Ajanta

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Ajanta takes the name after the village Template:IAST in Aurangabad district in the state of Maharashtra (N. lat. 20 deg. 32' by E. long. 75 deg. 48'). It is celebrated for its cave art and architecture. As of 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been an UNESCO World Heritage Site specifically nominated for the international World heritage program. Image:Indischer version3.jpg

1 Introduction
2 Cave 1
3 Cave 2
4 References
5 External links

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Introduction

The caves are in a wooded and rugged horseshoe-shaped ravine about 3 1/2 m. from the village of Ajinthā. It is situated in the Aurangābād district of Mahārāşţra State in India (106 kilometers away from the city of Aurangabad). The nearest towns are Jalgāon (60 kilometers away) and Bhusāwal (70 kilometers away). Along the bottom of the ravine runs the river Wāghūr or Waghōrā (from the root vyāghra in Sanskrit meaning the tiger), a mountain stream. There are 29 (officially numbered by the Archaeological Survey of India) caves, excavated in the south side of the precipitous scarp made by the cutting of the ravine, and vary from 35 to 110 ft. in elevation above the bed of the torrent.

The monastic complex of Ajanta consists of several [[vihara|Template:IASTs]] (monastic halls of residence) and chaitya-grihas (stupa monument halls) cut into the mountain scarp in two phases. The first phase is called the Hinayāna phase (referring to the Lesser Vehicle tradition of Buddhism, when the Buddha was revered symbolically). At Ajanta, cave numbers 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15A (the last one was re-discovered in 1956, and is still not officially numbered) were excavated during this phase. These excavations have enshrined the Buddha in the form of the stupa, or mound. The second phase of excavation started on the site after a lull of over three centuries. This phase is popularly known as the [[Mahayana|Template:IAST]] phase (referring to the Greater Vehicle tradition of Buddhism, which is less strict and encourages direct depiction of the Buddha through paintings and carvings). Some prefer to call this phase the [[Vakataka|Template:IAST]] phase after the ruling dynasty of the house of the Template:IASTs of the Vatsagulma branch. The dating of the second phase has been debated among scholars. In recent years a consensus seems to be converging on fifth century dates for all the Mahāyāna phase caves. According to Walter M. Spink, a leading Ajantologist, all the Mahāyāna excavations were carried out from 462 to 480 CE. The caves created during the Mahāyāna phase are the ones numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29. Cave 8 was long thought to be a Hinayāna cave, however current research shows that it is in fact a Mahāyāna cave.

There were two chaitya-grihas excavated in the Hinayāna phase that are caves 9 and 10. Caves 12, 13, and 15A of this phase are vihāras. There were three chaitya-grihas excavated in the Template:IAST or Template:IAST phase that are caves 19, 26, and 29. The last cave was abandoned soon after its beginning. Caves 19 and 26 have a rather uncommon arrangement made to the central object of worship wherein the stupa is fronted by an image of the Buddha in standing and seated positions respectively. The rest of the excavations are vihāras: caves 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, and 28.

The vihāras are of various sizes the maximum being about 52 feet. They are often square-shaped. Their excavation exhibits a great variety, some with simple facade, others ornate; some have a porch and others do not. The hall was an essential element of a vihāras. In the Template:IAST phase, early viharas were not intended to have shrines because they were purely meant to be halls of residence and congregation. Later, shrines were introduced in them in the back walls, which became a norm. The shrines were made to house the central object of reverence that is the image of the Buddha often seated in the dharmachakrapravartana mudra (the gesture of teaching). In the caves with latest features, we find subsidiary shrines added on the side walls, porch or the front-court. The facades of many vihāras are decorated with carvings, and walls and ceilings were often covered with paintings.

Changes in Buddhist thought in the first century BCE had made it possible for the Buddha to be deified and consequently the image of the Buddha as a focus of worship became popular marking the arrival of the Mahāyāna (the Greater Vehicle) sect.

In the past, scholars divided the caves in three groups, but this is now discredited in light of fresh evidence and research. This theory of dating believed that the oldest group of caves dated from 200 BCE to CE 200, the second group belonged, approximately, to the sixth, and the third group to the seventh century.

