AJANTA

CAVE
PAINTINGS
• Ajanta is situated at a distance of 107 km north of Aurangabad, the district headquarters.
• Named after a nearby village, Ajintha located about away.
• Caves excavated between 2nd century B.C.E to 6th century C.E.
• Caves are excavated in horse–shoe shaped bend of rock surface nearly 76 m in height overlooking a narrow
stream known as Waghora on Sayadri hills.
 • The rock – Deccan trap as is called – is igneous basalt
formed by lava cooling and not the easiest surface to
carve. The marble in Mount Abu comparatively
makes for much softer surface as does the one used
at the Taj.
• This makes sculpture as well creating the structure
difficult. Further, there’s the relative isolation of the
place (over miles of low lying rolling hills) implying
that all material for painting had to be locally sourced
or used in small quantity (if brought from outside).
Lastly, when it’s
not hot in Ajanta,
seen above
is an evidence
it’s pouring and till
on the ceiling date rock fall is
of a cave common during
the rainy season.
 • Discovered by an Army Officer in
the Madras Regiment of the British
Army in 1819 during one of his
hunting expeditions.
• Instantly famous, a very important
tourist destination in the world.
• Famous for its murals- the finest
surviving examples early Indian
painting.
• The calm and serene environment
chosen as retreat for the Buddhist
monks during the rainy seasons.
 General view of Ajanta caves from view point
• Retreat- enough time for furthering their religious pursuits through intellectual
discourses for a considerably longer period.
• They were connected to the stream by a flight of steps, now almost obliterated with few
traces.
 • In all, total 29 excavations were hewn
out of rock, excluding an unfinished one.
• Five caves no. 9, 10, 19, 26, and 29 are
chaityagrihas and the rest are viharas.
• The earliest is Cave 10 dating 2nd
century B.C.E.
• The Hinayana caves are datable to the
pre-Christian era.
• The earliest excavations, similar to Bhaja,
Kondane, Pitalkhora, Nasik, etc.

 General view of Ajanta caves and

Waghora river
• By date and style, caves can be divided into two broad groups.
• In Hinayana Phase of Buddhism, 5 caves created,
• 9 & 10 which are chaityagrihas and 8, 12, 13, & 15A which are viharas.
• The rest are from Mahayana phase
• The world famous paintings at Ajanta also
fall into two broad phases.
• The earliest is noticed in the form of
fragmentary specimens in cave nos. 9 & 10,
which are datable to 2nd century B.C.E.
• The headgear and other ornaments of the
images in these paintings resemble the bas-
relief sculpture of Sanchi and Bharhut.

Cave 9: façade, side view, Hinayana phase

Hinayana Phase
The Chaitya Caves no. 9 & 10
• About 150 different head-gears are depicted in cave no. 9 and 10
• These caves have 5th cent. Repaintings
• Early phase monk strength is about 50
• Jatakas are 500+ stories from Jataka-attakathas, i.e. the omniscient
remembering previous births.
• Cave 9:Sthaviravada to Sarvasthivada
• Cave 10: Lokatattvavada
Subjects of Hinayana Paintings:
• Cave 9:
• Left wall front : Super human events
• Left wall back: Udayana
• Right wall front: Chhadanta Jataka
• Right wall back: Sama Jataka
• Cave 10:
• Left wall front to back: Pandara, Mahagovinda, Sasa, Kunala and Udaya
• Right side Urubilva Kashyapa
• Right front Erakapatta
Entrance

Cave 9, Ajanta

Cave 9, an early chaitya hall, dates to the 1st century BC. Its
entrance facade, like most of the chaityas, includes a large
chaitya arch framing a window with imitation timber
construction. The large window was usually the first feature to
be cut into the rock of a chaitya. It served two purposes: it
allowed light into the cave, and it permitted rock to be easily
removed from the cave during the process of excavation.

