Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c15: Part Four

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c15

Language: English

Part Four

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*With an Explanatory Text by* G. YAZDANI, O.B.E.

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*and Appendices on the* *Painted and Incised Inscriptions by*

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N. P. CHAKRAVARTI, PH.D. ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVISER TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

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B. CH. CHHABRA, PH.D. DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN INDIA

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PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF HYDERABAD *by* GEOFFREY CUMBERLEGE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON NEW YORK BOMBAY

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OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON GEOFFREY CUMBERLEGE

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PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY CHARLES BATEY AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD

THE publication of this Part, and the completion of the book, are a source of no small gratification to me, since I have been engaged on the work for nearly a quarter of a century, during which period many interruptions occurred, notably those caused by World War II and the economic upheavals resulting therefrom, which at times completely unnerved me. Thanks, however, to the enlightened policy of the Hyderabad State, and the active support of Mr. Sajjad Mirza, Secretary, Education Department, and his distinguished successor, Shree L. N. Gupta, the importance of the work, both under the previous governments and the present régime, was fully realized and generous grants were made towards it, notwithstanding urgent financial stringency and other difficulties.

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I am also grateful to art-critics and connoisseurs for the encouragement extended to me through press-reviews or private letters, emphasizing the unique position of the Ajanta frescoes in the history of the art of the East. I further owe a debt of gratitude to the general public for the large number of copies so eagerly purchased by them, although the price of the publication is quite high, and also for their keen interest in visiting these magnificent monuments of Indian art without regard to distance or cost of travel. Among the happy group of visitors may be seen people of many countries, but the largest number consists of the countryfolk whose looks of wonder and joy indicate a new spiritual experience based upon their age-old religious faith.

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The general arrangement of this Part is the same as that of the previous Parts, but the number of monochrome and litho plates has been considerably increased with a view to making the publication more comprehensive in its scope and more instructive to the student. The Appendix dealing with inscriptions has some additional illustrative plates which have been arranged by Dr. N. P. Chakravarti, Archaeological Adviser to the Government of India, and Dr. B. Ch. Chhabra, Deputy Director-General of Archaeology in India, who have jointly edited the inscriptions published in this Part, and whose expert assistance I acknowledge with grateful thanks.

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The proofs of the colour-plates of the first three Parts of the book were corrected by Mr. Sayed Ahmad, but as he has now retired from the Curatorship of the Ajanta Caves, the proofs of the colour-plates included in this Part have been corrected on the spot, after comparison with the original frescoes, by Mr. Jalal-ud-Din, the artist attached to the Office of the Director of Archaeology of Hyderabad. I therefore thank Dr. P. Sreenivasachar, the Director of Archaeology of Hyderabad, for his courtesy in permitting Mr. Jalal-ud-Din to do the work, and also the artist himself for performing the task with such great care and ability.

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The printing of the text, the preparation of the collotype and litho plates, and the binding of the text as well as of the Plates portfolio have been done by the Oxford University Press,

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Oxford, and I am grateful to Mr. Charles Batey, the Printer, and to his expert staff for executing the work in an artistic manner. I am also under obligation to Messrs. Henry Stone & Son, of Banbury, and to their able Managing Director, Mr. J. A. Milne, C.B.E., for their care in printing the colour-plates of this Part.

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I should also acknowledge with grateful thanks the scholarly help which I have received from the beginning in the compilation of the Ajanta Volumes from Dr. L. D. Barnett, C.B., Hon. Librarian Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. I am also indebted to Professor A. Sharma, Head of the Sanskrit Department, Osmania University, Hyderabad (Dn.), for assistance so readily given in regard to the transliteration of Sanskritic proper names and religious terms, and the furnishing of references to early Buddhist and Brahmanic literature. Lastly, I must express my thanks to Mr. F. J. Fielden, formerly Professor of English, Aligarh University, for suggesting some valuable improvements in the language of the original draft of the book.

