Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.31

v3.c12.31

In the fifth century A.D. Buddhist architecture, like the sister arts of sculpture and painting, seems to have reached a very high level, for the design and plan of Cave XVI indicate elegance combined with architectural vigour.⁷ The cave has fortunately an inscription, incised on the left wall near the end of the façade, bearing the name of the Vākāṭaka king Hariṣeṇa, who ruled in the last quarter of the fifth century A.D.¹ The plan of this temple can be best understood with the help of Plate XLIII. It has a spacious veranda, 65 ft. long by 10 ft. 8 in. wide, flanked towards the front by six octagonal pillars and two pilasters, the latter being most beautifully carved (Plate XLII *b*). The hall is entered by three doors, the middle one being larger in dimensions than those on either side of it. There are also two windows between the main door and the side ones. The pilasters on either side of the main doorway have lively female figures standing on *makaras*.