Excavation then proceeded from the top down, a painstaking

process which at least had the benefit of not requiring
scaffolding during construction.
 The layout
The caityagriha has a square hall. The ceiling too is square; except
the nave area where the vaulted ceiling is much higher. The nave
is separated from the aisles by a
colonnade of 23 pillars, which are 10’3” high.
The pillars, all octagonal, that is the earliest type, support the
triforium and ultimately the vault. The triforium is 6’5” high from
the ceiling of the aisles.
The vault is 5’8” high from the upper level of the triforium.
The plan is unique in Ajanta; the other caityagrihas have apsidal
back, meaning that the rear wall is semicircular to allow for the
pradakshina-patha (ambulatory). Here, the line of the colonnade
is semicircular at the back, thus making for the ambulatory; but
the distinction rests in the rear wall, which is not semicircular but
rectangular.
At the end of the nave stands a modest stupa comprising of
standard components: medhi, anda, harmika, and vedika. The
Date : Mid-2nd century BCE
sockets on top of the vedika were evidently for a wooden
Reign : Satavahana dynasty
chatravalli (row of umbrellas), which is now missing. The vault was
Patron : Collective patronage by various upasakas
aesthetically—rather than functionally—supported by wooden
Dimensions : Hall – 45 feet deep, 227” wide
beams and rafters, which too are lost. They are structurally similar
to the arrangements described in Cave 10.
 Inside Caves no. 9: The Chaityas from Hinayana Phase
<Centrally placed Stupa in the apsidal pillared hall
<Paintings on the pavilions, on and above the pillars
Cave 9, the nave with the stupa.
There was a wooden chatravalli (a row of umbrellas)
over the stupa; the ceiling had teak beams and rafters.
The paintings on the triforium (above pillars) belong to
the fifth century.

The object of worship is a

stupa here and these caves
exhibit the imitation of
wooden construction to the
extent that the rafters and
beams are also sculpted even
though they are non-
functional.
Cave 9, interior, left colonnade

Cave 9, interior, left aisle or ambulatory

Cave 9,
Some Murals were overpainted during
the second creative phase at Ajanta
(Cent. 4th -6th ).
An example is seen in this exquisite
detail, which shows a kneeling
worshipper- a sadhu (ascetic)- with
typical hair and beard, just like those of
sadhus still seen in India today.
 Pandara
Once a Naga called Pandara revealed the secret of
guarding against the Naga-devouring garudas to an
ascetic friend, who in turn divulged the same to the
garuda. Therefore, the garuda was able to capture the
Naga. When Pandara narrated the ascetic friend’s
betrayal to the garuda, the latter advised Pandara never
to share secrets with anyone. Pandara’s life was spared
as the garuda accepted him as a disciple.

Mahagovinda
A brahmin named Mahagovinda was the prime minister of a king. After the
king’s death, the king’s son did not want the responsibility of ruling over the
vast kingdom. Therefore, Mahagovinda divided the kingdom among the son
and six other princes while retaining the responsibility of superintendence.
His skill in governance earned him a good reputation and even a relationship
with God Brahma. Soon, he embraced the path of seclusion and meditation,
Shasha. Noblemen have arrived to worship the stupa erected as a Atrium hall as scene divider and the Kunala
memorial of the hare’s sacrifice narrative on right
Shasha
A hermit was planning to leave his forest habitation because of the ongoing drought. To make him stay back, four animals
offered gifts of food to him. An otter gave him seven rohita fish. A jackal gave a stolen dinner consisting of two skewers of
meat, a cup of curdled milk, and a lizard. A monkey gave him mangoes and water. A shasha (hare) had nothing to offer.
So, it hurled itself into the fire and gave him the roasted body. To commemorate the hare’s sacrificial death, a stupa was
erected over its remains.

