Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c5.s10: Shipwreck : Mahājanaka Jātaka (?)
Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c5.s10
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Shipwreck : Mahājanaka Jātaka (?)
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Plate XIX
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*This subject is delineated on the back wall of the left aisle, above the door of the fourth cell. The fresco is considerably damaged and therefore reproduced in monochrome only.*
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T HE identification of this subject is somewhat uncertain, for occurring on the rock-wall immediately after the renunciation of Mahājanaka, it might seem unlikely that it alludes to the mishap of the prince in the sea voyage which he undertook in earlier days to acquire wealth in order to regain his father’s kingdom.³ But as the ‘Lustration’ and ‘Renunciation’ scenes of this *Jātaka* (Plates XX–XXII)¹ are also not shown in proper sequence we may account for the anomaly by supposing that the painting of the *Jātaka* was begun on the rock-wall without any preconceived scheme as to the order of events, and the different episodes were from time to time delineated according to the fancy of the artist or the demand of the votaries of the shrine.
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³ The *Jātaka* version runs thus: ‘Before Mahājanaka was sixteen years old he had learned the three *vedas* and all the sciences; and by the time he was sixteen he had become very handsome in person. Then he thought to himself,
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¹ Infra, pp. 24–6.
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The subject, as painted on the rock-wall, may be described thus. We see a chief (merchant-prince?) sailing in a boat with several attendants. The gesture of his hands, which is rather conventional, denotes that he is faced with some dilemma. Behind the attendant to the left of the chief is an obliterated figure, overshadowed by a canopy (*chhatar*). This figure seems to have been attired in a robe and may represent Mahājanaka in a plain costume, before his acquiring the kingdom of his father, the canopy above him being emblematic of his divine personality. The boat appears to be of considerable size, and a pavilion, similar to those shown in the palace scenes,² is erected in the middle of it. The hull is massively constructed and in its side four courses of planking are visible above the water. The bow and stern have carvings of animal heads at their ends, the eyes of the animals being prominent. A large fish (shark?) is attacking the boat near the stern; and a sailor has climbed up the ladder placed against the mast (?), and he is steering the boat with a long pole or oar from there. Another sailor is at the helm, but as the fresco is damaged in this part, his action is not quite clear.
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² Plates XIII and XVI.
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To the right of this scene, the sinking of the boat has been painted. The stern only is visible, the rest of the boat being submerged nose downwards. A man is being attacked by fishes and a sea-monster. He has raised both his hands in alarm. Another person is shown being carried off by an alligator or shark, while to get free of its jaws he is trying to open its mouth. The wild stare and firmly closed lips of this man show that he is struggling with death itself. One sea-monster resembles a beaver, while another, which is painted white, has the head and ears of a cat.
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The end of the story is not clear, for the fresco is damaged. At the extreme right end we see two figures, but their heads being destroyed their action cannot be determined. The drawing of the fishes is very poor, and, except for the interest of the *Jātaka* and the representation of a fifth-century boat, the fresco does not possess any artistic merit.
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Below the shipwreck another subject was depicted, representing some *Nāga* story; but the fresco is almost completely destroyed, and only a few heads can be traced.
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“I will seize the kingdom that belonged to my father,” so he asked his mother; “Have you any money in hand. . . I will take only half of it and I will go to Suvaṇṇabhūmi and get great riches there and will seize the kingdom.” He made her bring him the half, and having got together his stock-in-trade he put it on board a ship with some merchants bound for Suvaṇṇabhūmi and bade his mother farewell. . . In seven days the ship made seven hundred leagues, but having gone too violently in its course it could not hold out; its planks gave way, the water rose higher and higher, the ship began to sink in the middle of the ocean while the crew wept and lamented. . . When the vessel sank the mast stood upright. The crowd on board became food for fishes and tortoises and the water all round assumed the colour of blood. . . . Now at that time the daughter of the gods named Maṇimekhalā had been appointed guardian of the sea by the four guardians of the world. As she saw the Great Being she thought to herself, “If Prince Mahājanaka had perished in the sea, I should [not] have kept my entry into the divine assembly!” She rescuing Mahājanaka brought him to Mithilā, where his father ruled.’ Cowell, op. cit., vi. 24–5.