Queen Shivali from the Mahajanak Jataka

Queen Shivali from the Mahajanak Jataka

Ajanta Caves,Gupta Period, 5th Century CE

           Besides painting innumerable Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the Ajanta artists have left a variety of sensuous women. Queen Sivali is certainly one of them. Young, voluptuous,  bejewelled, half nude, she is the ideal of feminine beauty in Indian art. Since women were seen as representing the Nature, they had to be well endowed in their beauty. Queen Sivali belongs to the category of Yakshini  ( the fertility goddess ). 

            But the queen is not free from the pangs of life. Her husband, King Mahajanak of Mithla, has just announced his intention to abdicate the throne and to take Sanyas  ( to renounce the world and to become a buddhist monk). The Queen is perplexed by the decision.  Her well kept hair are becoming dishevelled;  her string of pearls has started swaying as she takes deep breath (notice the two pearl strings in front of her stomach ). She looks at her husband in half disbelief. 

             Life can be uncertain at the best  of the times. Sorrow can come suddenly.  The cheeze can be moved without any notice. Even the rich and the beautiful, even the powerful and regal are subject to the whims and caprice of life and Time.

Lord Indra with His Entourage

Lord Indra with His Entourage

Ajanta Caves, Gupta Period,5th Century CE

           As Buddhism spread it enveloped the Vedic Gods in its pantheon. But the mighty Vedic Gods were reduced to the status of guardians and door keepers. The Buddha and the Bodhisattvas held an exhaulted position than the Hindu Gods. From the 2nd century BCE to 6th Century CE Hinduism waned in India. 

           Here we see Lord Indra flying with his entourage of Apsaras ( divine dancers) and Gandharvas ( divine musicians ). The rippling effect in blue colors are the monsoon clouds. When the monsoon finally arrives, after the hot summer, it comes with cool breeze, like soothing music, and with dancing clouds. It just  not only brings the rains, but  more importantly ushers in joy and celebrations.  The monsoon season is the season of love and fun, of celebration and bliss. Lord Indra, as the God of rain, could not be ignored even by the Buddhist.  He is a god of Nature. 

           The monsoon has attracted the imagination of the Indian artists. Kalidas, the most  famous Indian writer in Sanskrit literature, composed Meghadoot  ( the Cloud Messenger), and celebrated the beauty of monsoon. Other poets, like Keshavdas,  have written about the monsoon in their poems on Barahmasa  ( the Twelve months ). To the Kangra painters the dark bulbous clouds were a symbol of the force of love and passion which brooks no bound. 

           Today we speak about the different kinds of clouds, but now the clouds are dry and drifting. The romantic notion, the idea about resurrection of life has been drained out. Caged in glass and concrete we are losing touch with the beauty of Nature. The great Vedic Gods are a forgotten lot in Post - modern society.

The Monkey and the Buffalo

The Monkey and the Buffalo

 Ajanta Caves,Gupta Period, 5th Century CE

          Jataka stories contained lots of wisdom in the form of folklore.  Here is the story of a mischievous monkey who would close the eyes of a buffalo who was a Bodhisattva. The monkey would play with him all day. One day another buffalo stood in place of the kind buffalo. The monkey mistook him to be the kind buffalo.  He closed the eyes of the buffalo.  The buffalo was enraged. He threw the monkey down and gorged him to death. 

           The fable is both about compassion and anger. It is also about genuine gurus and fake ones. We get entangled with fake gurus and are gorged to death. It is also about trusting and not trusting the people. One should be careful in choosing the right kind of friends. A wrong company can lead to injury and death. 

          Through simple stories complex messages were given to the common man. The stories are relevant even today as they contain the wisdom of ages. 

Dancers and Musicians

Dancers and Musicians

Ajanta Caves,Gupta Period,5th Century CE

            Dance has an ancient ancestry in India. Said to originate from Lord Shiva,  it is a sacred art which began in the temples and ended in the market.  The "Dancing Girl " from Indus Valley Civilisation  (2500 BCE) is the first glimpse of this art form in India.  In 2nd Century BCE  Bharat Muni is said to have written the first book on Dramatology called the Bharat Natya Shastra.  He dealt extensively with dance. 

            Dance is an expression of joy, of love, of celebration.  It is part of human nature. The movement of the body frees the mind from its captivity and releases myriad energies. According to the Darwishes it is a medium of communication with God. 

