Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s24: The Sutasoma Jātaka, or the Story of a Lioness Who Fell in Love with Sudāsa, the King of Benares

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s24

Language: English

The Sutasoma Jātaka, or the Story of a Lioness Who Fell in Love with Sudāsa, the King of Benares

The story was painted on the architrave, above the front pillars of the veranda, but through the ravages of time the fresco has almost completely perished, except for a fragment above pillars 1 to 3, counting from the right, the outline of which is reproduced.

v3.c12.s24.3

ALTHOUGH Burgess in his *Notes* (pp. 57-8) has correctly made out the detail of the scene, yet he could not identify it with the *Sutasoma Jātaka*.² The credit of the identification goes to Prof. A. Foucher, who was employed by H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government to study the Ajanta paintings in 1919-20. The story seems to be a favourite one, for it is also painted in the back corridor of Cave XVII at Ajanta, and carved on a frieze in Cave III at Aurangabad. In the version painted at Ajanta, and sculptured at Aurangabad, the story begins with Sudāsa, the king of Benares, going out to hunt and losing his way in the forest. He dismounts from his horse, and while taking rest falls asleep. A lioness appears on the scene, and being captivated by the beauty of Sudāsa falls in love with him and kisses his feet. By this bodily contact the lioness in a miraculous manner conceives and gives birth to a child,¹ who is named Saudāsa after his father, and succeeds him in course of time as the king of Benares. The young king through the folly of his cook once tastes human flesh, and having been born from the womb of a lioness he becomes a cannibal. Kāḷahatthi, the commander-in-chief of the king, urges him to give up this vicious habit, but his advice falls on deaf ears and Saudāsa remains incorrigible. The subjects of the king ultimately attack him, and he runs away to the woods, where he preys upon human beings. In course of time he succeeds in capturing a number of princes, and one day he seizes also Sutasoma, who is no other than the Bodhisattva born as the heir-apparent of the king of Indraprastha. Sutasoma, before he was captured by Saudāsa, had made a promise to a Brahman to listen to his sermon, which engagement he desires to fulfil before dying to provide a morsel to satisfy the appetite of the cannibal. The solicitude of Sutasoma prevails, and he obtains a respite to go and listen to the teachings of the Brahman. The teachings endow Sutasoma with a new spiritual power, which enables him not only to protect himself but to compel Saudāsa to release the other princes whom he has captured. He also by his holy words induces the man-eater to give up his evil habit and to repent for his sins. As a reward he escorts him back to Benares and reinstates him on the throne.

v3.c12.s24.4

² *Jātaka-mālā*, No. 31; *Bhadrakalpāvadāna*, No. 34; *The Jātaka*, No. 537 (vol. v, pp. 246-79); and *Contes*, Nos. 41, 135.

v3.c12.s24.5

¹ Both in Cave XVII at Ajanta and in the sculptured panel in Cave III at Aurangabad the lioness is being carried in state with the child to the royal palace.

v3.c12.s24.6

On the architrave two episodes of the story can be made out, first the lioness licking the feet of Sudāsa, who is lying on a made-up bed of leaves and flowers. Flowers and leaves are scattered around the bed as well. The upper part of Sudāsa's body has perished, but the legs are intact. By the side of the bed Sudāsa's horse is standing; its arched neck and trappings attract the eye.

v3.c12.s24.7

To the right of the above is the palace-scene in which Sudāsa is shown sitting on a royal chair. Two female attendants, holding fly-whisks, are standing behind his chair. The figures of these attendants exhibit considerable elegance in both the delineation of their bodies and the style of their ornaments. Sudāsa is holding the child born of the lioness in his lap. The figure of the child is damaged, but the back of his head and one of his shoulders can be traced. To the right of Sudāsa is a male servant who is squatting on the ground and looking eagerly at the child. The artist has given an expression of fatherly affection to the face of Sudāsa.

v3.c12.s24.8

The fresco, although much damaged, yet both in regard to drawing and expression falls into line with the other paintings of this cave, which, as noted above (p. 44), belong to the fifth century A.D.