Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s40: A Palace Scene: Not Identified

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s40

Language: English

A Palace Scene: Not Identified

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*The scene is painted in Cave XVII, on the back wall of the veranda, above the window. It is reproduced in colour.*

THE story seems to be a continuation of the previous one represented in Pls. LXIV-LXV, for the figure of the guard painted above that holding the whip in the last two plates occurs twice in this plate (LXVI). On the basis of this connexion the scenes depicted in the present fresco may be identified with certain episodes of the *Viśvantara Jātaka*, for example the pathetic incident when the prince in an atmosphere of conjugal bliss discloses to his fair wife the news of his banishment from the kingdom of his father, and enjoins her to retain all the precious gifts which he has made her, and find another husband for herself, and ‘not pine alone’.² This scene without any stretch of the imagination can be made out in the right portion of the fresco, where a swarthy king is holding his fair consort in close embrace. The expression of the faces of both shows anxiety, and the prince is offering wine to his wife, apparently to soothe her feelings. She has languidly placed one of her arms for support on the body of the prince and stretched her left leg on the couch on which they are sitting. The pose of the princess is extremely graceful, exhibiting both imagination and skilful drawing. Like Cave XVI, this cave also has an inscription of the Vākāṭaka king Hariṣeṇa, carved on the outer wall near the left end of the veranda, and as the reign of this king has been fixed by experts in the last quarter of the fifth century A.D.,³ the majority of the frescoes in this cave are almost coeval with those in Caves I and XVI. In the work of this period Parthian or Scythian servants are frequently represented attending on kings, and in the present subject also a Parthian maid wearing a conical cap, with a tuft at the top, and a green jacket may be noticed. She holds a flagon in her hands, and her pose indicates that she is ready to pour the drink into her master’s cup. There is a pink-skinned dwarf at the foot of the couch looking up submissively at the prince and the princess. He holds a wide-mouthed vessel, apparently containing dessert. Another vessel of this shape is to be seen below the couch, in front of the prince. Near the head of the couch a dark-skinned maid is squatting on the floor. She also holds a vessel in her hands. It is round in shape, but has a conical lid.

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² *Jātaka*, vi, 256-7.

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³ *Cave-Temple Inscriptions*, p. 73 seq.; *Buddhist Cave Temples and their Inscriptions*, A.S.W.I., vol. iv, pp. 128 ff., and Appendix, p. 87.

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To the right of the pavilion in which the prince and princess are seated there is a small open court, in which the green foliage of an areca-nut tree, a banana tree, and some other tropical plants, besides adding an air of coolness to the environment, contrasts well with the orange and pink of the walls and pillars of the building. The lower part of the fresco has perished at this place, but the heads of four figures can be made out, three of them being female and the fourth male. The latter is the royal guard, noticed in the previous subject (Plates LXIV and LXV) near the whip-holder. Of the three ladies the one who is the tallest is also prominent by her fair complexion. She may be Phusatī, the mother of Viśvantara, who was smitten with grief on hearing of the command of banishment and approached the chamber of her son in order to overhear the conversation between him and his wife Mādrī (in Pali, Maddī).¹

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¹ Jātaka, vi, 258-9.

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The left half of the fresco represents the court of the palace, with trees in front and at the back and the main door of the palace at one end. Here, quite close to the pavilion, the princess (Mādrī?) is seen proceeding towards the gate. She is attended by two maids and a guard, who is the same as noticed in the small court on the right of the palace. One of the maids is holding an umbrella over the head of the princess, and the other looking woefully at her face. The princess herself appears to be distressed, and the face of the guard also expresses deep sorrow. A beggar is seen in front; he holds a crooked staff and a large bowl in his left hand, while with the right he is making a gesture apparently to importune his confrères, who are all gods in disguise, to wait until his test of the generous nature of the princess is over. The features of the beggar and his crooked staff are so characteristic that he might be taken for a mendicant such as is to be seen in Benares and Gaya even to-day.

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Near the gate is the rājā (Viśvantara?), a dark, stalwart figure attended by four maids, one of whom, with a pinkish complexion, holds an umbrella over the head of her master. To the European the shape of the umbrella may appear to be Chinese, but in some parts of India umbrellas of this type, which are made of thin sticks and leaves of trees, are still used. The colours of the eyes and the lips of this maid have faded, but those of the figure of her companion, standing to the left proper of the rājā, are intact, and the expression of her face can be judged better; she is looking with considerable amazement towards the rājā.

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The figures of the two ladies in front of the rājā are much mutilated; the heads and the feet have completely perished. But such parts as are intact show most graceful poses, the charm of which is further enhanced by close-fitting drapery. The artist has cleverly adjusted trails and frills of exquisite design to balance the scantiness of the raiment. The drawing, although very firm, undulates from plane to plane to exhibit the beauty of bodily form pulsating with life.

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A guard holding a long staff stands outside the doorway and is looking towards the interior of the palace, as if watching the exit of the prince and princess.