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G. YAZDANI

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ORANGE GROVE HYDERABAD (DECCAN) 6th October, 1952

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*Plates I-III and LXXV-LXXXII*

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IN Part III the paintings of the back wall of the veranda, Cave XVII, have been described; the present Part (IV) deals with the paintings on the remaining walls and window-sills of the veranda and the entire surface of the interior of the *vihāra*, including its rock-walls, ceiling, and the pedestals of some pillars. The style indicates the high-water mark of the art of Ajanta; and as the *vihāra* has an inscription carved on a wall adjoining the south-west corner of the veranda, the date of this climax can be fixed with certainty. Verses 21-26 of the inscription mention that during the reign of Hariṣeṇa, of the Vākāṭaka dynasty, ‘on a spur of the Sahya (hill) . . . excavated this excellent monolithic hall, containing within a *chaitya* of the King of ascetics (the Buddha). . . . He (also) caused to be dug (near it) a large cistern pleasing to the eyes. . . .’ King Hariṣeṇa, according to eminent historians, flourished in the period *c.* A.D. 475-500.² This inscription and another carved in Cave XVI are important, because they fix with precision the period during which Ajanta painting developed its highest artistic and intellectual qualities; after this period there set in a gradual decline in the standard of art, the outlook becoming narrow, and the forms and patterns soulless and imitative. The figures of the Buddha seated on a throne with attendants on either side, painted and carved so lavishly in the *chaityas*—Caves XIX and XXVI, and the floral designs and geometric patterns of the ceilings of the entire group to the left of Cave XVII—show that the originality and force previously evident in the art of the cave-paintings have vanished, and the painter in his conception of beauty seems to have been satisfied with mere semblance, without making any effort to capture reality.

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² *Ibid.*

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In the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. Ajanta, under the enlightened patronage of the Vākāṭaka kings, became an important centre of Buddhist religion and art, and votaries from distant climes visited the place to be initiated into the religious orders, and also to acquire proficiency in the art of painting. This view is confirmed by the paintings at Sigiri (Sigiriya) in Ceylon, at Bāmiyān in Afghanistan, at Turfān in Central Asia, and at some places in China, which all exhibit clear influence of the Buddhist art of Ajanta. The support given by the Vākāṭaka kings to the propagation of the Buddhist faith and art may have been secured through the religious zeal of Hastibhoja and his son Varāhadeva, the ministers of the last two kings of the dynasty, Devasena and Hariṣeṇa, who apparently had embraced the Buddhist religion, and whose names are preserved in the inscriptions of Cave XVI at Ajanta and of the *vihāra* at Ghatotkacha in the vicinity.³

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¹ The inscription was cut at the instance of a prince whose name, through the abrasion of the rock, is now lost, but who probably ruled over Khandesh as a feudatory of the Vākāṭaka king Hariṣeṇa. *Hyderabad Archaeological Series*, Monograph No. 15, p. 3, edited by V. V. Mirashi.

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³ *Ibid.*, Monograph No. 14, p. 2, and *The Ghatotkacha Inscription*, pp. 8-17, edited by V. V. Mirashi.

