Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c12.s4.53

c12.s4.53

Rape scene—The so-called rape scene in the Rāṇigumphā and Gaṇeśgumphā caves cannot be identified with any certainty. The first half of the relief depicting two pairs of male and female figures have a seeming connection with the Vāsavadattā story, viz. Udavana thrown into prison as a captive by King Caṇḍa Pradyota and Vāsavadattā stealthily visiting him. In the second scene Vāsavadattā or a female attendant is leading Vasantaka into the presence of Udayana. But the third and the fourth scenes, viz. the scene of the mortal combat between a man and a woman and the forceful carrying away of the latter by the former do not agree with this explanation. [Fig. 97].