Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s13: The Hamsa Jātaka, or the Story of the Golden Goose

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s13

Language: English

The Hamsa Jātaka, or the Story of the Golden Goose

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*The story is painted on the left wall and the adjoining pilaster of the front corridor, to the right of the cell-door, in Cave XVII.*

THIS *jātaka* appears to have been very popular, since it is painted in two places at Ajanta and is also represented at Borobudur.¹ In this *vihāra* (XVII) the story is painted in two episodes—the hunters catching the sacred bird, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, with the captain of the flock, Sumukha, in the lotus-lake; and the court-scene in which the Sacred Goose is teaching the Law to the rājā of Benares, Samyama, and his consort Khemā, who had seen in a dream a Golden Goose preaching the Doctrine. The lake-scene begins from the bottom of the court-scene, and is continued on the turn of the wall towards the right, where a flock of geese may be noticed flying up from the lake in a state of panic. The fright of the birds has been clearly suggested by their wild looks, half-open beaks, upturned necks, and unevenly spread wings. Some of the birds are red, some grey, and some white. Lower down, a dark man with curly hair may be noticed carrying two birds, perched on the palms of his two hands. He may be identified with the hunter of the story and the two birds with Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Sumukha, who asked the hunter to take them to the rājā lest he should be deprived of the reward which the rājā had promised to anyone who should capture them.

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¹ Cf. *Ajanta*, ii, text, pp. 12–14, Plates XV–XVI; *Jātaka*, iv, 264–7 and v, 178–202; *Jātaka-mālā*, No. 22, and Boro-Budur, Plates 154–5.

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In the second scene, the two birds are shown seated on thrones, facing the rājā, as if preaching the Law to him and his wife and other attendants of the court. To describe the personages of the court, beginning from the left: there is first a lady of reddish complexion, probably the rānī, Khemā, as a large umbrella is being held over her head. She is short in stature, but her coiffure, dress, and ornaments all exhibit elegance. She is standing close to the throne of her royal consort and listening with rapt attention to the sermon of the Sacred Goose. There are two maids, one on each side of the rānī. One of them is painted with a reddish complexion, the other being greenish; both are wearing rich jewellery. The maid with the greenish complexion, who holds a fly-whisk in her hand, has a crown or a globular cap of some ornamental type on her head. The facial features of the rājā are somewhat obliterated in the original fresco, so that it is difficult to judge of his feelings while listening to the sermon of the Golden Goose; but the delineation of his hands—the palm of his right hand exposed and the fingers arranged in the form of a *chakra*—suggests that he is following the instructions of the sacred bird. The rājā has a large blue stone (? sapphire) in the middle of his crown, and the seat of his throne is woven with tapes of red and white design. Next to the rājā is perhaps the *yuvarāja* (the prince), who has also made a *chakra* with his fingers, a conventional symbol to suggest that he makes it is eagerly receiving instruction in the Law. To the right of the *yuvarāja* there is a red figure with no head-ornament but seated on a chair. He is dressed in a full-sleeved coat and short *dhotī*, his knees and the lower part of the legs being uncovered, but the curious thing about his dress is that he is wearing striped socks. The cut of his face and the style in which his hair is dressed indicate that he belongs to the priestly class. He also has made a loop with the fingers of his two hands. Between the *yuvarāja* and the priest there is a stalwart figure with long hair and costly ornaments. He has raised the first three fingers of his right hand straight up, and with the forefinger and the thumb has made a loop. The fingers of all the figures represented in the scene are slender and of a tapering form. Behind the seats of the *rājā* and the *yuvarāja* are two male attendants, one of a greenish and the other of a ruddy complexion. The complexions in this painting appear to be conventional, the red representing a light brown complexion and the green a shining dark complexion, often to be noticed among the inhabitants of the Deccan. These attendants also have made loops with the fingers of their hands.

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Behind the royal chair on which the Golden Goose is sitting there are two ladies, one of whom holds a tray of flowers and the other a fly-whisk. The poise of these two figures is very graceful. The lady carrying the tray may be the *rānī* herself, but her coiffure is of a different style from that of the princess represented under the royal umbrella, on the left side of the fresco. The other lady, holding the fly-whisk, may be the counterpart of the maid standing behind the *rājā*, as she has the same greenish complexion and a globular ornamental cap or crown. There is another figure of a dark complexion to be noticed behind the red-skinned priest. She, too, is a maid of honour in attendance at the court. A dark attendant may also be seen near the throne of the *rājā* on the left side. He is wearing a full-sleeved long white coat and has thrown his red scarf across his chest and left shoulder in such a way that at first sight it appears to be a *sārī*. The artist has taken delight in presenting striking contrasts in the dark tint of the complexion of this figure and the red and white of his costume.

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There is a canopy in the background, the openings of which are closed with curtains of ornamental design. The walls and pillars of the court-pavilion are hung with cloths or tapestries of floral patterns such as are to be seen even today in the *himrū* and *mashrū* manufactured in Aurangābād.

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Apart from the religious significance of the painting, the artist's close observation and skill in the delineation of the flock of geese in the lake-scene and the poise of the female figures in the court-scene are worthy of praise.¹

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¹ Below the throne of the *rājā* the fresco has peeled off from the rock-wall, but a dark figure may be made out which is probably that of the hunter who has brought the Golden Goose and his captain to the court and is waiting for the promised reward (Plate XVII).

Cites (2)

Jātakatthavaṇṇanā — Pāli
Jātakamālā — Āryaśūra, Sanskrit