Granoff
author_sort Phyllis Granoff
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description This paper begins with an examination of early Indian speculation about colors, their number, their use, and their significance. It ranges widely from the <i>Upaniṣads</i> to the <i>Nāṭyaśāstra</i>, from Śvetāmbara Jain canonical texts to Buddhaghosa&#8217;s treatise on meditation, the <i>Visuddhimagga</i>, from <i>purāṇas</i> to technical treatises on painting. It turns then to examine how select Jain and Buddhist texts used color in two important scenarios, descriptions of the setting for events and the person of the Jina/Buddha. In the concluding reflections, I compare textual practices with a few examples from the visual record to ask what role if any the colors specified in a story might have played in the choices made by an artist.
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spelling doaj.art-3cba54d04f594fa38e825509782badbe2022-12-21T20:09:35ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442019-12-01111910.3390/rel11010009rel11010009Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist NarrativesPhyllis Granoff0Department of Religious Studies, Yale University, 451 College St, New Haven, CT 06511, USAThis paper begins with an examination of early Indian speculation about colors, their number, their use, and their significance. It ranges widely from the <i>Upaniṣads</i> to the <i>Nāṭyaśāstra</i>, from Śvetāmbara Jain canonical texts to Buddhaghosa&#8217;s treatise on meditation, the <i>Visuddhimagga</i>, from <i>purāṇas</i> to technical treatises on painting. It turns then to examine how select Jain and Buddhist texts used color in two important scenarios, descriptions of the setting for events and the person of the Jina/Buddha. In the concluding reflections, I compare textual practices with a few examples from the visual record to ask what role if any the colors specified in a story might have played in the choices made by an artist.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/1/9buddhismjainismcolor
spellingShingle Phyllis Granoff
Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives
Religions
buddhism
jainism
color
title Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives
title_full Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives
title_fullStr Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives
title_full_unstemmed Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives
title_short Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives
title_sort coloring the world some thoughts from jain and buddhist narratives
topic buddhism
jainism
color
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/1/9
work_keys_str_mv AT phyllisgranoff coloringtheworldsomethoughtsfromjainandbuddhistnarratives