Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.28

v4.c16.28

In verses 26-27 of the inscription incised in Cave XVII there is a reference to the digging of 'a large cistern pleasing to the eyes and filled with fresh . . . and copious water', and also to the construction of 'a grand *Gandhakuṭī*'.³ Prof. M. M. Mirashi, who has edited the inscription, is of opinion that 'the reference to the *Gandhakuṭī* is undoubtedly to the *chaitya* Cave XIX, which actually lies to the west of Cave XVII'. But Sanskrit poets were always prone to use superlatives when praising a work, and here, as in the case of 'the large cistern pleasing to the eyes', which is only a natural aperture in the rock and does not in any way please the eye, there may have been some exaggeration. So this *Gandhakuṭī* may also have been only an insignificant chapel with an image of the Buddha to the west of Cave XVII, which since its excavation has disappeared owing to a landslide or some other cause. The rock above Cave XVIII has disintegrated badly as the result of climatic influences and shows signs of long continued decay, so that our surmise regarding the disappearance of the *Gandhakuṭi* is rendered plausible. It has been stated above that the decorative features of the triforium of Cave XIX suggest a date posterior to that of Cave I; thus it may be argued that Cave XVII, which is earlier than Cave I both in its style of painting and in its architecture, cannot be coeval with Cave XIX.