Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s30: The Śibi Jātaka, or the Story of the Rājā Who Gave His Eyes in Alms

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s30

Language: English

The Śibi Jātaka, or the Story of the Rājā Who Gave His Eyes in Alms

v4.c16.s30.2

*The subject is painted on the pilaster between the front and right corridors and is continued on the right wall of the front corridor in Cave XVII.*

THE episodes painted at Ajanta agree in the main with those mentioned in the *Jātaka*,¹ but as the fresco has deteriorated considerably, and in some places the painted layer has peeled off from the rock-wall, some incidents of the story can only be guessed at. For instance, the episode painted on the pilaster below the Toilet Scene (Plate LXV *c*) apparently

v4.c16.s30.4

¹ A summary of the story as told in the *Jātaka* (iv, 250–6) is as follows:

v4.c16.s30.5

Once upon a time the Bodhisattva was born as Prince Śibi, the son of the King of Arishtapura. On the demise of his father he became king himself, and forsaking the ways of evil he kept the Ten Royal Virtues and ruled in righteousness. He built six alms-halls and visited them personally on certain days of each month to see the distribution made. He gave much in alms, but one day he thought to give something that was truly himself—his heart or flesh or his eyes. The Bodhisattva resolved to give away his eyes should anyone demand them, saying:

v4.c16.s30.6

'If there be any human gift that I have never made, Be it my eyes, I'll give it now, all firm and unafraid.'

v4.c16.s30.7

Śakra, the god, resolved to try him, and he came as a blind beggar and asked first for one eye, then for the other; and the Great Being gave them, suffering great agony, surrounded by his weeping and wailing ministers and the ladies of the palace. After making the gift the Prince remained in the palace for a few days, but finally decided to hand over his kingdom to the courtiers and become an represents the event mentioned in the *Jātaka*, how after Prince Śibi had resolved to give his eyes in alms ‘he bathed himself with sixteen pitchers of perfumed water and adorned himself in all his magnificence’.¹ The figures are very faint, but a prince with refined features and golden complexion can easily be made out. He is wearing a high crown and has made a loop (*chakra*) with the fingers of his right hand. This symbolically suggests his noble resolve to sacrifice his eyes in the service of humanity. The figure of a maid may be traced on the left side of the prince; she holds a tray of royal jewels (?) with which the prince is to bedeck himself in accordance with the *Jātaka* version. On the corresponding side there is another lady, probably the princess, who is in a sorrowful mood and has placed her head on the palm of her right hand, which is raised. The features of this lady are very beautiful, and her pose also, though suggestive of grief, is graceful. In front there are some more figures whose heads or torsos may be made out, but complete bodies cannot be traced. A dwarf wearing a coronet can, however, be divined with some certainty. In the background the belts of hills and the dense foliage of trees give a pleasant setting to the scene.

v4.c16.s30.8

¹ *Jātaka*, iv, 251.

v4.c16.s30.9

The story is continued on the right wall of the front corridor, and the next scene represents a lake, on the bank of which two princes are seated on large lotus-flowers (Plate LXVI *a*). Both of them are wearing high crowns lavishly set with jewels. The prince shown at a lower level in the fresco may be identified as Prince Śibi, since the socket of his right eye is shown as empty, indicating that he has given away this eye. Further, a three-letter inscription is painted on the lotus on which this prince is sitting, giving his name as Śibi, which confirms the identification.² The other prince may be identified as the god Indra, who according to the *Jātaka* tested the virtue of Prince Śibi by watching his generosity in giving alms, and thereafter restored his eyes. The lake painted here is the one to which the Prince retired after handing over the government of his kingdom to his courtiers.³ Aquatic plants, some of which are in bloom, are artistically shown on the surface of the lake. In the background are hills, with creepers and ferns sprouting from their crevices. The fresco is much damaged and there are several gaps, but when complete it must have been a fine example of the artist’s faithful study of Nature.

v4.c16.s30.10

² For the inscription see *Ajanta*, iii, 96.

v4.c16.s30.11

³ *Jātaka*, iv, 254.

