Design Course
A Study of Jain Manuscripts
The Jain Manuscript Writing Tradition
by
The Process of Manuscript Making
In the earlier sections, we have studied the materials that have been used during the manuscript making process. The process starts with making a tool for writing. A Boru is a type of reed plant, which is cut into 6–7 inch length such that one end is left more pointed than the other. This tube shaped thin stick of reed is sharpened to create a Boru (Refer). This well sharpened Boru is now ready to use for writing. After making the Boru, it is time to prepare the writing surface; for this we use handmade paper, which is beige in colour. We can cut the paper in the ratio of 4:1 or 3:1. The paper surface is smoothened with Akeek stone in order to remove roughness from its surface. Nowadays handmade paper already has a smooth texture, therefore it is not required to polish it with Akeek.
A smooth paper reduces friction and resistance to the pen and gives sharpness to writing. Once the Paper is ready for writing, a thin red margin is drawn on the left and right side of the paper. This paper is then pressed upon the Oliu to take an impression of the parallel threads. This creates a baseline grid on our paper which is subsequently used as a reference for writing. In case the Oliu is not available, parallel horizontal lines can be draw on the paper with pencil and ruler. Inks such as black and red are prepared and used for writing.
After completion, these handwritten manuscripts are covered with wooden or thick cardboards made into a front and back cover; which holds these loose bundles of pages. The entire manuscript is wrapped in a cotton cloth scattered with small pieces of वेखंड (Calamus) which is used to protect the manuscript from fungus, insects, white ants, etc. Further, these covered bundled manuscripts are stored in into teakwood cupboards to keep away pests.
The following figure describes the different stages in the manuscript making process:
