Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s29: The Conversion of Nanda (?)

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s29

Language: English

The Conversion of Nanda (?)

v3.c12.s29.2

*The subject is painted in the left corridor, above the first and second cell-doors from the left. It is reproduced in colour.*

FOUR episodes of the story can easily be made out in the painting. The first represents the celebration of Nanda’s consecration as heir apparent, and perhaps also his marriage, which took place at the time of the Buddha’s visit to Kapilavastu after his enlightenment.³ Starting from the top right end a Parthian, or Scythian, chief is seen, who is riding on a steel-grey horse. The features of the rider are indistinct, but his conical cap with a fur brim and long full-sleeved coat prove him unmistakably to be an inhabitant of one of the Asiatic countries to the north-west of India. The head and arched neck of the horse have been drawn with realistic effect. To indicate movement the artist has shown the back ends of the rider’s scarf, as if flying in the air. The coat of the rider is of a striped material, but the design of the triangular white collar is very typical, for it is often seen on the coats worn by such foreigners in other frescoes. By the side of the horse may be made out the head of a woman whose hair is bedecked with flowers. In front of her is another figure, probably of a groom, whose white cap of Persian design can be made out.

v3.c12.s29.4

³ Nanda was the half-brother of the Buddha and son of Mahāprajāpati.

v3.c12.s29.5

Proceeding towards the left, the town or palace gate may be noticed, close to which are represented the figures of a coolie, a groom, and a riderless horse. The animal has raised his head as if to neigh, which horses generally do when reaching the end of a stage and feeling relief. It is also possible that the painter by this pose intended to indicate the joy of the animal at its rider’s getting the opportunity of being blessed by the Buddha, which is shown lower down in the fresco. The coolie is carrying baggage, which is slung with ropes to a bamboo (बहंगी). The groom, as shown by his dress, is a foreigner, a Parthian or Scythian. He is clad in a long greenish coat and has a white cap on his head. Beyond this scene there is another where the horse with the groom and the rider with two attendants of his own race may be seen. The figure of the rider can easily be identified by his white collar of triangular design and conical fur-brimmed cap. The scene perhaps lies in the forecourt of the royal palace wherein Nanda’s consecration as heir apparent was being celebrated. The horse in this scene has been shown standing under an areca-nut (?) tree, the foliage of which, rich with autumn effects, has been shown with evident delight by the artist.

v3.c12.s29.6

Near the tree is a pavilion wherein the figure of the Buddha is shown in two places. He holds a bowl in his left hand, and in one place, towards the left, he is blessing a woman and a child (Yasodharā and Rāhula ?), whose figures have become very dim in the painting. In the other place, standing between the two pillars towards the right, he is blessing or initiating into the Doctrine the Parthian king and a lady who are squatting on the floor in front of him. The figure of the Master appears again to the right of the last scene, accompanied by an attendant and also by a child (Rāhula ?), who, probably through joy, is running about him, for the figure of the child is represented both behind and in front of the Buddha.

v3.c12.s29.7

In the apartment towards the right there are eight figures, five of them being male and three female. The latter are sitting on the floor and looking towards the Buddha, who is entering the apartment. The features of the male as well as of the female figures show them to be early inhabitants of the Deccan, having round faces, short noses, and woolly hair. The artist, apparently to bring their features into prominence, has placed high lights on the foreheads, noses, lips, and chins of these figures. Of the representations of women two are badly damaged, but the third at the extreme right end, near the pillar, is better preserved and shows art of a superior class. Apart from the devout expression, the modelling of the body and the fine brush-work of the hair exhibit perfect technical skill.

v3.c12.s29.8

The story was apparently continued below this scene, but owing to the peeling away of the fresco, except for the figure of a rājā kneeling in front of the Buddha, hardly anything is left. The rājā is apparently Nanda, who has agreed to join the Order. A representation of Nanda kneeling before the Buddha, based on Major Gill’s copy, is given in Mrs. Speir’s book, *Life in Ancient India*. It is also included in Burgess’s *Notes*, Plate XIV, 3. But Gill’s copy does not appear to be accurate when compared with the photograph of the figure in this plate (LIII).

