South Indian Inscriptions

ARCHITECTURE SCULPTURE AND PAINTING

from the right, queen Māyā is shown sleeping on a bed. As the fresco is very much damaged, we notice only one of her feet resting on a round pillow. Two maids are sleeping near her feet. This is evidently the scene in which Māyā saw in a dream a celestial white elephant enter her womb. The roof of the chamber in which she is sleeping is supported on high wooden pillars decorated with horizontal bands at the bottom, in the middle and at the top. The roof is further ornamented with chaitya windows with lotus designs in the centre. To the left of this chamber there is a low gate with a barrel-shaped roof which leads to a circular pavilion where we notice Māyā relating her dream to king Śuddhōdana. Some of her maids are sitting on the ground, eagerly listening to the account. The figure of the maid who is standing nearby is specially graceful.¹

... In the painting on the left we notice the sage Asita holding the infant Siddhārtha in his arms and predicting his future career. To the left of this there is another scene in which we find Siddhārtha taking lessons from his guru, with his companions sitting round him. He wears a long coat and a conical cap with a ribbon tied round it. In the scene below we find the prince practising archery. His companions are sitting on low stools, watching his skill.²

... On the wall between the third and fourth cell doors are painted later events in the life of young Siddhārtha, such as his first meditation during the Ploughing Festival and his seeing the four signs of old age., disease, death and renunciation.³

... On the wall above the third and fourth cell-doors we notice some events which happened soon after Siddhārtha attained enlightenment, i.e. became the Buddha. Two merchants named Trapusha and Bhallika, who saw the Buddha after his trance, made offerings of honey and rice-cakes to him. On the left of this scene we notice the noble lady Sujātā cooking milk-rice for the Buddha and later offering it to him and to four other hermits who were with him⁴

... As the garbhagṛiha has the image of the Buddha in the teaching attitude, the paintings on the walls of the back corridor to the right and left of the doorway appropriately portray the scenes of the Buddha preaching to congregations. The frescoes here are very much damaged, but from what remains of them we can conjecture the occasions. On the left wall the Buddha is shown sitting on a lion seat, with his feet resting on a full-blown large lotus, the stalk of which is held by two Nāga kings who are marked out by the hoods on their heads. He is attended by a Bōdhisattva on either side. Among the congregation are seen on the left several young ladies and a prince sitting in a reverential attitude. He is probably Ajātaśatru, the king Magadha.⁵ On the right are noticed some hermits with shaven heads as well as some men and women. On the wall to the right of the doorway there was probably the scene of the Buddha preaching to the gods in Tushita heaven.

... We shall next proceed to describe the paintings on the wall of the left corridor. The frescoes on the right side of the fourth cell door are very much damaged, but the figure of a flying apsaras to the right of the Buddha is still in a fairly good condition. She is dressed only in a striped loin cloth (ardhōruka). She wears a lalāṭikā with a pendant hanging over her forehead. Her curly hair, dangling kuṇḍalas, ēkāvali of large pearls, armlets and bracelets are drawn with skill. Her pose shows movement in the air. She is looking
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¹ Ajanta, Part III, Pl. LXII.
² Ibid., Part III, pl. LXIII.
³ Ajanta, Part III, Pl. LXIII.
⁴ Ibid., Part III, pl. LIX
⁵ Ibid., Part III, pl. LVII