The expression Cave Temples used by Anglo-Indians for vihāras without the shrine is inaccurate. Ajanta was a kind of college monastery. Hsuan Tsang informs us that Dinnaga, the celebrated Buddhist philosopher and controversialist, author of well-known books on logic, resided there. This, however, remains to be corroborated by further evidence. In their prime the vihāras were intended to afford accommodation for several hundreds, teachers and pupils combined. It is tragic that none of the caves in the Vākāţaka phase were ever fully completed. This was because the ruling Template:IAST dynasty suddenly fell out of power leaving the dominion in a likely crisis, which forced all activities to a sudden halt at the time of Ajanta's last years of activities. This idea first pronounced by Walter M. Spink is increasingly gaining acceptance based on the archaeological evidence visible on site.

Most of the subjects have been identified by the leading Ajantologist from Germany, Dieter Schlingloff.

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Cave 1

It is first approached by the visitor on site, and has no relation to the chronological sequence of the caves. It is the first cave on the eastern end of the horse-shoe shaped scarp. According to Spink, it is one of the latest caves to have begun on site and brought to near-completion in the Vākāţaka phase. Although there is no epigraphic evidence, it has been proposed that the Vākāţaka king Harisena may have been the benefactor of this better-preserved cave. A dominant reason for this is that King Harisena was not involved initially in patronizing Ajanta, but could not have remained aloof for long, as the site was burgeoning with activity under his rule, and the Buddhist laity would have loved to see the Hindu king participating in the pious act of patronage. Besides, most of the themes depicted are royal.

This cave has one of the most elaborate carvings on the facade with relief sculptures on entablature and fridges. There are scenes carved from the life of the Buddha as well as a number of decorative motifs. There was once a two pillared portico visible in the 19th century photographs, which has since been perished. The cave has a front-court with cells fronted by pillared-vestibules on either side. These have high plinth level. The cave has a porch with simple cells on either end. The absence of pillared vestibules on ends suggest that the porch was not excavated in the latest phase of Ajanta when pillared vestibules had became a necessity and norm. Most areas of the porch was once covered with murals of which notably high degree of fragments remain. There are three doorways: a central doorway and two side-doorways. Between the main and the side-doorways, two square windows have been carved that lit the interiors.

Each wall of the hall inside is nearly 40 feet long and 20 feet high. Twelve pillars make a square colonnade inside supporting the ceiling, and creating spacious aisles along the walls. There is a shrine carved on the rear wall, which houses an impressive seated image of the Buddha, his hands being in the dharmachakrapravartana mudra. There are four cells each on the left, rear, and the right wall. The walls are covered with paintings suggesting a fair state of preservation from decay. The scenes depicted are mostly didactic, devotional, and ornamental. The themes are from the Jataka stories (the stories of the Buddha's former existences as Boddhisattva), life of the Gautam Buddha, and those of his veneration.

Image:Cave 01 porch.jpg

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Cave 2

Cave 2 is next to Cave 1. It looks similar to cave 1 in many respects. Like cave 1, it is relatively in a better state of preservation. It is known specially for the paintings preserved on its walls, ceilings, and pillars.

Facade: The cave's facade has a porch visibly different from cave 1. Even the facade does not have carvings as in cave 1. What we see here is an eave supported by robust pillars that are ornamented with designs. The size and general ground plan, however, shares many things in common with cave 1.

Porch: As first suggested by Walter M. Spink, the porch has cells fronted by pillared vestibules (hereinafter CPV in this article) on either ends. This architectural element is not found in the porch of cave 1. That cave has simple cells on porch-ends. The reason is, as evidences indicate, similar porch-end cells once existed not only in cave 2 but most other caves began early in the Vakataka phase and transformed later as CPVs in later years. In fact, all the porch-ends in various caves as wells as on the facade's side-walls were originally blank without even a cell in the earliest, the inaugural plans that were based on the prototype of a typical Hinayana vihara. The need of the cells on the previously "wasted areas" arose as a solution to greater housing requirements in later years. It became a norm subsequently to add porch-end cells in the planning of later Vakataka excavations. Still later, these simple single cells on porch-ends were converted into CPVs or were being planned as such in order to create accommodate more room, symmetry, and beauty.

The paintings on the ceilings and walls of this porch are widely published. They depict the Jataka tales that are stories of the Buddha's life in former existences as Bodhisattva. The porch's rear wall has a doorway in the center, which allows entrance to the hall. On either side of the door is a square-shaped window carved to lit the interiors.