Kunala
Once, there was a king of the glossy cuckoos, named Ku?ala, who despised the female sex. His friend, a king of the
speckled cuckoos, fell ill and was abandoned by his female entourage. After his recovery, Kunala delivered him a sermon
while seated on a stone form under a shala tree in the Himalayas. Narada and the king of the vultures also attended the
sermon with their retinues. In the sermon, Kunala shed light on the depravity of the female sex by citing many examples.
 Kashyapa
As the Buddha began teaching his sermon and accepted
his first disciples as monks in his doctrine, he thought of
converting an ascetic. Thus, he went to Magadha, where
an old Brahmin named Urubilva-Kashyapa, belonging to
Kashyapa lineage, lived with his disciples near the river
Nairanjana. Once, Kashyapa invited the Buddha to stay
awhile. The Buddha expressed his wish to spend the
Kashyapa (Cave 9, rear wall). The Buddha at night is visited by deities of the
various classes of gods, first by the four kings of heaven, represented by two fly
night in the brahmin’s fire house. Kashyapa informed the
whisk bearers, then by the Brahma gods, and finally by god Indra and his lyre Buddha about a poisonous snake which dwelt in that
player Pancashikha with their wives. On the right is a stupa as scene divider. house, but the Buddha entered the fire house and sat in
meditation.
The enraged snake spewed smoke and fire, but the Buddha, deep in meditation, produced such a bright light that Kashyapa
thought the fire house was ablaze and the Buddha hadturned to ashes. The Buddha forced the snake into his food bowl and
took the animal to Kashyapa. Kashyapa was surprised and deeply impressed by the power of his meditation.
Next, the Buddha demonstrated to Kashyapa his control over the fire. Kashyapa’s disciples attended to three fire
pots and tried to light a fire. Kashyapa correctly assumed that because of the Buddha’s power, they failed to do so; on
Kashyapa’s request, the Buddha lit the fire. Once, when Kashyapa’s hut caught fire, no one could extinguish the blaze. Only
the Buddha could do so with his magical power. Kashyapa observed the nightly visits of the deities to the Buddha. First
came the Four Kings of Heaven followed by Indra; then came Brahma who appeared like columns of fire. Later, the Buddha
accepted Kashyapa’s invitation for some lavish entertainment. He repeatedly offered delicious fruits to Kashyapa and filled
his bowl with food derived from different plants. On another occasion, Kashyapa sat down beside the Buddha to eat a meal.
The Buddha wanted water to clean himself. Indra appeared and produced a stream of water from the earth’s cleavage.
The Buddha, after his ablutions, bathed in that water; the branch of an arjuna tree
bent low, so that he
could seize it. When the Buddha wanted to clean his patched robe, Indra provided
him with a big stone to thrash his wet clothes on and another slab for drying
them. The people of Magadha would come to Kashyapa to pay their respect
during a seven-day festival. Kashyapa feared that the people would pay respect to
the Buddha rather than to him; the Buddha read his mind, and departed. After the
festival, he came back on Kashyapa’s secret bidding. Once, the river Nairanjana
flooded, but the Buddha walked on a dry ground. Kashyapa thought that he might
drown and went in a boat to rescue him. When Kashyapa saw him walking on the
ground, he asked the Buddha to come on board.

The Buddha rose above the water and stepped into Kashyapa’s boat. Kashyapa
was amazed at all these miracles but still considered himself to be a saint. The
Buddha house, again read his mind and told him that he had not attained
sainthood. When Kashyapa became aware of his weakness, he asked the Buddha
to let him become a monk. The Buddha admitted Kashyapa, and later, his two
brothers into his doctrine. The Buddha went to Gaya from Urubilva, where he
manifested his spiritual powers to his newly converted disciples with three East Gate, Sanchi
miracles; that of his magical power, of his authority and of his persuasive power.
Thus, the Kashyapa brothers and other disciples became saints.
Inside Cave
no. 9
Hinayana
Phase
Inside Cave no. 9
Hinayana Phase
Painting near the Stupa
Inside Cave
no. 9
Hinayana
Phase
Cave no. 10
Date : Circa late 3rd century BCE
Reign : Satavahana dynasty
Patron : Collective patronage by various upasakas
Dimensions : Hall - 95 feet deep, 41’ wide, 56’ high
Aisles - 56’ deep, 5’8” wide
Stupa -16’5” diameter, 21’3” high
The layout
The caityagriha has an apsidal hall consisting of a wide nave,
side aisles, and a semi-circular apse or ambulatory at the back.
The nave is separated from the aisles and apse by a colonnade
of 39 pillars. At the centre of the rear end of the nave stands an
imposing stupa. It has a two-stepped medhi (cylindrical drum),
above which rests a massive anda (hemispherical dome), which
is surmounted by a harmika (stone balustrade). Atop the
harmika is excavated a three-stepped square vedika (altar).
The pillars are of the vishnukant type (octagonal) without
adhishthanas (bases), capitals, or carvings.
There is a curious feature about this plan. The quadrantal
ceiling of the aisles with rock-cut beams and rafters is
continued right up to the front wall (mostly perished on either
side). This wall is about 5’8”, i.e. equal to the width of the
aisles. Between the front pillars and the ruined front walls,
there are extant quadrantal canopies right under the arch.
Thus, the nave was not what we see today; it extended 5’8”
forward. Based on the frontal quadrantal canopies on either
side of the nave, Nagaraju has suggested that the nave was
probably elliptical in design, something similar to the Nagarjuni
Cave in Barabar Hills of Bihar.
Cave no. 10
Subjects
 Inside Caves
no. 10 (right)
The Chaityas from
Hinayana Phase

