Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c15.23

v4.c15.23

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.