Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s22: Figures of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara?)

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s22

Language: English

Figures of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara?)

v3.c12.s22.2

*The figure of the Buddha (a) is painted on the back wall of the veranda, to the left of the left window, in Cave XI. The Bodhisattva (b) is painted on the same wall to the right of the door.*¹

¹ The veranda of this cave was at one time covered with paintings, and fragments of frescoes may still be seen on the ceiling, the frieze above the pillars, the capitals of the latter, and the back wall (Pls. XXXVIII-XL).

v3.c12.s22.4

Of the two figures, that representing the Buddha (a), although much damaged, has a unique feature, that is, light in the form of wavy lines, emanating from his entire body.² In the subjects of Cave X, referred to above (supra, pp. 37-8), the emanation of light is shown either round the halo of the Buddha (Pls. XXXVI a and XXXVII a) or along the margin of the panel in which the figure of the Great Being is painted (Pls. XXX b and XXXVI b), and in each case in a more or less conventional manner; but here it is more realistic. The representation may refer to some occasion in the life of the Buddha when divine glory shone forth from his entire body.

v3.c12.s22.5

² The Buddha is of colossal size and has a yellowish-brown complexion. The bold black outline of the figure is intact in the original fresco. The left hand of the Buddha, in which he is holding the frilled end of his sheet, (dhoti) is drawn with considerable artistic effect

v3.c12.s22.6

The figure of the Bodhisattva (b) is again badly damaged, but the portion of the head which has survived, and is now carefully preserved by the Department, shows very striking features. They are distinctly Āryan, like those of Padmapāṇi in Cave I or Indra in Cave II.³ The high lights have brought into prominence the broad forehead and sharp nose with well-curved nostrils. The use of high lights is not to be found in the earlier frescoes of Caves IX and X, and was probably practised in the fifth century A.D. for the first time. The Bodhisattva is wearing a high bejewelled crown and many pearl ornaments; the free use of the latter is also a feature of the fifth-century art of Ajanta. The figure may represent the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, but as the fresco is much damaged it is difficult to identify it with any certainty.⁴

v3.c12.s22.7

³ *Ajanta*, Part I, Pls. XXIV-XXVII, and Part II, Pl. IX.

v3.c12.s22.8

⁴ On the back wall of the veranda of this cave, besides the three subjects reproduced in Pls. XXXIX-XL, there are other frescoes. For instance to the left of the Buddha, from whose body light is emanating, there is a dim figure which can be made out by the striped material of his lower garment. Below this figure may be seen the two hands of some votary joined together in the act of adoration. The