Cave 10: façade, 2nd cent. BC; An inscription on the façade

records the gift by one Vasithiputa Katahadi, Hinayana phase
Inside Caves
no. 9 (left) &
no. 10 (right)
The Chaityas from
Hinayana Phase

<Centrally placed
Stupa in the
apsidal pillared
hall

<Paintings on the
pavilions, on and
above the
 The vault
There are wooden fixtures inside the vault roof as well.
The vault was aesthetically—rather than
practically—supported by wooden beams and rafters like
those still extant at Bhaja. The marks and
chases of such fixtures are clearly visible. The beams
were thicker than the rafters. All the beams were of equal
thickness, including the central beam.
Similarly, the rafters were of equal thickness. There
were 12 beams and 30 rafters arranged with
mathematical precision. The rafters did not end at the
base of the vault; they continued down the entire length of
the large, most spacious, triforium. Curiously, however,
there is nothing to show that rafters were placed on the
triforium. The arrangement of crossbeams and rafters on
The right ambulatory the vault created a chequerboard pattern, consisting of
360 squares, each of which was painted with decorated
motifs. The wooden fixtures of the vault and triforium,
along with the paintings, are all gone, except for some
traces. The painted square niches on the roof of the aisles
are better preserved. The roof too has beams and rafters,
but they are made of stone rather than wood.’

Cave 10: Portion of Sama Jataka,
Hinayana phase
In Cave No.10 (Ajanta) four incidents of Jataka tale are extant:
(I) The King with his retinue shooting an arrow towards Sama;
(ii) The king grievously repentent on his accidental mistake;
(iii) Sama’s blind parents wailing upon the wounded body of their son
in the hermitage and (iv) Sama’s resurrection to life.
A few scenes of this Jataka are also found in Cave No.17 at Ajanta.
Syama or Samaka Jataka:
Amongst the older Jatakas at Ajanta which has parallels outsides is the Shyama or Samaka Jataka in the cave
No. 10, a caitya hall narrating the story of Bodhisattva as Shyama who tirelessly served his blind hermit parents.
The Jataka highlighted the role of an ideal son dedicated to the service of his aged father and mother setting an
inspiring example for the common people.

The details are as follows.

In one of his previous births, the future Buddha was born as Syama who was a model of filial piety. His old and
blind parents lived as hermits in a remote part of the Himalayas. Syama was their sole support. One day when
Syama went to a pool to fetch water for his parents he was struck by an arrow of the king of Benares who came
there hunting deer in the forest.
Indra was deeply impressed by Syama’s filial piety and restored him to life. In China this story is known as
Samaka Jataka which mentions that the king of Kapilavastu (instead of Varanasi according to the Indian
tradition) went to the forest. While hunting, he killed near a stream a hermit boy. When the king came to know
that he killed the boy. He went to the boy’s parents and told them about what had happened and led them to
where Samaka was lying. Samaka’s agony moved the heaven and earth.

