The Pursuit of Salvation: Jain Art from India

In Jain art, the faith's founders, the Jinas (or conquerers) are always represented in one of two ways: seated in meditation, or standing in the kayotsarga (body abandonment) pose—a visualization of the Jina's liberation from human attachments and emotion. 

Such freedom is the goal of Jainism, an ancient Indian religion that focuses on ending the cycles of rebirth and attaining liberation from all suffering. In the New Orleans Museum of Art's exhibition The Pursuit of Salvation: Jain Art from India, visitors will examine this ideal through the artwork created over a period of more than fifteen hundred years, including sculptures, paintings, and manuscripts.  noma.org.