           To the Indian dancer, dance is a form of worship  where the dancer surrenders himself/ herself to the diety.  It is a sublime prayer. 

            But here we see a court dancer entertaining King Mahajanak in a Jataka story. While the dancer sways to the music of flutes, drums and cymbals, the ladies orchestra plays on. Although stitched clothes were an exception in ancient India,  but here the dancer is in a tunic. Surprisingly the musicians are all women. This painting is a testimony of the talents of our women and of the liberal attitude of the society to permit women to learn music. 

            But slowly the classical dance and music are fading away, just the way this painting has faded away.

Bodhisattva Vajrapani

Bodhisattva Vajrapani

Ajanta Caves, Gupta Period, 5th Century CE

          While Bodhisattva Padmpani is the embodiment of compassion, Bodhisattva Vajrapani is of power and force. According to his name, he is the weilder of the thunderbolt  (Vajra). Thus, he is the symbol of brute force of Nature.  One who destroys evil by brute force. Surprisingly for a dynamic figure, the image is rather placid. In his hand, he holds an unclear object. Although in Ajanta he is depicted as a graceful, quiet, peaceful figure, in Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese Art he is a ferocious figure. 

            Both the Bodhisattvas depicted the twin aspect of Man: the rational and the irrational or as the Greeks called it the Apollonaire  ( named after God Apollo, their God of wisdom and poetry) and Dionysian  (named after God Dionysus,  their God of wine). Psychologists also deal with these two aspects of human nature, the constructive and the destructive.  

              History too is a witness to such impulses. While Dara  Shikho, the elder son of Shah Jahan, championed compassion and unity of the Mughal Empire, Aurangzeb advocated fundamentalism and terrorism. The fundamentalist forces won the royal battle near Dholpur: the Mughal Empire was shattered in few decades. The choice is ours whether to encourage the irrational and the destructive forces, or to strengthen the liberal and constructive forces. 

Bodhisattva Padmpani

Bodhisattva Padmpani

Ajanta Caves,Gupta Period,5th Century CE

           The most famous face of Ajanta is Bodhisattva Padmpani. He is Prince Siddharth in his palace, in deep contemplation. He is the Bodhisattva of compassion.  

           The Bodhisattva has travelled the world over. When Bodhisattva Padmpani went from India to China, he underwent a sex change. In China he is the goddess of Compassion,  Kuan  Yin. The fact that Kuan Yin was a male diety is reflected by the fact that Kuan Yin is flat chested. 

           Compassion is central to Buddhism.  If the universe is created by a power, all the creation is His/ Her handiwork.  We are all created equal. We should, therefore, treat every one with same level of love, respect and dignity as we treat ourself. Compassion is what unites the universe in a single entity. It is the bonding force which keeps the civilisation united; it is the only path to peace and prosperity, the path to Nirvana. 

Visvantara Jataka ( Story of Prince Visvantra)

Visvantara Jataka ( Story of Prince Visvantra)

 Ajanta Caves, Gupta Period, 5th Century CE

          Ajanta is known more for its frescoes than for its sculptures.  The discovery of the caves in early 19th century was an eye opening event. Till then, no one knew about paintings of ancient India, though paintings were mentioned in Sanskrit literature.  The discovery of Ajanta led to the emergence of the Bengal School of art founded by the Tagore family. 

         The paintings in Ajanta depict the Jataka stories --tales about the previous births of Lord Buddha. He is said to have narrated all his previous births. The stories are moral paradigms for people. They emphasise love, compassion, sacrifice,  pity,  generosity. 

         Prince Visvantra was a generous person to a fault. When Kalinga suffered a famine, he gave away his magical elephant who could bring the rains to Kalinga.  His own people were enraged, as Kalinga Kingdom was their enemy. The people demanded that the Prince be banished from the kingdom.  

         In this painting, Prince Visvantra is shown in his palace with his wife, Madri. They are busy in dalliance. On the left side, we see the couple leaving the city. The cruel Brahmin,  Jujuka, prays to the Prince to give him the two young children of the Prince, so the children can look after the physically challenged Brahmin. The Prince parts with his children as well. 

          This is one of the finest paintings of Ajanta.  The multiple narrative is interesting.  The artist has caught different strata of society : from the Prince and the Princess to the servants in the bedchamber to the ordinary citizens looking out of the window seeing the Prince leaving the city to the Brahmin who intercepts the Prince and the Princess. The naturalness of the beetle nut trees in the background lends naturalism to the otherwise stylised painting. 