Hall: The hall has four colonnade making a square in the center of the hall. They support the ceiling. Each arm or colonnade of the square is parallel to each of the respective wall of the hall making an aisle in between. The colonnades have rock-beams above and below them. The capitals are carved and painted with various decorative motifs that include ornamental, human, animal, vegetative, and semi-divine forms. Monika Zin's research on the decorative and devotional themes of Ajanta paintings should be consulted by readers wanting to learn in detail.

Paintings: Paintings are everywhere except the floor or they were intended as such. At many places they have been damaged by the process of decay or human interference. Therefore, many areas of the painted walls, ceilings, and pillars are fragmentary. The painted narratives of the Jataka tales are depicted only on the walls, which demanded special attention of the devotee. They are didactic in nature meant to inform the community about the Buddha's teachings and life through successive births. Their placement on the walls required the devotee to walk through the aisles and 'read' the narratives depicted in various episodes. (Alas, to prevent vandalism, the entry in the aisles is restricted by site-authorities). The narrative episodes are depicted one after another although not in a linear order. Their identification has been a core area of research on the subject since the time of the site's rediscovery in 1819 CE. Deiter Schlingloff's identifications have updated our knowledge on the subject.

For long the paintings were erroneously referred to as frescoes. However, we know now that it is best to call them murals because the typically known process and technique of 'fresco' painting is not found in these murals. At Ajanta, the technique used, the medium, materials, and process is unlike the examples found in the art history of other civilizations. In fact, these murals have a certain uniqueness about them that is rarely found elsewhere, even within the history of South Asian art. The process of painting involved several stages. First of all the rock surface was chiseled rough so that it can hold the plaster. The plaster was prepared of clay, hay, dung, lime, etc. Variations are found in ingredients and their proportions from cave to cave, and in various places in the same cave. While the plaster was still wet, the drawings were done, and the colors applied. The wet plaster has the capacity to soak the color so that the color becomes a part of the surface and would not peel off or decay easily. As regards the color, they were the so called 'earth color' or the 'vegetable color.' Various kinds of stones, minerals, and plants were used in combinations to prepare different colors. Sculptures were often covered with stucco to give them a fine finish and lustrous polish. The stucco had the ingredients of lime and powdered sea-shell or conch. The latter afforded peculiar shine and smoothness. In cave upper six, some of it is extant. The smoothness resembles the surface of a glass, which astonishes the visitor today.

The brush for painting was made of animal hairs and twigs of certain plants.

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References

Burgess, James, and Indraji, Bhagwanlal. Inscriptions from the Cave Temples of Western India, Archaeological Survey of Western India, Memoirs, 10 (Bombay: Government Central Press, 1881).

Burgess, James. Buddhist Cave Temples and Their Inscriptions, Archaeological Survey of Western India, 4 (London: Trubner & Co., 1883; Varanasi: Indological Book House, 1964).

Burgess, James. “Notes on the Bauddha Rock Temples of Ajanta, Their Paintings and Sculptures,” Archaeological Survey of Western India, 9 (Bombay: Government Central Press, 1879).

Burgess, James and Fergusson J. Cave Temples of India. (London: W.H. Allen & Co., 1880. Delhi: Munshiram Manohar Lal Publishers Pvt Ltd., Delhi, 2005).

Griffiths, J. Paintings in the Buddhist Cave Temples of Ajanta, 2 vols. (London: 1896 - 1897).

Cohen, Richard Scott. Setting the Three Jewels: The Complex Culture of Buddhism at the Ajanta Caves. A Ph. D. dissertation (Asian Languages and Cultures: Buddhist Studies, University of Michigan, 1995).

Cowell, E.B. The Jataka, I-VI (Cambridge: Cambridge, 1895; reprint, 1907).

Dhavalikar, M.K. Late Hinayana Caves of Western India (Pune: 1984).

Kramrisch, Stella. A Survey of Painting in the Deccan (Calcutta and London: The India Society in co-operation with the Dept. of Archaeology, 1937). Reproduced: “Ajanta,” Exploring India’s Sacred Art: Selected Writings of Stella Kramrisch, ed. Miller, Barbara Stoler (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press: 1983), pp. 273-307; reprint (New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, 1994), pp. 273-307.

