Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s10: The Hasti Jātaka, or the Story of the Benevolent Elephant

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s10

Language: English

The Hasti Jātaka, or the Story of the Benevolent Elephant

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*The story is painted on the wall of the front corridor, above the small door, left of the main entrance, in Cave XVII.*

THE original painting is very indistinct, and it is only as a result of recent cleaning operations that several figures have been made out and the *Jātaka* identified.¹ At the top of the conventionally represented hills, the figure of the Benevolent Elephant can just be traced, who, according to the *Jātaka*, throws himself down the precipice to save the lives of a party of merchants who had lost their way in the forest and were afflicted with hunger—a considerable number of them had already perished. Below the hills the carcass of an elephant may be noticed, and also towards the left side of the painting the figures of two men (merchants) who are carrying trays with roast-balls fixed to sticks placed thereon. Lower down there are six men who are shown eating the roast-balls—three of these men have leaves in front of them on which sticks with roast-balls are placed. A little higher towards the right are two more men armed with knives and cutting pieces of flesh from the carcass. The scene is somewhat gruesome, yet it shows the craven nature of man when confronted with the prospect of death through hunger.

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¹ The story is also painted in Cave XVI, on the wall of the front corridor, and a description of the painting with a summary of the story (*Jātaka-mālā*, No. 30) is given in *Ajanta*, iii, 46–47, Plates XLVIII b–XLIX.

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Farther down, near the bottom on the right side (Plate XIV a), a part of the head of an elephant—his forehead, the right eye, and a part of the trunk—may be seen. It is as if he has passed on to heaven, and notices from there how his sacrifice has saved the lives of the merchants who were in peril of death through starvation.

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Below this incident, on the lower part of the wall, the figure of a rājā, with three attendants, can be made out. The rājā is wearing a crown, and his complexion is somewhat fair—a golden brown. One of his attendants, who has a ruddy complexion, has raised two of his fingers, the middle one and the forefinger, as if to remind the rājā of a certain important event. The figures of the other two attendants are very indistinct.

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From the poor condition of this fresco it is difficult to state whether the figures painted below are connected with the Hasti Jātaka, delineated above, or represent a portion of some other story.

Cites (2)

Jātaka — Pāli
Jātakamālā — Āryaśūra, Sanskrit