Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s40.3

v3.c12.s40.3

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.