Jaina Tirthankara Parshvanatha Seated in Meditation (Dhyanamudra) under a Snake Hood

This sandstone sculpture from 6th-century Uttar Pradesh shows Parshvanatha, the 23rd of twenty-four Jain tirthankaras, seated in meditation with a multi-headed serpent hood protecting him from above. Parshvanatha is the earliest tirthankara historians believe was probably a real person, living between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. He's always identifiable by the serpent canopy, which comes from a specific story in Jain scripture.

According to the Kalpa-sutra, Parshvanatha once saved a serpent trapped inside a log in an ascetic's fire. The snake, later reborn as Dharanendra (lord of the underworld nagas), returned the favor by sheltering Parshvanatha from a storm sent by a demon during deep meditation. The 6th-century date places this sculpture in the later Gupta period, when Jain sculpture reached classical refinement in North India. At about 30 by 17 inches, it's a substantial piece of devotional art. It's at the Art Institute of Chicago.