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The Chālukyas who succeeded the Vākāṭakas in the sovereignty of the Deccan during the first half of the sixth century A.D. were perhaps not as favourable to the Buddhist religion as their predecessors, although the shrines which the Chālukyas built at their capital in Bādāmi are largely copied from the Buddhist *vihāras*. Through lack of royal patronage, art at Ajanta began to decline rapidly in the latter half of the sixth century A.D., and there is no *vihāra* or *chaitya* at Ajanta which can be assigned with certainty to the seventh century A.D. The Buddhist shrines of Ellora excavated during the seventh century A.D. show clear influence of the Brahmanic architecture of South India; and in regard to painting, the art shown in the specimens preserved there is not only conventional but actually effete and etiolated. The apparent cause of the decline was the fact that master-painters professing the Buddhist faith were for theological reasons not employed on the adornment of the Brahmanic shrines, and the art of painting, which had reached its climax through local Deccan genius, stimulated of course by the rich tradition and glorious visions of the Buddhist religion, fell to the position of a decorative craft when practised by Brahman artisans, notably those of South India. This view may startle those academicians who consider the paintings of Ajanta to be representative of Gupta art, and date them between the sixth and seventh centuries A.D., although there are in fact specimens of painting in Cave X at Ajanta with inscriptions which, according to expert epigraphists, have been unanimously assigned to the middle of the second century B.C. The art of painting even in these early examples is fairly well developed, and indicates practice and a continuity of tradition over hundreds of years. There are specimens in Caves IX and X which tell a continuous story of the development of technique from the second century B.C. to the fifth century A.D. For instance, the subject painted on the wall of the left aisle of Cave IX, in which a group of votaries is shown approaching a *stūpa* bedecked with umbrellas, is not far removed in period from the group of votaries painted on the left wall of Cave X, since the same colours—red ochre, yellow ochre, terra-verde, lamp-black, and the white of lime—have been used in both subjects. There is a complete absence of blue, which does not appear at Ajanta until the fourth or fifth century A.D. The surface had been prepared by first placing on the rock-wall a layer of clay,¹ which was subsequently covered with a coat of fine lime. On this ground the outlines of figures were drawn in black or red tints, and afterwards colours were filled in. The colours in the early painting are flat, with no washes to indicate depth or volume such as are to be noticed in later paintings.

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¹ In preparing the clay plaster special care seems to have been observed. First the clay was taken from the slimy beds of water-pools, apparently following the practice of contemporary potters, who selected fine earth for their ware from such places. Afterwards the earth was made into a paste and mixed with molasses, bdellium (*gūgal*), rice-husk, and the leaves of some herbs, with a view to ensuring that the plaster should stick well on the wall and not peel off when dried. The clay plaster so cleverly prepared, however, ultimately led to the ruin of a large number of paintings at Ajanta, because it became a hotbed for the development of insects during the monsoons. The insects not only bored holes in the paintings but ate up the earth mixed with vegetable and sticky matter and created hollows behind the painted surface, which, for lack of support, has either fallen down or is hanging loose. The Archaeological Department of Hyderabad, under the guidance of expert archaeological chemists, has recently succeeded in fixing back on the rock-wall many of these loose paintings.

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In Cave IX there is another painting representing a herdsman controlling fabulous animals through his herculean strength by holding their necks, hind-legs, or tails. The subject has evidently some mythical significance, because it is represented in the early sculpture of the Deccan at several places, notably at Kuda, Nāsik, and Amarāvatī. The representations at the latter three places belong either to the first century B.C. or to the first century A.D., and the painting at Ajanta also appears to belong to the same period, when the subject was popular with both sculptors and painters. The drawing of this painting shows distinct progress both in indicating movement and in showing a realistic effect in the form of animals.¹ The advance of art may further be noticed in the delineation of the *Shad-danta Jātaka* on the right wall of Cave X, where the portrayal of the animals, the beauty of trees and flowers, and the expression of human feelings are represented in a very effective manner. The colours are the same, the human figures represented are still non-Aryan, and there is no deepening or lightening of colour-washes such as are to be noticed in later paintings; yet the grandeur of trees, the grace of human forms, and the beauty of animal figures are admirably depicted. This painting probably belongs to the third century A.D., to which period belong some of the sculptures of Amarāvatī, which have a close affinity to the paintings of Ajanta in regard to the pose and plasticity of the female figures. In this subject the painter has also shown a well-developed conception of ideas in the arrangement of the various episodes of the *Jātaka* and a certain dramatic effect in the scene in which the rānī faints at the sight of the tusks of the *Shad-danta* elephant who had been her husband in a previous birth.²

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¹ *Ajanta*, iii, Plate XVII.

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² *Ibid.*, pp. 32-37 (text), Plate XXX; see also Cowell, *Jātaka*, No. 514, v, 20-31.