           The story highlights the importance of compassion, even for one's enemies; it emphasises sacrifice of the political leader for the welfare of the people. It stresses on equanimity  despite the sudden change of fortune: from palace to forest. These Jataka stories continue to be relevant for our modern life as well. 

The Temptation of Mara

The Temptation of Mara

Ajanta Caves,Gupta Period, 5th Century CE

            Generally the walls of a Chaitya Halls are covered with beautiful paintings.  But there is one hall which has beautiful sculptures all around the apse.  The Archeological Survey of India, which maintains the Ajanta Caves, has beautifully illuminated the sculptures. The sculptures cover various events of Buddha's life.  

            While Buddha sat in deep meditation, he was tempted by Mara, a demon. Mara sent his army of goblins to torment Buddha; he also sent his beautiful daughter to tempt Buddha. We see his army of goblins in the right; his beautiful daughters in the front. But despite the torments and temptations, Buddha was steadfast in his meditation

             Temptation is part of human nature. We easily get tempted by material things or by sexual desire. Thus, temptation finds mention in all the major religions of the world. While we meditate the unconscious fears and desires come out. This is depicted in myths, and the art as temptation.  

            A hero is one who does not succumb to temptation.  Many of us abandon our duty to be honest and yield to the temptation of material wealth. We give into corruption.  A nation, like a person, who gives into temptation, can never reach Nirvana. 

A Pillar from Ajanta Caves

A Pillar from Ajanta Caves

Gupta Period,5th Century CE

         While the three types of pillars invented by the Greeks are well known,  the variety of pillars invented by the Indian architect has hardly been explored. And what a variety of pillars we have: from the massive round pillars of Indus Valley to the simple pillars of Sanchi, from the ornate pillars of Ellora to the hanging pillars of Lepakshi Temple in Andhra Pradesh. There are pillars in animal forms in South Indian Temples to the musical pillars of the Padmanabhan temple in Trivendrum.  There is the gallery of 1000 pillars in the Rameshvaram Temple to the 1000 pillars of Ranakpur Temple in Rajasthan --and no two pillars are alike ! But the ingenuity of the Indian architect is forgotten. 

            Here is a pillar from Ajanta. The Ajanta Caves themselves have about ten types of pillars. The beauty of this pillar is not only it's simplicity,  but also the use of sculpture in the square. The sculpture depicts a young couple chatting with each other while two servants stand by. The sculpture not just captures the opulence of the golden age of Indian history, the Gupta Period,  but also contains a political message : all is well in the Gupta Empire. If couples have time to chat, then there is peace and prosperity in the Empire. Since a happy family is essential for the prosperity of the society,  the family had to be emphasised. No other pillar in the world carries a more socio-political message than this pillar in Ajanta. 

          These days we do chatting, but no longer in the cosy surrounding of a family. The family as a social unit is under danger. Perhaps we need to learn something from the ancients. 

Nagraj and His Wife ( The Royal Couple : The King and Queen of the Snakes)

Nagraj and His Wife ( The Royal Couple : The King and Queen of the Snakes)

Ajanta Caves,Gupta Period, 5th Century CE

            Buddhism borrowed heavily from Hinduism. As Hinduism spread throughout India,  it assimilated the local gods and tradition. Since the snake was a threat and a boon, it was worshipped in large parts of India, specially in the South.  The King of the Snake is considered the guardian of the village. Small shrines of Nagraj are generally found outside the villages. Since the snake has the ability to shed it's skin, he also symbolises resurrection of life, or the ability to change oneself. Since it crawls on the ground, he also symbolises desire. Thus, it stands for myriad symbols.

            Here we see a pensive Nagraj sitting with his consort. The Queen is attentively looking at the Nagraj. Perhaps, the Nagraj has decided to renounce the world and is about to take refuge in the Buddha. He too seeks enlightenment and Nirvana.  It is a crucial moment when a difficult decision is to be taken. Prince Siddharth must have undergone the same anxiety when he was contemplating leaving his wife and son.

            To achieve greatness we have to sacrifice our interests. The path to Nirvana is a difficult and arduous one. Only a few can successfully complete this journey.

                     "To be or not to be, that is the question?"--to quote Hamlet.