Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s4: Indra and the Four Yakshas

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s4

Language: English

Indra and the Four Yakshas

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This subject is on the back wall of the veranda, to the right of the doorway, beyond the window in that direction. The reproduction is in colour.

THE fresco represents seven figures, two of which, on the left side, are clad like hermits, the hair of one of them being done up in the style of the Sādhus. Another figure, to the right of the latter, represents a youth with long curled hair. Farther to the right is a prince dressed in a robe of brocade, and wearing a crown.¹ Below, in the middle, is Indra (Śakra) the Hundred-eyed,² one of whose eyes of wisdom is clearly indicated on his forehead. A green dwarf is wielding a *chaurī* behind him, and on the left is the head of a female figure, perhaps representing his consort Śachī. The Mahāyāna School adopted many legends and deities of the contemporary cults, and this group represents the supernatural beings which are mentioned as Yakshas in later Buddhist literature.¹ The style of drawing combines vigour with grace, and the heads of Indra and of the figure behind him are admirably delineated. To show worldly majesty, the painter has given to Indra a robust physique with a very broad chest and highly developed shoulders, while his spiritual glory is expressed by high lights on the forehead, nose, and lips, and the dignified expression of the face.

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¹ The design of the brocade, although indistinct in the reproduction, can yet be traced in the original fresco. It is a star pattern on a white background.

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² ‘Sakka the Hundred-eyed thou seest, for so the gods me call When they are wont to assemble in the heavenly judgement hall.’ *Jātaka* (Cambridge ed.), iv. 202.

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¹ Besides Indra, Śachī, and the green chaurī-bearer, the remaining four deities may be the four Lokapālas, or guardians of the four cardinal points, who dwell on Mount Kailāsa at the gates of the heaven of Indra. They assisted at every important event in the life of the Buddha, and were present at his birth, the great renunciation and death (parinirvāṇa).

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The figure with curled locks behind Indra is an excellent example of modelling, which some critics have failed to notice in the paintings of Ajanta. The dark-brown washes along the chin, neck, and shoulders of this figure make it look round and detached from the background. The treatment of the hair of this figure, as well as of the green chaurī-bearer, shows fine brush-work. The features of the green figure are outlined in dull red in the original fresco, but they look somewhat indistinct in the reproduction.

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The artist has also succeeded to a remarkable degree in producing an effect of movement in this painting. The pose of Indra and of the green chaurī-bearer are particularly striking in this respect.

Cites (1)

Jātaka — Pāli