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Dramatic effect and the emotional feeling are still better shown in another scene painted on the same wall representing the *Syāma (Sāma) Jātaka*, in which the remorse of the rājā who unwittingly killed Syāma with an arrow shot by him, the wailing of his blind parents, and ultimately, by an act of providence, the restoration to life of Syāma and the bestowal of vision upon his parents, are very graphically delineated. The drawing of the figure of Syāma possesses the grace of the classical sculpture of Europe, while the head of the father of Syāma indicates the 'pathos' which is to be noticed in the Italian paintings of the Renaissance period, notably in the portraits of Jesus Christ. The figures of deer are also admirably drawn in this scene.³ This painting is not labelled with any inscription which might indicate its date, but as the *dramatis personae* delineated therein, both by their dress and features, are seen to be early inhabitants of the Deccan, it may be assigned to a period extending from the last quarter of the third century A.D. to the first quarter of the fourth, that is, to a time immediately preceding the sovereignty of the Vākāṭakas; for the extent of their dominions and their matrimonial relations with the Guptas and the Nāga kings of Padmāvatī (Gwalior State) would have led a large number of people from the North to enter the Deccan and settle there.⁴

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³ *Ibid.*, Plate XXIX.

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⁴ Prabhāvatī-guptā, daughter of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II (*c.* 375-414) was married to the Vākāṭaka king Rudra-sena II (*c.* 385-90(?)). Earlier, Gautamīputra, son of the Vākāṭaka king Pravara-sena (*c.* 275-335(?)), was married to the daughter of Bhava-nāga, the Nāga king of Padmāvatī; and although Gautamīputra predeceased his father and did not succeed to the throne, yet his son Rudra-sena I, who ruled after Pravara-sena, was much helped by his maternal grandfather Bhava-nāga in maintaining his authority against his foes. The name of Bhava-nāga is included in the genealogy of Vākāṭaka kings noticed in contemporary inscriptions. As a general rule

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In Cave X on the back wall of the *chaitya* there are some paintings representing a few scenes from the life of the Buddha which may be assigned to the fourth or fifth century A.D., but for the art of this period it will be best to study the paintings of Caves I, II, XVI, and XVII. The latter two caves contain inscriptions of the Vākāṭaka king Hariṣeṇa, of the Basim branch, and Cave I is a replica of the *vihāra* at Ghaṭotkacha, both in plan and in the identity of certain sculptures, notably the one representing four deer with a common head, which subject is not to be found in any other Buddhist *vihāra*. According to a contemporary inscription, the *vihāra* at Ghaṭotkacha was cut in the rock by Varāhadeva, the minister of Devasena (*c.* A.D. 455-75). The interest of these kings and their ministers and feudatory chiefs in the Buddhist faith and the art of painting, as it then flourished at Ajanta, would have familiarized the painters of Ajanta with court life, because such royal personages and their entourage would have frequently visited Ajanta to pay their homage to the sacred shrines and the holy persons who resided there. It is also likely that some of the holy monks may have been invited to the royal courts to teach the Law, and they may have been accompanied by artists belonging to the Order for the purpose of embellishing with paintings the shrines which existed at the capital towns. This surmise gains support from the fact that the paintings at Bāgh appear to have been copied from the paintings at Ajanta, since not only is there similarity in technique and in poses and dresses, but the dance-scene of the *Mahājanaka Jātaka* painted on the left wall of Cave I at Ajanta is reproduced with almost identical figures on the rock-wall at Bāgh.¹ The influence of the Gupta kings, according to eminent historians, did not penetrate as far as the Deccan in the fourth century A.D., but the art of Ajanta during this century and the fifth made tremendous progress and its fame reached distant countries. Votaries from Ceylon, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and China visited Ajanta, and, after learning the art practised there, adorned the walls of the shrines in their motherlands with similar paintings when they returned to their own countries. The frescoes of Sigiri in Ceylon,² Bāmiyān in Afghanistan,³ Turfān in Central Asia,⁴ and Tun Huang in China,⁵ show unmistakably the influence of the art of Ajanta. Some of these paintings are assigned to the fifth century A.D., so that their painters must have visited Ajanta in that century or even earlier (fourth century A.D.). Kālidāsa mentions ‘the hall of painting’ in the *Mālavikāgnimitra*, and it is not unlikely that he may have visited Ajanta, familiar as he was with the court of the Vākāṭaka kings.⁶ The *Viṣṇudharmottara* was compiled in the seventh or eighth century A.D., but its

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¹ *Bāgh Caves*, published by the India Society, London, Plates D and E.

