A rare 'Jap-kapda' or Indian ritual cloth with one continuous Sanskrit mantra, Gujarat, late 19th C.

196 x 120 cm

This ritual cloth was used as an altar cloth, offering cloth, or wrapping cloth for sacred objects, texts, or murti images. The cotton cloth is written across its entire surface with tiny Sanskrit lines ('Devanagari') in red natural pigment ink (red is a ritual colour associated with protection and energy). The wide border features floral motifs and short shlokas. The text is not narrative but repeats religious mantras (japa style), characteristic of Jain temple cloths. The line structure is always short and identical, which is typical of yantra prayers written on cloth for ritual use. The text is therefore not intended to be read, but to impart power through the repetition of sacred sounds, not through its semantic content. The cloth does not contain an epic text but a namah style mantra.