Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s28: The Dying Princess: The Deserted Wife of Nanda (?)

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s28

Language: English

The Dying Princess: The Deserted Wife of Nanda (?)

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*The subject is painted in the left corridor near the pilaster between the former and the front corridor. It is reproduced in colour.*

THE scene represents the fainting or the dying of a princess, apparently at the sight of a crown which is held in the hands of a servant with a melancholy face, standing close to a pillar near the left end of the painting. As on the right side of this subject the story of the Conversion of Nanda is painted, it is not unlikely that the princess is either the wife of Nanda, or ‘Belle-of-the-Country’, with whom he was deeply in love when he left home to join the Order.¹ However, the scene painted on the rock-wall tells the story in a very clear manner. Near the left end of the fresco there are two servants, one of whom is dressed in a long white coat with tight sleeves. He is wearing a white skull-cap, from the lower end of which the hair of his head is visible. The cap is of Persian style; and the dress of several figures in this fresco and the next one, in which the story of Nanda’s conversion is continued, shows that the influence of the Pahlavas (Parthians), whose kingdoms (satrapies) were established in the provinces to the north and north-west of the Deccan even before the Christian era, not only penetrated the fine arts of Indian sculpture and architecture but also set models for improvement and change in the style of dress. The other servant alluded to above holds a crown in his hands, and his object is to report that his master (Nanda) has renounced his princely life to become a monk. The head of the figure has been drawn with great care; the eyes are almost filled with tears, and the artist, further to emphasize the expression of pathos, has placed high lights on the nose, lips, and chin.

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¹ Thomas in his *Life of Buddha* (p. 101) refers to the Conversion of Nanda along with other events which took place at the time of the arrival of the Buddha in Kapilavastu after his enlightenment. Thomas writes thus:

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The figure in the middle is of the princess, who is sitting on a low throne, her back resting on a round embroidered pillow and her legs stretched in front and resting on the floor. Her left elbow also is placed on the pillow, and the maid standing behind the throne is holding

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‘On the following day was being celebrated the royal consecration of Nanda, half-brother of Buddha and son of Mahāpajāpati. This seems to have been his consecration as heir apparent, such as had taken place in Buddha’s case at the age of sixteen. It was also the occasion of Nanda’s marriage and entering his house. Buddha came and gave Nanda his bowl to hold, and then after uttering a *mangala*, or auspicious formula, rose to go without taking back the bowl. Nanda did not venture to ask him to take it back, even when his bride appealed to him, and he followed Buddha as far as the monastery. Then Buddha asked him if he was going to leave the world, and out of reverence for the Master Nanda said, “Yes, I am going to leave the world”, and Buddha ordered him to be ordained.’

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On the authority of *Udāna* (iii. 2) Thomas has further observed (f.n. 2, p. 100):

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‘It is not surprising that there should be a story of Nanda wishing to leave the Order. Buddha took him to the Heaven of the Thirty-three and showed him the nymphs, so superior in beauty to his own wife that he decided to stay in the Order in order to gain this heaven in another existence. But the ridicule of the other monks shamed him out of that intention.’

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Warren has, however, narrated the story in considerable detail, which may be summarized as follows:

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‘When the Teacher made his first visit to Kapilapura, he induced his youngest brother, Nanda, to join the Order. The latter agreed to the advice of the Buddha, but being in love with Belle-of-the-Country he pined away during his residence in the monastery, so much so that his veins became prominent on his skin. The Buddha on hearing this paid a visit to Nanda and inquired whether the latter was contented with his monastic life. Nanda replied in the negative and said that he was deeply in love with Belle-of-the-Country. The Buddha afterwards flew to the Heaven of the Suite of the Thirty-three and took Nanda along with him. Sakka, the king of gods, came up with other gods and female attendants to pay obeisance to the Buddha. Among the female attendants of Sakka were five hundred pink-footed celestial nymphs whose beauty fascinated Nanda. He inquired of the Buddha as to what one should do to possess those celestial nymphs. The Teacher observed that by becoming a monk one could possess those nymphs. Nanda covetously said that if the Blessed One could be his guarantee to get the nymphs he would gladly perform the duties of a monk. The Great Being agreed to that and Nanda returned to the monastery in a better mood. He was, however, put to shame in regard to his behaviour by the disciples of the Buddha, who remarked that Nanda’s making the Great Being a guarantee for the celestial nymphs meant his living a monk’s life for the sake of passions. By this admonition Nanda realized his weakness and was smitten with remorse, which act blessed him with insight and he attained to saintship.’ *Buddhism in Translations*, pp. 269-73.