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² A. K. Coomaraswamy, *History of Indian and Indonesian Art*, pp. 162-3.

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³ *Ibid.*, p. 52.

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⁴ A. V. Le Coq, *Die buddhistische Spätantike in Mittelasien*. This work contains many plates showing the influence of the Buddhist art of the Deccan in Middle Asian countries.

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⁵ Paul Pelliot, *Les Grottes de Touen Houang* (Paris, 1914-24), and Arthur Waley, *A Catalogue of Paintings recovered from Tun-huang by Sir Aurel Stein* (London, 1931).

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⁶ Dr. A. S. Altekar writes: ‘It is very likely that Kālidāsa lived for some time at the Vākāṭaka court and we may well presume that a part of his *Meghadūta* was composed at Rāmtek. His only work that can be definitely ascribed to the Deccan of the Vākāṭaka age is the Prakrit poem *Setubandha*, written by King Pravarasena II (*c.* A.D. 410-40) and revised by Kālidāsa.’ *History of the Deccan*,

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maternal grandfathers are mentioned in royal genealogies when they have rendered conspicuous help to their daughters' sons. Cf. *A New History of the Indian People*, vol. vi, edited by R. C. Majumdar and A. S. Altekar, pp. 95 and 103.

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author writes that his work is based on older treatises, which were probably compiled during the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., when the art of Ajanta was at its zenith.¹ The technical details given in the *Viṣṇudharmottara* regarding the preparation of the surface before the laying on of the colours are identical with those to be seen at Ajanta; even the ingredients of the *rinzaffo* (clay-plaster) are the same as those found by chemical analysis of the clay-plaster of the Ajanta paintings.²

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¹ Stella Kramrisch, *Viṣṇudharmottara*, p. 5 (revised edition).

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² The five prime colours (minerals) are also the same as those to be found at Ajanta, and the practice of first drawing the outline of the subject in red, black, or white is in conformity with the technique of Ajanta. *Viṣṇudharmottara* (pp. 50-51) mentions other colours as well, such as vermilion, copper-sulphate, silver, and gold, but these were apparently used for illuminating manuscripts, an art which may have originated independently in Northern India and which is still practised there. The latter art is calligraphic in technique and differs altogether from the art of the mural paintings of Ajanta. The earliest paintings of Gujarāt exhibit a calligraphic form in their outlines.

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The familiarity of the Ajanta artists with court life is amply illustrated in the four caves (I-II and XVI-XVII) referred to above (p. 4). The royal pavilions containing richly decorated thrones and curtains and awnings with pearl tassels, the princes and princesses wearing gorgeous jewels and draped in expensive silks or gold and silver brocades of exquisite designs, the musical entertainments, the animal-fights, the hunting excursions, the stately cavalcades, comprising elephant-riders and horsemen as well as infantry, and the march of armies and the violence and turmoil of the battlefield, are all depicted by the hand of one who has observed these scenes at close quarters.

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Religious zeal and ardour, and noble qualities of the heart such as sympathy for the oppressed, charity towards the indigent, mercy even involving personal sacrifice by the bestower, love for the entire creation, human beings as well as animals, even reptiles, are most effectively delineated in the art of this period. Royal pomp and splendour are regarded with indifference as compared with the higher glory of enlightened being or spirit. The influence of the priestly class at the royal courts is shown with respect, but in certain cases also with a touch of irony. On the right wall of Cave XVII, the head of the Brahman who warns the rājā not to be lured by the charm of the disguised ogress, in the *Siṃhala Avadāna*, exhibits the artistic skill of Rembrandt in character-painting.³ In another subject painted in Cave I on the wall of the back corridor, in which two princesses are bringing trays of offerings to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the head of the elderly minister accompanying the rājā is a masterpiece of art both for expression and realistic treatment of features.⁴ And who would not be impressed by the ugly features and the devilish grin of Jūjaka, the avaricious Brahman in the *Viśvantara Jātaka*, when he receives the ransom-money for restoring to the father of Viśvantara his two children, who, having been given to the wily Brahman as a gift, had been maltreated by him in order to extort a large sum as ransom from the rājā? This scene is painted on the wall of the left aisle in Cave XVII.⁵ In the representations of the priestly class we notice people from all parts of India: those with a tuft of hair on the crown of the

