Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s23: The Mātriposhaka Jātaka (?), or the Story of the Elephant Who Had Blind Parents

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s23

Language: English

The Mātriposhaka Jātaka (?), or the Story of the Elephant Who Had Blind Parents

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The subject is painted on the rear wall of the back corridor, between the first and second cell-doors, to the right of the antechamber in Cave XVII.

T HE story depicted on the rock-wall at Ajanta differs slightly from that given in the *Jātaka*,¹ but agrees with the version recorded in the Chinese text, translated by E. Chavannes, which mentions that both of the sacred elephant's parents were blind and that he cherished them with affection. The artist has divided the story into two parts for convenience of representation and has painted one above the other. In the top part is represented the royal court in which the forester reported the magnificent appearance of the sacred elephant, and has shown how the king, on hearing this report, ordered his staff to go with the forester and to bring the elephant to his stables. The elephant is shown on the right after he has been brought to the court stables. In the lower part of the fresco two more episodes are represented, the capture of the sacred elephant, and his going back to his blind parents when the king released him because he would not take any food while parted from them.

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¹ The version contained in the *Jātaka* (iv, 58-61) may be summarized as follows: Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisattva was born as an elephant in the Himālaya region, a magnificent white beast. But his mother was blind, and the other elephants did not give her the sweet food he sent; so he took her away to Mount Chaṇḍoraṇa, and there he cherished her. One day he saved a forester, who for seven days had lost his way, and carried him out of the forest on his back. The man, however, marked the trees and hills, and then made his way to Benares. At that time the king's state elephant had just died, and there was a proclamation seeking another fit for the king's riding. The forester betrayed the friendly elephant, and showed the king's hunters the way. The Bodhisattva, in spite of his great strength, refused to destroy them, lest his virtue should be marred; so he was caught in the lotus-lake, taken to the king's stable, and decked with festoons and garlands. The king took all manner of fine food and gave it to him, but not a bit would he eat: ‘While parted from my mother I will eat nothing’, he said. When the king heard the story he gave him his freedom and the elephant went back to the hills and to his mother; drawing water from a limpid pool, he sprinkled it over her, until at last she knew him and blessed the king's goodness, and the king did continual honour to the Bodhisattva, and made a stone image of him. The story is also given in *Mahāvastu*, iii, 129, and *Bhadra Kalpāvadāna*, No. 32, and *Contes*, iii, 13-14.

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To describe the top part first, and beginning from the left side, a pillared hall may be seen which has a portico on one side (right). In this hall a king is sitting on a throne; his pose indicates ease of mind but his face, particularly the eyes, suggest that he is absorbed in thought. A maid with a *chaurī* in her hand is standing behind the king's throne. There is a lady close to her, richly dressed and adorned, and a servant sitting on the ground is adjusting the anklet of her right foot. This lady may be the queen. Her features have been drawn with great care and are extremely attractive. The pose is also very graceful and her way of wearing the *sārī* in a close-fitting manner round the lower part of her body is equally effective.¹ The faces of both the queen and the *chaurī*-bearer are light in hue. On the left of the queen the figure of another attendant may be traced, who is represented as of a reddish-brown colour.

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¹ The artist is perhaps the same who painted the fair princess and the maid in attendance on her represented on the back wall of the veranda of this cave. *Ajanta*, iii, Plate LXVI.

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There is another *chaurī*-bearer behind the throne on the right; and near her, by the side of a pillar, is a maid who is holding a flower in her right hand and a dish of fruit or food in her left. Behind this maid there is another figure which may be that of the forester or of a guard of the court. Below, in front of the king, a man is sitting on a low chair, and looking attentively towards him. He may be the minister or perhaps the chaplain, whom the king perhaps consulted about state, as well as about religious, affairs.

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In the middle a *shāmiyāna* may be noticed under which the king is sitting with four attendants.² There is a big gap in the fresco at this place, but the outline of the king can be made out and that of the umbrella which is over his head. The king is giving something to the attendant next to him; it may be some choice sweets for the elephant. The maid on the right side of this attendant holds on her shoulder a tray of sugared flour (*malidā*) which has also been prepared for the elephant. A servant dressed in a long white coat is standing in an attentive attitude, evidently in readiness to carry out the orders of the king regarding the feeding or stabling of the animal. Below, two short-statured aborigines are sitting by a circular tub in which is food to be given to the elephant. By the side of this tub a wheeled food-carriage may be seen which is full of *laḍḍūs* (sweet-balls). A bundle of sugar-cane, of which elephants are fond, may also be noticed near the food-carriage. A little below is a basin, which, apparently, also contains some choice food for the animal. Towards the right, a servant is bringing two heavy bundles of green grass, hung from a bamboo placed on his shoulders. The load is so heavy that he has been bent down under it in a rather uncouth posture (Plate XLVII). The hunters who had gone to capture the elephant may be seen at the right end of the fresco. They are armed with spears. Two red (pinkish) elephants also, who had been sent to round up the sacred elephant, may be seen with their *mahāvats* and *charkaṭās* at the top of the painting on the right side.

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² According to the *Jātaka* (iv, 59) the city was decorated for the reception of the Bodhisattva, and the *shāmiyāna* set up in the royal court where the sacred elephant is being received may be a part of the decoration.

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Below, the sacred animal is standing inactive and has refused to take food. When the reason for this attitude is explained to the king, he compassionately releases the animal, who goes back to his blind parents. The figure of the elephant is drawn faithfully, and his unusual colour and colossal size justify the description given in the *Jātaka*: ‘All white he was, a magnificent beast.’ But much more striking are the representations of the animal shown in the lower part of the fresco, where his capture by the king's staff and his return to his blind parents are delineated.

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The ‘capture’ scene shows how the animal has been brought under control by tying strong ropes round his hind-legs and trunk with the help of a specially trained staff, who are seen armed with long spears. There are two officers in front of the elephant and a prince behind him, all three on horseback. The prince is also armed with a spear, that being perhaps the most suitable weapon for self-protection as well as for intimidating the animal when capturing it. The rapid strides of the elephant are admirably indicated and the drawing of the figures in general shows superior craftsmanship.

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Above the last scene the return of the animal to his blind parents is shown. Here his pace is much more rapid than his movement when he was being conducted to the royal court, although there he was being urged to walk fast by pricks with spear-heads. The joy of the animal at his release has been appropriately suggested by his ambling trot or canter. A prince, riding on a bay horse and accompanied by four guards, is following the animal to watch his meeting with his blind parents. Three spearmen are running ahead to make the path clear for the return of the elephant to the lotus-pool by which he lived. The bank of the pool has been indicated by a wall of masonry, and the presence of lotus-flowers suggests the water-surface. The dutiful son is pouring water over the head of his mother in order to console her because she had been feeling miserable at his absence.

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"Then from the cool and limpid pool, where Elephants frequent,
He with his trunk drew water, and his mother all besprent."¹

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¹ *Jātaka*, iv, 60.

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The blind parents are fondly caressing the body of their son, while he himself is trumpeting with joy; the artist has cleverly suggested this by painting him with open mouth and raised trunk. The instincts and characteristic habits of the elephant are also shown with considerable effect in the *Shaḍ-danta Jātaka* painted on the right wall of Cave X,² but for intellectual quality and technical skill this painting (Plate XLVII) far surpasses the other.

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² *Ajanta*, iii, Plate XXX.

Cites (4)

Jātakatthavaṇṇanā — Pāli
Jātaka — Pāli
Mahāvastu — Sanskrit
Ajaṇṭā