Out of campassion a god placed an elexir into Samaka’s mouth and the poisonous arrow dropped from his
body; not only the boy was resurrected, but the eye-sight of the blind parents was also restored.
In Cave No.17 a surviving painting shows Sama carrying his blind parents, and the king carrying the
body of Sama, and then Sama preaching to the king (after he was resurrected to life) like a true
Bodhisattva.

The story of Syama has also a Brahmanical version in which the hero is Sravana Kumar instead of
Syama. The dedicated son, Sravana was accidentally killed by King Dasaratha of Ayodhya on a
royal hunt. Unlike the Buddhist version, the boy was not resurrected to life. The blind parents wept
loudly and cursed the king.

Xuan Zang who was in India (629-645 AD ) mentions in his description of Gandhara a stupa about
ten miles from Pushkaravati (Charsada) which was then believed to mark the site of the Syama
Jataka, the story has been represented in the art of Sanchi, Gandhara and Ajanta. The Indian
(Syama) had a wide appeal because of the fact that it depicts Syama’s love and adoration for his
blind parents, an ideal which is of great social interest.
The Chinese have translated “Sama” into “Shamo”, and “Samaka” into “Shang Mo Jia”. But the more popular name for
“Samaka” or “Syama” is “Shanzi”, its first syllable being the transliteration of “Syama”, while its second syallable “zi”
being no different from the suffix used for Confucius, Mencius, Laozi and other ancient thinkers. This fact shows that in
China’s oral (and also written) literature, Syama has reached a stature of saints. Also, the story of Sama has been elevated
to the status of Sutra -- there is the popularity of the text entitled Shanzi Jing (literally, the Sutra of Sage Sama).That
Chinese tradition gives greater eminence to Syama Jataka than to other Jatakas tale was because of the importance of
filial piety which was a corner-stone of the cardinal norms of the Chinese society. The story of “Chanzi” was a household
word in China, having crossed the boundaries of Buddhism. It has become a part of China’s own spiritual tradition.

The depiction of Syama Jataka has appeared in the Dunhuang caves and the Xinjiang grottoes. In Cave No.299 of Mogao
there in a long horizontal panel decorating on the gorgeous ceiling: (1) the palace of the king, (2) the king’s hunt, (3) the
king chasing a deer along a stream, (4) the king killing Syama by mistake, (5) Syama being buried, (6) Syama’s blind
parents being informed about the tragedy, and (7) the resurrection of Syama. In comparison. the Xinjiang cave painting
is much simpler, showing only the killing of Syama.

This and other portrayals of Syama Jataka at Mogao caves, Dunhuang are elaborate and vivid. The final scene which shows
the blind parents embracing their son’s body and wailing in anguish represents poignantly the grief of parting. The tragic
tale ends on a happy note with the solution of Buddha’s magical power resurrecting Samaka. The painting composition is
tightly structured with a clear focus on the theme. People’s activities are interwoven with the landscape — hills, trees and
the streams — making it a realistic representation. It has been inferred by scholars in China that the story was intended
to convey the idea of loyalty and piety to the authority. At Ajanta (Cave No.17) there is a painting of another story of an
elephant devoted to his blind parents, almost on the same theme, narrated through Matriposaka Jataka.
Detail of face from
Cave no 10,
Satavahan Phase
Detail of face from Cave no 10,
Satavahan Phase
The Body Guard of the King of Varanasi
Detail of face from Cave no 10,
Satavahan Phase
The king of Varanasi (?)

Guardian figure,
pillar of eastern
gateway
A pillar with intrusive In the intersections of the crossbeam
Buddha figures of pattern, intrusive Buddha images were
fifth century painted in the fifth century. These
paintings were done over the Satavahana
period paintings, which had decorative
motifs devoid of Buddha figures
In the intersections of the crossbeam
pattern, intrusive Buddha images
were painted in the fifth century.
These paintings were done over the
Satavahana period paintings, which
had decorative motifs devoid of
Buddha figures
In the intersections of the crossbeam pattern,
intrusive Buddha images were painted in the ffth
century. These paintings were done over the
Satavahana period paintings, which had decorative
motifs devoid of Buddha figures
Cave no. 19
Hinayana Phase
Cave no. 19
Hinayana
Phase