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³ *Ajanta*, iv, Plates L *d* and LVI *b*.

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⁴ *Ibid.*, i, Plate XXXI.

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⁵ *Ibid.*, iv, Plate XX *b*.

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vol. i, Pt. III, p. 200, and *A New History of the Indian People*, p. 112, footnote 2, and p. 114.

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head and twisted moustaches, hailing from Benares and Prayāg; the long-haired Oriyā Brahman naked down to his waist, with only a striped scarf (*angochhā*) round his shoulders, such as he wears to this day;¹ and the wrinkled face of the Madras priest with horizontal lines of paint drawn across his forehead as a religious symbol.²

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¹ *Ajanta*, i, Plate XXXVI *a*.

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² *Ibid.*, iv, Plates XX and XLV.

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In addition to people from various parts of India, the inhabitants of Afghanistan, Bactria, and China are also represented in the paintings of this period (fourth to fifth centuries A.D.). For instance, the group of rulers and chiefs who are shown coming riding on horses and elephants to listen to the First Sermon of the Buddha, painted on the left wall of the ante-chamber of Cave XVII, includes figures whose features, headgear—the fur-brimmed conical caps—and embroidered coats resemble those of the people of the Frontier Province and Afghanistan today.³ These districts constituted the province of Gandhāra, the people of which embraced Buddhism from a very early period, and the reputation of the sacred shrines of Ajanta will have prompted the votaries of the Buddhist faith in the former province to visit this shrine as pilgrims. Further, the Malwa and the entire zone of Western India, comprising Kathiawar, Surāshṭra, and the Konkan, had been governed by Śaka princes, styled the Western Satraps in history, from the first century B.C. or A.D. to the end of the fourth century A.D.; and as several of these princes were ardent supporters of the Buddhist faith, the familiarity of the Ajanta artists with Śakas or people of Western Asiatic countries is not surprising. The Bacchanalian scene painted in several places on the ceiling of Cave I, and the quaint figure in the veranda of Cave II,⁴ with sunken cheeks and a tuft of hair on his chin, wearing a skull-cap and a striped pair of socks and drinking wine with his boon companion, probably an Indian as his physiognomy shows, confirm the above view.

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³ *Ibid.*, Plates XXXVIII–XXXIX.

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⁴ *Ibid.*, i, Plate XXIX *a*; and ii, Plate XI *a*.

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In the first decade of the fifth century A.D. Fa-Hian visited the Buddhist shrines and monasteries of Bihar and Tirhut, the towns on the banks of the Ganges and Jumna, and also travelled down the country along the eastern coast, whence he took a boat for Ceylon and stayed in that island for nearly two years. It is not known from his work whether he visited Ajanta, but a monastery of the *Dakshiṇa-deśa* described by him resembles in certain physical features the group of sacred shrines at Ajanta.⁵ He however mentions that artists were deputed by kings to copy the paintings executed on the rock-walls of certain Buddhist shrines.⁶ The representation of a holy mendicant in the *Viśvantara Jātaka*, painted on the left wall of Cave XVII, shows a person with characteristic Chinese features,⁷ which suggests that the artists of Ajanta were not unfamiliar with Chinese pilgrims who from time to time visited Ajanta with a view to acquiring religious lore; and those among such visitors who possessed the artistic capacity to learn painting may well have been initiated into the technique of the style which was prevalent there at that time.⁸

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⁵ This monastery is described by Hiuen Tsang as well (Book X). Some annotators have suggested that it was situated in the Chanda District; see Beal, *Buddhist Records*, vol. i, p. lxviii, footnote 83, and vol. ii, p. 214, footnote 80.

