Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s28.12

v2.c8.s28.12

The fifth subject (XLIX *a*), like the first two, represents a *Nāga* king and queen with two maids, one of whom is clinging shyly to the bolster against which the rājā is leaning.⁴ The other maid holds a vessel with a conical lid in her left hand. The vessel apparently contains dessert, for the *Nāga* rājā has a cup of wine in his right hand. The rājā has fondly placed his elbow on the shoulder of his consort, who is looking at him lovingly. The gesture of the hands of the rājā, however, suggests the teaching attitude, and a meditative air is apparent from the expression of his face, as also from the girdle round his back and knees, which is generally used by hermits when they sit in contemplation. The combination of wine-drinking with religious devotion might have been a feature of the *Nāga* cult at the time, and the painter’s imagination having been struck with it, he has delineated the cult in several scenes (Plates XLVIII *a-b* and XLIX *a*).