Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s19.18

v4.c16.s19.18

By the side of the elephants is a pair of white horses, whose arched necks and decorated manes suggest stateliness combined with pomp. Their heads and ears are also decorated with tufts of hair, probably of yak's tail. The riders upon these horses are foreigners, apparently belonging to countries to the north-west of India, since Gandhāra and the provinces adjoining it remained under the influence of Buddhism for a long time during the early centuries of the Christian era. One of these foreigners has a beard, but the chin of the other is shaved, and only his twisted moustache can be seen. There are two more foreigners, wearing round fur-brimmed caps and embroidered coats. They hold staffs or straight swords in their right hands, and have placed their left hands on the hilts of these weapons in such a manner that they may rest on them by putting their chins on the backs of their hands (Plates XXXIX-XL).