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⁶ *Ibid.*, vol. i, p. xxxv.

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⁷ *Ajanta*, iv, Plate XXIII.

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⁸ Some art-experts, notable among them being Fergusson, have noticed resemblance to Chinese art, and in this connexion Griffiths has observed as follows: "The reference to Chinese work in the above extract is

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In regard to this style, it should be stated that although there are no cast shadows at Ajanta, yet the contours of the body are amply defined by the emphasizing of the outline and by the deepening of the colour-washes. This technique is not found in the earlier paintings of Ajanta, but it is prominent in the later work of the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. Another device adopted during this time is the use of streaks or small patches of light colour to enliven and give expression to the face. The artists of Ajanta, like the sculptors of India in all parts of the country, were eager from the beginning to produce an effect of completeness in their creations, and they have reproduced the beauty of the human body, as well as of animals, by giving their subjects a variety of delightful poses. The idea of movement combined with grace of poise is admirably suggested, the axis of the majority of the figures changing several times from head to feet without producing any effect of unnaturalness, on the contrary adding charm to the attitude.

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To produce the effect of perspective a number of devices have been adopted: for instance, in some places deeper colours have been used for the background, so that the figures painted in front in lighter colours may stand out in relief. Sometimes black dots have been added with the same object, as can be seen in the representation of the Great Bodhisattva in Cave I. The artist in this case has painted the head of the Bodhisattva in golden brown, and the long hair, which falls on his shoulders, in jet black. The effect of perspective is further enhanced by a deep green background, the darkness of which has been increased by small black dots.¹ The idea of perspective is better suggested in another scene in Cave I, in which the drawing and colours of the steps and rows of pillars show the inmates of the two pavilions in different appropriate planes.² It is true that the drawing of hills as represented by red or other colour bands is conventional in the extreme, and similar conventionality is to be found sometimes in the case of architectural forms; but the charge that the artists of Ajanta did not understand perspective is not justified, for the drawing of the round pavilion in Cave XVI, in which the birth of the Buddha is shown, is perfect in this respect.³

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¹ *Ajanta*, i, Plates XXIV-XXV.

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² *Ibid.*, Plates XX-XXII.

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³ *Ibid.*, iii, Plates LXI.

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In regard to human forms the art of Ajanta is closely allied to that of the sculpture of Amarāvatī, so much so that if the photographs of some of the Jātaka scenes of Amarāvatī be placed side by side with the photographs of some of the paintings of Ajanta it will be difficult to differentiate between them. To appreciate this fact fully, the figures of women shown in the Chāmpeya Jātaka at Amarāvatī should be studied, for in the style of pose, the suppleness of limbs, and several artistic features, they are identical with those represented in the paintings of Ajanta.⁴ This close resemblance of form is apparently based on an artistic tradition which was evolved in the Deccan as a result of the religious beliefs and aesthetic ideals which were common to the sculptors of Amarāvatī and the painters of Ajanta and inspired both groups equally.

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⁴ G. Yazdani, *History of the Deccan*, vol. i, Pt. 9, Plate IIIa.

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interesting, for though flatness and want of shadow can scarcely be considered Chinese characteristics—seeing that early Italian, like other good mural decoration, is marked by these qualities—it is undeniable that in the drawing of the human eye, and sometimes of the whole figure, and in many ornamental details, there is a decidedly Chinese turn.’ Griffiths, *Paintings of Ajanta*, i, 7-8.

Linked texts (8)

Jātaka — Pāli
Setubandha — Pravarasena II, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit
Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa — Sanskrit
Mālavikāgnimitra — Kālidāsa, Sanskrit
Meghadūta — Kālidāsa, Sanskrit
Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra — Maitreyanātha & Asaṅga, Sanskrit
Sigiriya
Badami