Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s19.3

v4.c16.s19.3

THE miracle of the Buddha’s going up to the Heaven of the Thirty-three and discoursing upon ‘transcendental doctrine’ to the gods, and afterwards his return to ‘the world of men’ by a ladder made for him at the instance of Sakka (Indra), and finally the Buddha’s testing the wisdom of the Elder Sāriputta by putting more and more difficult questions to him one after another, and declaring the Law to the assembly, which comprised thirty crores of beings, is described in detail in the Introduction to *Jātaka* 489.¹ There is also a myth that the Buddha after his Enlightenment went up to the Tushita Heaven to teach the Doctrine to his mother, who was there. The artist of Ajanta evidently had this myth also in his mind, since in painting the first scene in which the Buddha is shown preaching the Law in Heaven the artist has given special prominence to a group of *devīs*.