Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s41: Indra and Apsarases

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s41

Language: English

Indra and Apsarases

The subject is painted on the back wall of the veranda to the left of the door, in Cave XVII. It is reproduced in two colour plates, one representing the entire scene and the other the two cymbal players of Indra’s troupe on an enlarged scale.

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INDRA (Sakka) and his troupe of musicians are mentioned frequently in Buddhist legend, and in the present scene he is shown flying in the midst of clouds, as if to greet the Buddha at the time of his visit to the Tushita heaven after his Enlightenment. The lower part of the fresco has almost perished, but the upper part is well preserved, and the colours are so fresh that one is struck with wonder that they should have withstood the sun and moist air, to which they have been continuously exposed for fifteen centuries.

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The figure of Indra¹ can be easily recognized by his fair complexion, noble features, magnificent crown, and rich jewellery. The strings of pearls worn across his shoulder and breast are swung backwards in order to suggest movement, which is further indicated by the bent knees. There are clusters of white and blue clouds in the background to show that the god is flying in heaven. The delineation of the clouds, in the form of white patches with blue rims of varying thickness, although conventional to a degree, fulfils the object of the artist admirably. Attached to his belt Indra has a dagger and a sword, which were perhaps features of the accoutrement of a king at that time (fifth century A.D.). In his left hand he holds a flower, a convention which was observed even by the painters of the Mughal kings of India down to the eighteenth century A.D.

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¹ According to a later development of Buddhist teaching Indra (Sakka) is the ruler of the second heaven of sensual pleasure. He is also described as the lord of the Tushita heaven.

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To the left of Indra is a *gandharva* with coarse features, among which his shapeless blobby nose and small sunken eyes are especially comical. He is carrying a stringed musical instrument (*ektārā*) on his shoulder.² The rapid flight of this figure has been emphasized by the ribbons and scarves which are shown fluttering in the air behind him. Griffiths has given an admirable drawing of this figure.³

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² This musical instrument is identical in form with that shown in the Conception scene, painted on the right wall of Cave XVI, Plate LXI (*supra*, p. 66).

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³ *Paintings of Ajanta*, i, 17, fig. 47.

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On the right side of Indra are two celestial nymphs, one of a dark complexion and the other ruddy (LXVIII). Both of them have lovely features, and the artist has shown much delight in decorating their hair and bodies with flowers and jewellery. The drawing of these figures proves that the artists of Ajanta were fully able to depict their subjects in the round. The nymphs hold a cymbal in each of their hands. The instrument appears to have been a favourite one for marking time from a very early period. In representing the jewels, particularly the sapphires and pearls, the artist has used a thick medium so that they may be prominent in the picture.

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The love of the artist for variety of pose can be appreciated by the drawing of the different figures of this subject. The most striking among the group is perhaps the flute-player, who is looking at the nymphs and has turned her back towards the onlooker. Her body is nude down to the waist, and the painter has exhibited his skill in showing all the grace of a short, slender figure. Her coiffure also deserves special notice, the mass of dark hair being arranged in a chignon which is artistically divided into four compartments by means of ribbons. Another artiste below Indra has her hair dressed in Egyptian style. Her complexion is very dark, and she has a tablā (circular drum) hung round her back.

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The figures painted in the lower part of this fresco, except for a few fragments, have completely decayed. Below the drum-carrier was originally a peafowl perched on the ledge of a hill. The red plumes of its wings can still be traced. Farther down in the belts of conventional hills the figures of two aborigines may also be made out. They have sunburnt red complexions, and one of them is male and the other female. The woman has high cheek-bones and small bright eyes. Her bust is over-developed, and she holds a tray of leaves containing offerings in her left hand. The male figure is armed with a bow. To the right of this pair there is a large blank on the rock-wall, and except for the traces of a large diadem and leaves of some trees nothing has remained. It appears that the figure of a Bodhisattva was painted at this place and that the crown of which traces are visible was worn by him. Above the crown of the Bodhisattva the representations of two peafowl can be traced by their blue necks and reddish wings. To the left of the crown, on the top of a tree, the figure of a monkey may also be made out.

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Higher up on the rock-wall the fresco is in a better state of preservation, and a pair of kinnaras amidst green hills and luxuriant foliage may be seen. The kinnaras according to Indian mythology are heavenly musicians, and they have busts of human beings and the tail feathers and claws of a bird. In the fresco they are playing on cymbals, and the female figure seems to be so overjoyed by the notes of music that she is almost dancing.¹

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¹ Griffiths has reproduced a drawing of this pair which shows the pose of the female kinnara clearly. Paintings of Ajanta, i, 11, fig. 19.

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The ranges of green hills interspersed with forest belts, although conventional to a degree, are pleasing to the eye and show a refined colour-sense when studied as an integral part of the general scheme of the picture. There were some more figures at the right side of the fresco, but owing to its damaged condition only a pair of dwarfs can be traced now. One of them has a fair and the other a golden complexion; their features and poses have something comic about them.