v4.c16.s30.12

The next scene, painted on the left side of the cell-door, represents the gathering of the officials of the court, ‘and those beloved of the king’, when the news spread ‘that the king wished to tear out his eyes and give them to a brahman’. In describing the scene from the ascetic. The courtiers were grieved by his decision, but finding him firm in his resolve they took him out in a golden litter and brought him to the side of a lake. Śakra was touched by the noble sacrifice made by the Prince and gave him the eyes of Truth Absolute and Perfect, uttering praise as follows:

v4.c16.s30.13

‘O fostering King of Sivi land, these holy hymns of thine
Have gained for thee as bounty free this pair of eyes divine.
Through rock and wall, o’er hill and dale, whatever bar may be,
A hundred leagues on every side those eyes of thine shall see.’

v4.c16.s30.14

The news that the Prince had got his eyes again spread quickly throughout the kingdom, and vast crowds assembled to greet him and offer suitable presents to him. ‘Then the drum was sent beating about the city, to collect all trade-guilds’, and when they assembled he said, ‘O people of Sivi! now you have beheld these divine eyes, never eat food without giving something away.’ He further declared the Law to them by dwelling on the virtue of self-sacrifice. See also *Jātaka Mālā*, No. 2, and *Avadāna Śataka*, No. 34.

v4.c16.s30.15

left side of the painting first, the figure of Indra can be seen, who is watching from heaven the assembling of the people; this is evident because his legs are bent in such a manner that he does not seem to rest on the ground but is floating above it. Below him are shown two ladies, who are probably maids of the court, one of whom holds a *chaurī* with a silver (?) handle in her hand. The pose of this lady and the bead design of the handle of the *chaurī* are worth notice. On the right side of the maids is Prince Śibi, sitting at ease on the throne, with one foot resting on a green stool and the other leg folded and placed on the throne. As the painting of his head is broken in the fresco, the expression of the face cannot be seen. Behind the throne is the Commander-in-Chief, or the chief guard of the court, whose figure, though damaged, can be identified by the ornamented handle of his sword.

v4.c16.s30.16

To the left of the Prince is the minister, who is seated on a chair, and who, to show the perplexity of his mind, has made a *chakra* with the finger and thumb of his right hand. There are two more high officials close to the minister, and one of them, who is wearing a coronet, has joined his hands imploringly as if to suggest that he is ready to carry out any orders whatever if only the sacrifice of the king’s eyes may be avoided. The expression of this officer’s eyes adds to the general impression of his deep anxiety. Below, there are two dwarfs, the hair of one of whom is spread on his back. There are some more figures besides these, but as the fresco is badly damaged at this point their features and facial expressions cannot be determined.

v4.c16.s30.17

On the corresponding side (right) of the cell-door the artist has painted the tragic episode in which Śivaka, the royal surgeon, takes out the eyeballs of the Prince and sets them in the sockets of the blind beggar. The Prince is shown enduring great agony from the operation, and to support himself he has stretched out his right arm and placed his hand on the throne. He has twisted his body and back (Plate LXVI *c*) in excruciating agony. To the right of the Prince is the figure of Śivaka, the surgeon (?), who is sitting on a cushion and has made a gesture with his fingers indicating his own regret and affliction. There is a lady immediately behind the Prince who is also struck with grief and has lowered her head and supported it with her hand. To the left of the Prince there are two more ladies, one of whom is apparently sobbing and has covered her face with both hands. The other is also very sorrowful, and in her grief has placed one hand on her breast and the other on her head. Her eyes also suggest deep distress. To the left of the surgeon is the blind beggar, Indra in disguise, who had asked for the gift of the eyes, and another mendicant who may also be a god, perhaps Śiva, since a bull, the usual symbolic vehicle of the latter god, may be seen at the top of the painting.

v4.c16.s30.18

The modelling of some of the figures shown in these scenes exhibits consummate skill, but the most important and striking feature of the paintings is always the atmosphere of pathos so effectively conveyed in the last scene (Plate LXVI *c*).

