Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s13.3

v2.c8.s13.3

THE principal figure in this fresco was a Buddha sitting on a throne and attended by two Bodhisattvas as *chaurī*-bearers. One of these wore a crown, and the other had his hair dressed in the style of the *jaṭā* of a Sādhu. All these figures have almost perished now; of the Buddha we see only the feet resting on a full-blown lotus, and of the two *chaurī*-bearers only portions of their heads. The throne of the Buddha is placed under a mango tree, the rich foliage and beautiful fruit of which have been delineated with great skill and taste. The background of the subject is filled up with the stalks and flowers of a lotus-creeper, the main stems of which spring from the flower on which the feet of the Buddha rest. The delineation of the stalks is exquisite, and exhibits very pretty decorative detail and fine brush work. The flowers springing from the stalks support the minor Buddhas, who are arranged in several rows around the principal figure. Seven of them are in the top row and six on either side, towards the right and left, arranged in three rows in pairs. These figures are in the teaching, assurance, and meditation attitudes.