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the princess with her two hands, so as to prevent her from falling down from the throne through weakness. The head of the princess is inclined on one side, and her half-closed eyes indicate both feebleness and despair. A maid to the right of the princess is looking at her face anxiously, and has placed her hand on the wrist of the princess, apparently to feel her pulse. Another maid, who is wearing a tight white *brassière*,¹ through panic has twisted her body in a peculiar manner. She is fanning the princess.² Apart from the expression of pathos which the artist has effectively given to the various figures of this scene, he has shown consummate skill in the drawing of the bodies and decking them with jewellery and other ornamental features. The drawing of the princess herself is a masterpiece. The well-proportioned limbs and the fine features of the young damsel display a highly cultured taste, while the deep colour-washes, high lights, and fine brush-work exhibit fully developed technical skill.

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¹ It is perhaps the earlier form of the Indian *choli* or present-day fans of the Deccan.

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² The fan is of palm-leaves matted in the style of the *angiyā*. *Ajanta*, i. 17.

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The figures of the maids also show a rich imagination and thorough competence in portraying the subject in a vivid manner. The artistically matted hair and forelocks of the fan-bearer combined with her beautiful features and scanty but *chic* dress fit in well with her writhing movement, resulting from feelings of sudden sorrow at the pathetic condition of the princess. The idea of movement is also suggested by the inclination of the large ear-rings and the pearl drops of the necklet of this maid.

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The other maid, who is close to the princess and feeling her pulse, appears both by her dress and expression a lady of calm disposition, although the manner in which she is looking at the princess betrays deep concern. She is wearing a half-sleeved tunic of white material and a *sārī* or *ghaghrī* (skirt) extending much below her knees. The tunic covers the upper part of her body in an unostentatious style and has no opening in front. The figure of the third maid who is standing behind the throne of the princess is not fully visible, but her head is admirably drawn: the large eyes, the sharp nose, the small but full lips, and short chin, all are shown with effect by high lights. The style of dressing the hair is different in the case of each of the three maids and the princess, but the pearl strings worn at the parting of the hair in the middle of the head by the princess, as well as by the two maids close to her, are frequently to be seen in the frescoes of Cave I (*Mahā-janaka Jātaka*),³ and my surmise regarding the frescoes of Cave I, that they were executed in the fifth century A.D.,⁴ is supported by the similarity of this adornment and also by certain technical devices, such as giving a deeper colour along the outline of drawing in order to produce the effect of roundness, or placing the high lights so as to enliven the expression.

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³ *Ajanta*, i, Plates XIII, XVII, and XXVIII.

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⁴ *Ibid.*, i. 3.

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At the back of the pavilion, towards the right, there is an open court where, under a banana tree, two more maids are seen conversing together. One of them is of a fair complexion and the other of a dark brown. The features of the latter are coarse and the hair woolly, like those of negroes. She has a sash round her neck, the knot of which is prominent below the throat. This woman has stretched her hand in a significant manner, as if to receive certain information from the other maid, the gesture of whose fingers indicates that she is telling something to her companion. The latter, who is of a fair complexion, has a youthful face, but is rather plump. She holds a water vessel with a cup which has been inverted on the neck of the vessel. This maid is wearing a scarf round her head in a style which suggests that she is either a Parthian (*Pahlava*) or a Scythian (*Śaka*), for this kind of headgear has not been found in the representation of indigenous people either in Indian sculpture or painting. The scarfs or *oṛhṇīs* shown in the early paintings of Cave X (Plate XXIV) are worn in a style different from that in the present case. The maid is wearing a long tunic with full sleeves. The pretty fringe of black hair shown over her forehead below the scarf exhibits fine brush-work and also the painter's love of detail.

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On the roof of the pavilion is sitting a peafowl which has gorgeous feathers. The bird has lowered its neck in a significant manner, as if it is feeling the unhappiness of the events enacted below. The legends of the Buddha being born as bird and animal established a special bond between human beings and other forms of creation, and this union has often been shown in the frescoes of Ajanta.¹

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¹ A notable display of this union may be seen in the fresco of the Great Bodhisattva Padmapāṇi, wherein peafowls, monkeys, and a lion show joy at the Bodhisattva’s decision to renounce the world. *Ajanta*, i, pp. 29-30 and Plate XXIV.

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Mr. Griffiths, who copied the fresco during the cold season, 1872-3, has paid a high tribute to its vividness. He writes: ‘For pathos and sentiment and the unmistakable way of telling its story this picture, I consider, cannot be surpassed in the history of art. The Florentine could have put better drawing, and the Venetian better colour, but neither could have thrown greater expression into it.’²

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² Burgess, *Notes*, pp. 58-9.