South Indian Inscriptions

ARCHITECTURE SCULPTURE AND PAINTING

small excavation, on the back wall of which is carved the figure of Nága-rája, seated on the coils of a serpent, whose hoods spread over his high flat-tooped mukuta. This is probabaly the dwelling of the Lord of the Nāgas ( Nāgēndra-vēsma), to which a refernce is made in the inscription in Cave XVI.¹ As the artisans and painters who excavated and painted the caves at Ajāntā belonged to the Nāga race, such images of the Nāga-rāja are found sculptured in the caves there.¹

... As started before, two other caves at Ajantā, viz., the Vihāra Cave XVII and the Chaitya Cave XIX belong to the Vākātaka age. They were excavated by a ruler of Rishika ( modern Khāndēsh) who owed allegiance to the Vākātaka Emperor Harishēna. His name is unfortunately lost, as his inscription² in Cave XVII is how very badly mutilated. From the ectant portion of it we learn, however, that by the premature death of his younger brother Ravisāmba, this prince became convinced of the transitoriness of wordly existence and so he got these caves excavated and dedicated them to the Buddhist Sangha at Ajanta.

... Cave XVII, which is of the Vihāra type, generally resembled Cave XVI described before. Its verandah in front measured 64 ft. in length and 10 ft. in Breadth and is supported by six plain octagonal pillars with a pilaster at each end, which is exquisitely carved³. The hall is enetered by a large central door and also by a samller one at the left end. There is a window on the left between the large and the small door and two more on the right, one large and the other small. The mandapa or Hall inside is 64 ft. wide by 62 ft. deep and 13 ft. high. Its roof is supported by twenty pillars, of which sixteen are octagonal and plain, while the remaining four-two middle ones in each of the front and back rows-have square bases with shafts changing into octagonal and sixteen-sided, which are decorated with exquisie carving and painting. Behind the mandapa there is an antechamber ( antarāla), 17ft. 9 in. in width and 8ft. 5 in. in depth. Leading into the chaitya-mandira (shirne,) which measures 17 ft. 9 in. width and 19 ft. 6 in. tn depth. The door-frame of the shrine is decorated with three bands, of which the inner and the outer have beautiful scroll work, while the middle one has alternating figures of seated and standing on a crocodile. Inside the shrine there is large image of the Buddha sitting cross-legged in the yogāsana posture, with his hands in the Dharmachakra-pravartana-mudra. He has a halo round his face and his hair is arranged in schematic curls. The lobes of his ears are extended. He wears an antarāvāsaka or lower garment and a sankakshikā which goes over the left under the right arm. At the back of the throne there is a crocodile at the top on either side, from the mouth of which a man trying to leap out. On the front faace of the throne are carved two crouching deer with a wheel between them, symbolising the deer-park at Sarnath, where the buddha first turned the Wheel of the Law. On the proper right side of the Buddha stands Padmapani and in the Vajrapāni, both carrying a chauri or fly-whisk. There are two more attendants near the throne; that on the right carries the Buddha’s begging bowl, while that on the left has something in his hand which is not quite clear. Above, two flying vidyādharas are seen-one on each side-carrying offerings to the Buddha.⁴

... This cave has, in all, eighteen cells-one at each end of the verandah, six in each of
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¹No. 25, v. 25
² No. 27.
³ See plate K.
⁴Ajanta, part IV, pl. III, (b);