Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v1.c5.s8.3

v1.c5.s8.3

TO the right of the Śaṅkhapāla Jātaka the whole of the wall of the left aisle is painted with scenes which are analogous to some episodes of the Mahājanaka Jātaka. To wit, the present subject may be identified with the episode in which Sivalī, trying to dissuade Mahājanaka from his resolve to renounce the world, invites dancing-girls.¹ We see a rājā sitting with a princess of dazzling beauty in a magnificent pavilion where all the luxuries of life have been arranged to attract him. The jewellery on the rājā’s own body is of the richest and choicest pattern, the beautiful crown, the exquisite ear-rings, the lovely pearl-strings,² the armlets, the wrist-bands, the bangles, all set with gems of the purest ray and worn in most artistic fashion. The pose, expression, jewellery, and raiment of the queen are absolutely bewitching. She is attired in the thinnest apparel, so that the graceful contour of her elegant form can be seen. The jewellery is almost ingeniously arrayed, bringing into relief the supple limbs. The expression of the face is redolent of love, which feeling is further accentuated by a coquettish pose; her right elbow is resting on the thigh of the rājā, while her left hand touches in a graceful manner his foot. The lower part of her body is stretched below the throne, and the artist has taken delight in this pose to show the long sweeps of his brush-line.