v4.c16.s30.19

On the upper part of the wall two more scenes are painted (Plates LXVI *d*–LXVII) which appear to be connected with the same story. One of them represents an ‘alms-hall’ where food is being distributed to the poor, and the other the sending round of a ‘drum’ in the city to invite ‘the trade-guilds’ when Prince Śibi wishes to instruct the people in the Law after the miraculous restoration of his eyes. According to the *Jātaka* Prince Śibi after his accession to the throne 'caused six alms-halls to be builded, at each of the four gates, in the midst of the city, and at his own door'.¹ The alms-hall represented in the painting (Plates LXVI d and LXVII b) may be that near a city gate, since a lofty portal is portrayed at the left end of the fresco.² The hall is a timber structure with a roof sloping on both sides, and examples of the kind of bamboo framework on which the roof rests may still be seen in Indian villages. A stalwart male attendant is bringing a pail of water to offer to the mendicants who are shown standing in front. Close to this attendant is a woman holding on the palm of her left hand a vessel containing food. To her left there is another male attendant who is offering some sort of liquid sustenance, *dāl*, whey, or milk, to a female beggar who holds a cup in her hand. Near by there is also a male beggar with a sickly face and shabby, untrimmed beard. Above the latter there are two more with long, unkempt hair. In front of the woman who holds a vessel, near the basement of the hall, another mendicant can be seen sitting on the ground and drinking water from a cup made of the leaves of trees.³

v4.c16.s30.20

¹ *Jātaka*, iv, 251.

v4.c16.s30.21

² The roof of this gate is barrel-shaped like that of a *chaitya*, and the openings at the ends also resemble the horseshoe-shaped windows of the *chaityas*.

v4.c16.s30.22

³ In India, either through fear of contamination or the rigour of the caste-system, water is poured for the thirsty into the hollow of their joined hands, or into cups improvised from the leaves of trees. Food also, even at large banquets, is for similar reasons served in dishes made of leaves which are afterwards destroyed.

v4.c16.s30.23

Close to the gateway a *śāmiyānah* may be noticed in which also food is being offered to the poor. There are two servants of the alms-house who are carrying food for distribution; one of them holds a basin-shaped vessel and the other a circular jar. In front of them are two friars, standing facing one another and talking. The subject is of interest to students of Indian customs and manners.

v4.c16.s30.24

The other scene, which represents the beating of the royal drum in the streets of the city after the restoration of the prince's eyes, has been painted in an imposing manner. There is a procession of elephants in the middle of the picture, around which footmen are seen marching with rapid strides. They are armed with spears, or curved swords and shields. One footman is carrying pots of water hung in slings from a bamboo. The large flags which are waving in the air add to the pomp and circumstance of the whole. On one elephant a prince is riding; he is wearing a crown, and there is also an umbrella over his head. He may be Prince Śibi, and the scene may represent his glorious return from the lake, whither he had retired, to the capital of his kingdom. This scene appears to have been painted by the same artist as the one who did the March of an Army in the *Sutasoma Jātaka* (Plates XXX and XXXI b), for there is much affinity between the two scenes in regard to the different units of the army, the accoutrements of the soldiers, and the style of marching.⁴

v4.c16.s30.25

⁴ On the upper part of the wall just below the ceiling another scene is painted which, owing to the blackening of the fresco, cannot be identified with certainty. It may be connected with the *Sibi Jātaka* or may represent some other story. Describing the scene as far as it can be traced in the present condition of the fresco, if a beginning is made from the left side, first an *arhat* is seen, who, as is suggested by the position of his legs, is flying in the air and bringing offerings to the Great Being. Proceeding towards the right, a *rājā* and his consort with two attendants may be seen. Farther to the right the royal couple may be noticed again, this time adoring the Buddha, who is accompanied by an attendant (Bodhisattva). The figure of the Buddha is in the middle of the wall, above the cell-door. To the right of the Bodhisattva four more persons can be made out who seem to be talking together, because their

Cites (5)

Jātakatthavaṇṇanā — Pāli
Jātaka — Pāli
Avadānaśataka — Sanskrit
Jātakamālā — Āryaśūra, Sanskrit
Ajanta