Majumdar, R.C. and A.S. Altekar, eds. The Vakataka-Gupta Age. New History of Indian People Series, VI (Benares: Motilal Banarasidass, 1946; reprint, Delhi: 1960).

Mirashi, V.V. “Historical Evidence in Dandin’s Dasakumaracharita,” Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 24 (1945), 20ff. Reproduced: Studies in Indology, 1 (Nagpur: Vidarbha Samshodhan Mandal, 1960), pp. 164-77.

Mirashi, V.V. Inscription of the Vakatakas. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Series, 5 (Ootacamund: Government Epigraphist for India, 1963).

Mirashi, V.V. The Ghatotkacha Cave Inscriptions with a Note on Ghatotkacha Cave Temples by Srinivasachar, P. (Hyderabad: Archaeological Department, 1952).

Mirashi, V.V. Vakataka inscription in Cave XVI at Ajanta. Hyderabad Archaeological Series, 14 (Calcutta: Baptist mission Press for the Archaeological Department of His Highness the Nizam’s Dominions, 1941).

Mitra, Debala. Ajanta, 8th ed. (Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, 1980).

Nagaraju, S. Buddhist Architecture of Western India (Delhi: 1981).

Parimoo, Ratan; et al. The Art of Ajanta: New Perspectives, 2 vols (New Delhi: Books & Books, 1991).

Schligloff, Dieter. Guide to the Ajanta Paintings, vol. 1; Narrative Wall Paintings (Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1999)

Schligloff, Dieter. Studies in the Ajanta Paintings: Identifications and Interpretations (New Delhi: 1987).

Shastri, Ajay Mitra, ed. The Age of the Vakatakas (New Delhi: Harman, 1992).

Spink, Walter M. “A Reconstruction of Events related to the development of Vakataka caves,” C.S. Sivaramamurti felicitation volume, ed. M.S. Nagaraja Rao (New Delhi: 1987).

Spink, Walter M. “Ajanta’s Chronology: Cave 1’s Patronage,” Chhavi 2, ed. Krishna, Anand (Benares: Bharat Kala Bhawan, 1981), pp. 144-57.

Spink, Walter M. “Ajanta’s Chronology: Cave 7’s Twice-born Buddha,” Studies in Buddhist Art of South Asia, ed. Narain, A.K. (New Delhi: 1985), pp. 103-16.

Spink, Walter M. “Ajanta’s Chronology: Politics and Patronage,” Kaladarsana, ed. Williams, Joanna (New Delhi: 1981), pp. 109-26.

Spink, Walter M. “Ajanta’s Chronology: The Crucial Cave,” Ars Orientalis, 10 (1975), pp. 143-169.

Spink, Walter M. “Ajanta’s Chronology: The Problem of Cave 11,” Ars Orientalis, 7 (1968), pp. 155-168.

Spink, Walter M. “Ajanta’s Paintings: A Checklist for their Dating,” Dimensions of Indian Art, Pupul Jayakar Felicitation Volume, ed. Chandra, Lokesh; and Jain, Jyotindra (Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 1987), p. 457.

Spink, Walter M. “Notes on Buddha Images,” The Art of Ajanta: New Perspectives, vol. 2, ed. Parimoo, Ratan, et al (New Delhi: Books & Books, 1991), pp. 213-41.

Spink, Walter M. “The Achievement of Ajanta,” The Age of the Vakatakas, ed. Shastri, Ajaya Mitra (New Delhi: Harman Publishing House, 1992), pp. 177-202.

Spink, Walter M. “The Vakataka’s Flowering and Fall,” The Art of Ajanta: New Perspectives, vol. 2, ed. Parimoo, Ratan, et al (New Delhi: Books & Books, 1991), pp. 71-99.

Spink, Walter M. “The Archaeology of Ajanta,” Ars Orientalis, 21, pp. 67-94.

Weiner, Sheila L. Ajanta: It’s Place in Buddhist Art (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1977).

Yazdani, Gulam. Ajanta: the Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography, 4 vols. (London: Oxford University Press, 1930 [31?], 1955).

Yazdani, Gulam. The Early History of the Deccan, Parts 7-9 (Oxford: 1960).

Zin, Monika. Guide to the Ajanta Paintings, vol. 2; Devotional and Ornamental Paintings (Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2003).

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