The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c16.s2.16

v2.c16.s2.16

With regard to the time-sequence of these four caves it may be observed that in the matter of technique caves I and XVI appear to be almost contemporary, cave XVII immediately following them, and cave II coming last in the group. In cave I the stories of the ‘renunciation’ of the Buddha predominate, in cave XVI the stories of his birth and childhood and some legends connected with the monastic life are delineated, whilst cave XVII contains mainly the stories of the Buddha’s previous incarnations in different forms, as a generous prince or a benevolent animal—elephant, monkey, deer, goose, fish, or serpent. Cave II contains some stories of the Buddha as Prince Siddhārtha, and also some tales of his previous incarnations as the sagacious Brāhman, Vidhurapaṇḍita, or the hermit Kṣāntivādi.