Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s26: The Mahisha Jātaka, or the Story of the Benevolent Buffalo and the Mischievous Monkey

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s26

Language
English

The Mahisha Jātaka, or the Story of the Benevolent Buffalo and the Mischievous Monkey

v4.c16.s26.1

*Plate LI a*

v4.c16.s26.2

*The subject is painted on the right wall of the back corridor, to the left of the cell-door, in Cave XVII.*

v4.c16.s26.3

THE fresco representing this story has become very dark as the result of centuries of smoke from fires lighted in the cave, and in some places the painted surface has actually peeled off from the rock-wall; yet such portions as are intact show clearly the main incidents of the story and agree with those mentioned in the *Jātaka*.¹ At the top of the fresco is a hill-scene in which a prince (or some god) is shown sitting on a ledge and pointing out with his forefinger the incidents painted below. Near the bottom of the fresco a ‘strong and big’ buffalo may be noticed, on whose back a monkey is perched who has mischievously put his paws over the eyes of the buffalo. The latter (the Bodhisattva), being of a forbearing nature, has taken no notice of the impertinence of the monkey. A little higher, in the middle of the fresco, the same monkey may be seen looking dejectedly towards another buffalo, who has thrown him down on the ground because the monkey had tried to tease him also, thinking him to be the same buffalo (the Bodhisattva) who had previously taken no notice of his pranks.

v4.c16.s26.4

¹ A summary of the story as told in the *Jātaka* (ii, 262-3) is as follows: At one time the Bodhisattva was born as a buffalo. Growing strong and big, he used to range the hills and mountains. Once, after grazing, when he was standing under a pleasant tree, an impertinent monkey which was on that tree came down, and getting on the back of the buffalo voided there; then taking hold of one of the horns swung down from it by his tail and disported himself. The Bodhisattva, being full of patience, kindness, and mercy, took no notice at all of his conduct. This the monkey did again and again without any resentment on the part of the Great Being. But once another buffalo, a savage beast, happened to come and stand under the same tree, when the Bodhisattva was at another place. The wicked monkey, thinking it to be the animal on whom he had been playing such pranks with impunity, climbed on his back and did as before. The savage buffalo at once shook him off upon the ground, drove his horn into the monkey's heart, and trampled him to pieces. See also *Jātaka-mālā*, No. 33, and *Cariyā Piṭaka*, ii, 5. *Contes*, No. 432, has a somewhat different version.

v4.c16.s26.5

In the original fresco the prince or god shown at the top appears in front of the buffalo in both incidents of the story. At the bottom he is warning the mischievous monkey with his forefinger not to tease the benevolent buffalo. In the episode painted above, the prince (or god) is watching the pitiful fate of the monkey who has been thrown down mercilessly by the other buffalo who was not the Bodhisattva.

v4.c16.s26.6

The figures of the buffaloes and the monkey are cleverly drawn, otherwise the painting is of greater religious interest than artistic value.²

v4.c16.s26.7

² Above the cell-door is painted a subject which according to Foucher may be connected with the story of a tame elephant who, at the time of the mating season, escapes to the forest to return again to the stable (*Prabhāsā-vadāna* in the *Sūtrālaṅkāra*, No. 53, and the *Bodhisattvā-vadāna-Kalpalatā*, Nos. 1 and 100). An elephant going at a trot may be seen at four places in the upper part of the fresco. The representation is realistic; the tail of the animal is stretched out, and the forelegs are bent and the hind-legs extended backward. Lower down, on the left side of the painting, a king and queen are shown seated on a throne with attendants on both sides. On the right side is a swarthy figure, while on the left is a brown-faced male attendant armed with a sword. His attitude suggests that

Cites (5)