bolizing the Deer Park at Sarnath. Buddha images such as this one be-
came so popular that temples housing Buddha statues seem largely to
have displaced the stupa as the norm in Buddhist sacred architecture.
AJANTAThe new popularity of Buddha imagery may be seen in
the interior of a chaitya hall (FIG. 6-14) carved out of the moun-
tainside at Ajanta, northeast of Bombay, at about the same time a
Gupta sculptor created the classic seated Buddha at Sarnath. Ajanta
had been the site of a small Buddhist monastery for centuries, but
royal patrons of the local Vakataka dynasty, allied to the Guptas by
marriage, added more than 20 new caves in the second half of the
fifth century. The typological similarity of the fifth-century Ajanta
chaitya halls to the earlier example at Karle (FIG. 6-1) is immediately
evident and consistent with the conservative nature of religious ar-
chitecture in all cultures. At Ajanta, however, sculptors carved into
the front of the stupa an image of the Buddha standing between
columns. Ajanta’s fame, however, stems from the many caves that re-
tain their painted wall (FIG. 6-15) and ceiling decoration (see “The
Painted Caves of Ajanta,” below).
Buddhists and Hindus (and
adherents of other faiths) prac-
ticed their religions side by side
in India, often at the same site.
For example, the Hindu Vakata-
ka king Harishena (r. 462–481)
and members of his court were
the sponsors of new caves at the6-14Interior of cave 19, Ajanta,
India, second half of fifth century.
The popularity of Gupta Buddha
statues led to a transformation in
Indian religious architecture. Cave
19 at Ajanta is a chaitya hall with
an image of the Buddha carved
on the front of its stupa.A
rt historians assume India had a rich painting tradition in an-
cient times, but because early Indian artists often used perish-
able materials, such as palm leaf and wood, and because of the tropical
climate in much of India, nearly all early Indian painting has been lost.
At Ajanta in the Deccan, however, paintings cover the walls, pillars, and
ceilings of several caves datable to the second half of the fifth century.
FIG. 6-15reproduces a detail of one of the restored murals in cave 1 at
Ajanta. The bodhisattva Padmapani sits among a crowd of devotees,
both princes and commoners. With long, dark hair hanging down be-
low a jeweled crown, he stands holding his attribute, a blue lotus flower,
in his right hand. The painter rendered with finesse the sensuous form
of the richly attired bodhisattva, gently modeling the figure with grada-
tions of color and delicate highlights and shading, especially evident in
the face and neck. The artist also carefully considered the placement of
the painting in the cave. The bodhisattva gazes downward at wor-
shipers passing through the entrance to the shrine on their way to the
rock-cut Buddha image in a cell at the back of the cave.
To create the Ajanta murals, the painters first applied two layers of
clay mixed with straw and other materials to the walls. They then
added a third layer of fine white lime plaster. Unlike true fresco paint-
ing (see “Fresco Painting,” Chapter 19, page 504), in which the painters
apply colors to wet plaster, the Indian painters waited for the lime to
dry. This method produces less durable results, and the Ajanta murals
have suffered water damage over the centuries. The painters next out-
lined the figures in dark red and then painted in the details of faces,
costumes, and jewelry. They used water-soluble colors produced pri-
marily from local minerals, including red and yellow ocher. Blue, used
sparingly, came from costly lapis lazuli imported from Afghanistan.
The last step was to polish the painted surface with a smooth stone.
The Painted Caves of Ajanta
MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES6-15Bodhisattva Padmapani, detail of a wall painting in cave 1,
Ajanta, India, second half of fifth century.
In this early example of Indian painting in an Ajanta cave, the artist
rendered the sensuous form of the richly attired bodhisattva with gentle
gradations of color and delicate highlights and shadows.