v3.c12.s29.9

The next episode of the story is painted above the second and third cell-doors. Here the scene represents events relating to the ordaining of Nanda. He is first shown sitting on the floor in the forecourt of a monastery, where it is supposed a barber is shaving his head. The upper part of the body of the barber has disappeared owing to the falling down of the painted layer from the rock-wall, but the way in which Nanda's head is inclined in the fresco confirms the above surmise. Two monks are watching the operation, one of whom, rather youngish, has Āryan features. At the back of this scene, towards the right, is a pavilion with round wooden pillars. The parapet of triangular design, shown on the roof of this pavilion, may be of interest to students of Indian architecture.

v3.c12.s29.10

Inside the pavilion a monk, with a shaven head, is sitting in a melancholy mood. He is probably the love-sick Nanda, feeling the pangs of separation from Belle-of-the-Country. There are several other monks inside the pavilion, and at the extreme right end, between two pillars, is the Buddha, watching the pathetic condition of Nanda.

v3.c12.s29.11

The third episode of the story is shown on the left side of Plate LIV, near the top. Here the Buddha with another monk is seen flying in the air, apparently representing the flight of the Buddha with Nanda to the Heaven of the Suite of the Thirty-three. In the plate only the lower parts of the bodies of the Buddha and Nanda are seen, but in the original fresco their entire bodies may be observed. The figure of the Buddha appears again close to the flying figures towards the right. He is accompanied by a young monk. There are several other figures, but they have become so faint that it is difficult to say whether the scene represents the Heaven of the Suite of the Thirty-three, or the Buddha's return thence after standing guarantee for Nanda's obtaining celestial nymphs if he performed the duties of a monk (*supra*, p. 50, f.n.).¹

v3.c12.s29.12

¹ In this scene besides the figures of the Buddha and the young monk (Nanda ?) the figures of five ladies may also be traced in the original fresco, the latter perhaps representing the celestial nymphs.

v3.c12.s29.13

The artistic merits of this fresco cannot be fully judged owing to its damaged condition, but such figures as remain intact show it to be the work of the same artist who drew the subject known as the Dying Princess. It is interesting to note that in this painting people of three different racial types have been represented. In the upper part of Plate LIII there are foreigners, Parthians (*Pahlavas*) or Scythians (*Śakas*), a little lower in the same plate the aborigines of the Deccan (Dravidians?), and still lower down in the same plate and in the next one (LIV) people of pure Āryan stock or of a race having a strong Āryan element.

v3.c12.s29.14

In Plate LIII, near the bottom, is painted the scene reproduced in Mrs. Speir's book and also copied by Burgess in his *Notes* (Plate XIII. 2).²

v3.c12.s29.15

² This is also reproduced in the *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, by Fergusson and Burgess, vol. i, Frontispiece (rev. ed.)

v3.c12.s29.16

The fresco since the time of Major Gill, on whose copy all the reproductions are based, has suffered much, and the figure of the Buddha, who was shown preaching in the middle, has almost disappeared, except for a portion of the head. The figure of the lady standing near the pillar at the extreme left end of the painting can, however, be made out with certainty, and shows both grace of pose and decorative skill. The architectural features of the building represented in the fresco are clear. At the back is a hall with a gabled roof, painted white in the original fresco. The hall has two windows and a door opening on to the veranda. The roof of the veranda, painted green in the original fresco, is slanting, and rests on wooden pillars. These have round shafts and narrow necks, and are crowned with bell-shaped capitals and square abaci. From the middle of the veranda projects a porch, the roof of which again rests on pillars and has a triangular frieze with an ornamental *chaitya*-window design in the middle. The drawing seems to be a faithful copy of a religious or secular building of the period, and the artist has taken considerable pains to reproduce even the minor detail, such as the decorative crenation in the sides of the roof at the joints. The drawing is also a good specimen of the artist's sense of perspective.