Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s9: The Mahākapi Jātaka

Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.s9

Language: English

The Mahākapi Jātaka

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This story is painted on the wall of the front corridor, over the window and the small door, to the left of the main entrance, Cave XVII.

TWO episodes of the Jātaka are shown in the painting.¹ The first represents the arrival of the rājā of Benares at the bank of the river Ganges, where grew a mango-tree which bore delicious fruit. The rājā noticed there the depredations which were being made by a herd of monkeys and ordered his archers to shoot them. The King Monkey, to save the life of his herd, stretched himself in the form of a bridge across the river, and let the herd tread on his body and pass over to a tree growing on the other side. Being exhausted by the strain, the King Monkey fell down from the top of the tree, but was caught in a blanket spread below at the instance of the rājā, who had noticed the King Monkey’s benevolent act in risking his life to save his followers. The second episode represents the King Monkey teaching the Doctrine to the rājā of Benares, because he was touched by the solicitude shown by the rājā for his protection.

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¹ A summary of the entire story, as recorded in the Jātaka, iii, 225-7, is given below: ‘Once the Bodhisattva was born as a Great Monkey. He lived in the Himālaya and had a retinue of eighty thousand monkeys. Near the bank of the Ganges there was a large mango tree, the fruit of which was sweet and had a pleasant flavour. The Great Monkey and his retinue ate the mangoes of the tree with relish; but the leader thought of danger if any fruit should fall into the water of the Ganges and be carried away and eaten by others. The Great Monkey therefore ordered his retinue to eat up the mangoes of the tree lest any one should fall into the river. But notwithstanding this precaution one large ripe fruit fell into the waters of the Ganges and was accidentally caught in the net of a fisherman. He noticed the mango and having never seen it before brought it to the rājā of Benares. The rājā ate the mango, and being pleased with its taste and flavour he sent for his foresters and enquired about the tree which bore such fruit. They told him that the tree which bore this fruit grew on the bank of the river Ganges in the Himālaya. The rājā sailed up the river with his retinue, and when he approached the tree he halted for rest there. At midnight he noticed a large herd of monkeys eating the mangoes, and being annoyed by their depredations he ordered his archers to shoot them. The monkeys were frightened by the order of the king, but the Bodhisattva comforted them and said: “Do not fear, I will give you life.” Afterwards he measured the distance between the mango tree and another tree growing on the other side of the river, and subsequently cut a bamboo shoot of equal length to serve as a bridge for the escape of the monkeys. The bamboo shoot somehow fell short of the length required to form the complete bridge, but the Bodhisattva made good the deficiency by stretching himself at the end, so that his retinue could pass safely over on his back. The herd thus escaped, but Devadatta, who was then a monkey and among that herd, jumped with all his might on the back of the Bodhisattva and injured him fatally. The rājā noticed the incident and determined to save the life of the Great Monkey. He therefore ordered his attendants to dress the wounds of the Bodhisattva and to adopt other measures so that he might recover. Touched by the solicitude and devotion of the rājā, the Bodhisattva instructed him how to rule and also taught him the Doctrine. Afterwards the Great Monkey died, and the rājā gave orders that his obsequies should be performed in royal style.’ This story is also figured in Cunningham’s Stūpa of Bharhut, Pl. XXXIII, Fig. 4. Cf. Proc. As. Soc. of Bengal for August 1891; Jātaka Mālā, No. 27, and Chavannes, Cinq cents contes et apologues extraits du Tripitaka Chinois et traduits en français, No. 56.

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At Ajanta the second episode, i.e. the teaching of the Doctrine by the King Monkey, is delineated first, apparently for considerations of space, but in describing the incidents of the story it would be best to take them in their proper sequence regardless of the order in which they are painted. Thus, commencing with the figures of the first episode, the rājā of Benares is prominent, as he is riding on a spirited horse, and also has an umbrella, the emblem of royalty, over his head. The head and neck of the horse are skilfully drawn and the harness is complete except for the stirrups, which cannot be seen at Ajanta. The rājā is escorted by a large number of soldiers who are armed with swords, spears, daggers, and bows and arrows. Three of them are shooting arrows at the monkeys who are to be seen amidst the leaves and branches of a large banyan-tree. The artist here has changed the mango-tree of the Jātaka into a banyan, which is more stately in appearance and more picturesque in the eyes of the painter because of its rich foliage, clusters of shoots, and colourful fruit. Over the leaves of the banyan-tree may be seen the Great Monkey, who has stretched his body lengthwise, and several monkeys of the herd are going in the opposite direction, treading on his body. One monkey (Devadatta ?) is on the back of the Great Monkey and has either jumped mischievously upon him or has injured him in some other way, as a result of which the Great Monkey has fallen but is being caught in a blanket. The four corners of the blanket are in the hands of the rājā’s guards, who according to the Jātaka were ordered by the rājā to protect the monkey from injury (Plates XII d and XIII a).

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The river Ganges is represented in a conventional manner, first by the presence of fishes and aquatic birds in its upper and lower courses, and secondly by persons both male and female bathing in the river. The painter has shown only the upper parts of the bodies of these bathers, the lower parts being immersed in water. There are eight persons, two of whom are male and six female. There is also a boy sitting on the bank, which is drawn in a conventional style with wavy lines. One youngish lady with a sweet face is making the praṇāma (obeisance) to the rājā (Plate XIII d). Another lady behind the young one is looking in another direction, the object of the painter being to show the artistic effect of different poses. Lower down, in the second row, a lady is clinging to the back of her husband (?), who has stretched out his hand for support, or for some other purpose, towards the lady in the upper row. In the third row (the lowest) there is a lady with a handsome rounded face; she is talking in a loving manner to her paramour or husband, who is next to her in the painting. Another lady who is behind the male figure is listening to the conversation of this couple (Plate XIII d).

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At the bottom, on the left bank of the river, another couple is shown, engaged in talk. The gesture of the fingers of the male figure suggests that he is explaining something to his interested companion. The poses of these two figures are extremely graceful. The colours of the fresco, owing to blackening from various causes, have disappeared, but the outline, which can still be made out, shows both good taste and neat workmanship.

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The fresco where the second episode is painted may appear almost black at first sight, but with a little patience and careful study the main figures of the story may be discerned. On the left side the Great Monkey is sitting on a ledge and teaching the Doctrine to the rājā, as is indicated by the gesture of the Great Monkey’s fingers. The hand of the latter is represented more or less in the *Dharmachakra* attitude. The rājā, who is squatting on the ground in front of the Great Monkey, is following the sermon point by point. Behind the rājā two guards of his escort are also listening to the sermon with attention. Close to the rājā, towards the right side, the royal groom is sitting; he holds the horse by the reins. The head of the horse may be seen between the rājā and the groom. It has been painted very realistically, and the eyes and expression of the face indicate that the horse also is listening to the preaching of the Great Monkey. Further to the right, near the end of the fresco, is the banyan-tree, on which two monkeys are shown sitting, their long tails hanging down.

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The painting is of great interest from the religious point of view, since it shows that according to the teaching of the Buddha, as preserved in the *Jātaka* stories, men, animals, even reptiles, possess alike a sense of moral and spiritual values, and are bound together as different aspects of life in the universe.

Cites (2)

Jātaka — Pāli
Jātakamālā — Āryaśūra, Sanskrit