Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s6: Miracle of Śrāvastī

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v3.c12.s6

Language: English

Miracle of Śrāvastī

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*This subject is painted on the right wall of the chapel in the front corridor of the upper story of Cave VI.*

THE miracle of Śrāvastī was a favourite theme of the artists of Ajanta, for it gave the religious-minded novices, as well as the trained craftsmen, an opportunity for painting the Great Being whose figure on account of the various conventional features had become almost stereotyped. The figures of the Buddha painted on the walls of the antechamber of Cave II represent a very poor art, and the work must have been done by beginners with the help of paper-stencils.² But in this chapel the artist has delineated the subject with extraordinary skill, making the features of the Buddha highly refined and giving a spiritual effect to his appearance by the judicious use of high lights (Plates VIII *b* and IX *b*). The head of the figure in the middle has almost a classical grace (Plate VIII *b*) and may be compared with some of the best works of Italian artists of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It bears a striking resemblance to the figure of the standing Buddha on pillar 5 of the right aisle of Cave X,¹ and it is not unlikely that both the figures were painted by the same artist, although some of the frescoes of the latter cave date back to the second century B.C. These two Buddhas, like the other frescoes of Cave VI, are, however, not earlier than the sixth century A.D. This view is confirmed by the characters of a three-line inscription painted on the left wall of the upper story of this cave between the door of the cell and the chapel.²

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² *Ibid.*, Part II, p. 28 (f.n. 1) and Appendix, p. 65.

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¹ Cf. Plate XXXVI *b* and Griffiths, 42-3.

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² Infra, Appendix, p. 88.

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In this fresco the aesthetic taste of the painter has induced him to deviate from the conventional features of the Buddha, that is, thick lips and nose and an almost roundish face, and replace them by a thin nose with short mouth and full lips and an oval face. The effect of the change is very happy, and the figure has become more vivid than in the case of the ordinary paintings of the Buddha at Ajanta. The artist has also made a slight change in the garment of the Buddha, and instead of covering the upper part of his body with a sheet or a large scarf, has dressed him in a full-sleeved robe which is trimmed at the neck with a black collar. This simple alteration has enhanced the artistic effect considerably.

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The ceiling of this room was also painted, and traces can still be made out. Besides the usual concentric bands of decorative patterns there are lotus-leaf designs arranged in squares.³

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³ The room at the left end of the veranda in the upper story of this cave was also painted, but through percolation of water which came from a crack in the rock-ceiling much damage has been done to the frescoes. This crack has been repaired by the Department, and there is no danger of any further damage to the walls and the ceiling of the room. On the right wall there are figures of two *apsarases* and also the representation of a serpent. Two Buddhas are also to be seen, one of whom is in the teaching attitude. On the back wall of the room are some architectural designs, showing wooden pillars and roofs, the latter resembling the canopies of chariots (*ratha*).