Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s6: The Exile of a Lady: Not Identified
Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s6
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The Exile of a Lady: Not Identified
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Plates XII-XIV
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*Of these three plates, the subject of Plate XII (a-b) is painted on the left wall of the chapel at the right end of the veranda. The scene of Plate XIII is on the back wall of the same chapel, to the left of the cell door, and the subject of Plate XIV is depicted on the right wall of the chapel. As the frescoes of this chapel are badly damaged, they are reproduced in monochrome only.*
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THE Jātaka depicted in these frescoes has not been identified as yet, but the scenes reproduced in Plates XII and XIII show a lady in exile with two robbers, or executioners, and the birth in the jungle of a child who is ultimately thrown into a lotus-pond. The various incidents have been depicted with great pathos, and though the frescoes are badly damaged, yet the skill and vision of the artist cannot escape notice.
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Beginning at the left, we notice a Bodhisattva in the bhūmisparśa mudrā,¹ his right hand hanging low towards the earth. The features are refined, and the expression of the face shows that he is occupied in deep thought. He is sitting on a throne, but the hermit's girdle for the support of the back and legs is seen round his knees, apparently to indicate that he is meditating.¹ The feet of the Bodhisattva rest upon a low stool, whose supports in the form of tigers' paws are interesting for their design. The check-pattern with stars at the corners on the cloth of the cushion is pleasing to the eye. To the left of the Bodhisattva is an attendant dressed in a green robe like a monk, while on his right is a *dāsī* (female servant), wielding a fly-whisk. The scene is depicted in a pavilion, similar to the ‘perfumed chamber’ of the Buddhist stories.² The pavilion is apparently built in a higher part of the royal abode or monastery, for we notice below a line of *caitya*-windows and carved railing, indicating the lower apartments of the building.
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¹ For information regarding the various mudrās, or attitudes, see Ajanta, i. 34 (footnote 2).
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¹ Ajanta, i. 19 (text).
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² See Warren's *Buddhism in Translations*, pp. 91-5.
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Outside the pavilion, towards the right, we notice a large palanquin which is being carried on the shoulders of four attendants. The design of the palanquin is like that of the upper part of an Indian bullock-cart—a semicircular bamboo frame-work resting on a base of wooden planks. In this case, two strong bamboos are attached to the bottom as well, one on each side, and projecting at the ends of the palanquin to allow the bearers to lift it up and carry it. The top frame of the palanquin is apparently covered with cloth, and there are horizontal, vertical, and diagonal bands showing decorative work.
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In front of the palanquin, and above the palanquin-bearers, are two figures representing monks, one of whom is a youngish man with very fine features. The head of the other monk is damaged, but its heavy jaw and large wheel-pattern ear-rings are still very prominent.
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The second episode of the story, Plate XII *b*, represents a scene in the jungle. Commencing from the left, we notice two figures, one of whom is a stalwart man of green complexion with very fierce looks. The features of his companion are obliterated, but his frizzled woolly hair is suggestive of his wild temper, and further, he holds a blue poniard in his right hand and a cup or tray in his left. At the feet of these two ruffians, who are either robbers or executioners commissioned by the king to murder the lady inside the palanquin, we notice a figure lying prostrate, as if beseeching for the life of the lady. The fresco is badly damaged here, but the curve of the back of the prostrate figure can be discerned.
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In the middle of the painting is a tree of colossal size with dark-green foliage, below which the palanquin has been placed. Three ladies may be seen, one of whom is lying on her left side, apparently seized with acute pain, and another is either rubbing some ointment on her back, or tying a bandage round her waist. Something like the roll of a bandage may be noticed near the waist of the lady who is lying down. The third lady is still inside the palanquin, but her figure is visible through the opening. Her emotion in this situation may be observed from the gesture of her hand. Near the lady who is seized with pain, there is another figure lying flat, with face turned to the ground, evidently through excessive sorrow. The long full-sleeved coat and belt show the figure to be that of a man. The fresco is much damaged, but the few pieces which remain exhibit fine technique in the rounding of forms, and in the delineation of plants with their rich foliage and abundance of flowers.
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In the third episode, the scene changes to a delightful lotus-pond, at the edge of which the palanquin is placed, and we notice the green-complexioned ruffian and also the newly born baby, who has been set afloat in a cradle on the waters of the lotus-pond, probably by the ruffian. A lady is sitting in a pensive mood in front of the palanquin. She is evidently the mother of the child, and is smitten with grief at the loss of her baby. The painting of the lady is indeed a masterpiece (Plate XIII *b*), and shows what high standards of grace and beauty in the treatment of female figures the artists of Ajanta attained.
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Below this scene we see a *Nāga* king with an elaborate halo of seven hoods, and two *Nāgis*, apparently his consorts, and two more female figures. The *Nāgas* being spirits often dwelling in lakes,¹ it appears that their king has been touched by the grief of the mother, or struck with amazement at the sight of a lovely child floating in the pond, and he has rescued the babe. The fresco is very much damaged in this part, and it is possible that the conjecture about the *Nāga* king rescuing the child may not be correct, and that the scene with the *Nāga* figures belongs to another story.
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¹ *See Ajanta*, i. 11-12 (footnote 2).
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As the frescoes on the other walls of this chapel are also much damaged, it can only be conjectured that the previous story has been continued on them. However, on the back wall, to the right of the cell door, the outlines of one white and one pink elephant can be made out, as well as the figure of a horse. The fresco on the right wall of the chapel is, comparatively speaking, better preserved, and we notice a court scene in which a rājā is shown sitting on a throne. He is wearing an elaborate crown and rich jewellery, which are in keeping with the Indian ideals of the dignity of a king. The rājā holds a fruit (a mango?) in his right hand.
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On the left of the rājā is the figure of a youth, who is either saluting with both hands joined and raised towards the forehead, or announcing in a respectful manner the arrival of some important personage, for a great cavalcade waits outside the royal pavilion. Behind the youth two elephants may be seen, the heads and trunks of which are excellently drawn. The fine brush-lines depicting the folds of the skin of the lower elephant’s trunk are very ingeniously painted. On this animal we notice two figures, apparently of ladies. The bodice of the lady riding in front is very striking on account of its collar and breast bands. She is holding a disk (a shield?) in her left hand, while in her right hand is either a sword or a goad for urging on the elephant. The lady behind her is holding a sword (or a dagger) in her right hand, with the point of the weapon downward. Below the figures of these two ladies, two male figures may be made out, probably of attendants. One of them is dressed in a long coat with tight sleeves. The cloth of the coat has a circular design on it.
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On the neck of the upper elephant a stalwart male figure may be noticed, but the head of this figure is broken. Between the heads of the two elephants, the head and tusk of a third elephant with a rider may also be traced. These figures are too much damaged to study further.
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If the subject of this fresco is to be connected with the story of the ‘Exile of the Lady’, the scene will represent the honourable return of the lady to her father’s palace, with her consort and the child who is now grown up.²
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² The walls of the left chapel of the veranda also had frescoes which, except for a few tiny pieces scattered here and there, have almost completely perished. The pieces surviving now are described in the Appendix in connexion with the inscriptions which have been noticed on them.
Linked texts (1)
- Jātaka — Pāli