This black schist stone figure of Parshvanatha was produced during the 12th century in India.

This image of Parshvanatha depicts him standing in the kayotsarga ('abandonment of the body') posture. It involves long periods of immobility with the arms hanging freely from the body, and represents one of the forms of penance that was undertaken by the Jain tirthankaras (ford-makers) on their path to liberation.

The physical proportions of this figure follow iconographic convention, as the shoulders are broad and the chest is slightly expanded. The expanded chest denotes Parshvanatha's inner breath. His waist is slim and athletic and the musculature of his lower abdomen is defined. This rendering of Parshvanatha is Digambara, as he is depicted naked. Of all the Jinas, Parshvanatha is the most easily identifiable. According to both sects of Jainism, he had a dark blue complexion and is typically represented with the many headed snakes hood of the nagaraja (serpent king) Dharana or Dharanendra, which hovers above his head. This latter iconographic detail is his most distinguishing mark.

In this sculptural representation of Parshvanatha, the nagaraja serpent king Dharana or Dharanendra is seen protecting him with the coils of his body and sheltering him with his multi-headed hood. The attendant deities are not represented, nor the triple umbrellas or flywhisks, but curiously Dharanendra he is here shown with nine heads (the top one damaged and missing the facial area, with losses too to the adjacent head on the proper left side) although he is more commonly depicted with seven.

This Parshvanatha image was transferred from the India Museum of the former East India Company to the Victoria and Albert Museum. A pencilled annotation to the V&A's Slip Books listing the objects formely at the India Museum records states that it was given to the East India Company by a Mr Reeves of the Bombay Civil Service in 1810.

This stone figure represents Parshvanatha, the most readily identifiable of the Jain ‘Jinas’ (saviour-teachers). According to both the sects of Jainism his complexion was dark blue and the snake was his distinguishing mark. Here the serpent-king Dharana protects him with the coils of his body and shelters him with his multi-headed hood.

Parshvanatha is shown standing in the kayotsarga ('abandonment of the body') posture. Long periods of immobility, with the arms hanging freely from the body, represent one form of penance undertaken on the path to liberation. The proportions of the figure follow the traditional depiction. The shoulders are broad and the chest is slightly expanded, representing an inner breath. The waist is slim and athletic, with muscular details on the abdomen. Here Parshvanatha is represented as a naked figure and therefore a member of the Digambara ('sky-clad' Jain sect).

This Parshvanatha image was transferred in 1880 from the India Museum of the former East India Company to the V&A.

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