“The nature of beauty is such as assumes new forms every moment, so does the art of

Ajanta”. – unknown, a Sanskrit poet.

Ajanta is one of those monuments which gives us the glimpse of secular life in ancient India.
The Ajanta cave paintings were discovered in 1819 by John Smith, a colonial British officer
while hunting a tiger in the forest. There are hundreds of painted panels on its wall which can
be dated around 1st century BC – 5th century AD. The oldest and near contemporary text with
Ajanta which deals with fine arts is Vishnudharmottara (6th century A.D). In one of its chapters
named Chitrasutra it is mentioned that painting is an art par excellence. If we go through
chapter 35th of Vishnudharmottara then we come to know that there is a myth about the
origin of the chitra. It is mentioned that sage Narayana with the good of the people at his heart
propounded the chitra. It is said that he drew the figure of a beautiful woman on the ground
with mango juice from which a beautiful apsara named Urvasi emerged. Narayana taught this
art to Vishwakarma who is considered to be the divine architect. This myth is very significant
because of the fact that painting and perhaps a sculpture were practiced together by artist
under the general supervision of the master architect.
As far as the subject matter of Ajanta paintings is concerned, jataka stories, scenes from the
life of Buddha as Gautama – his birth in the Lumbini garden, events of his childhood, Mara’s
futile attempt to tempt him, his attainment of the highest knowledge, the conversion of Nanda,
subjugation of Nalagiri, were painted on the walls. The motive behind depicting the jataka
stories on the walls of Ajanta was the propagation of the faith of Buddhism. The ajanta artist
selected a particular jataka for example the Chhaddanta Jataka to demonstrate bodhisattva’s
boundless generosity, the vessantara Jataka to depict his charity, the Vidurapandita Jataka to
show his wisdom. If we see the subject matter of the early paintings in caves 10 and 9 which is
dated around second and first century BC respectively, it appears to be worship of the bodhi
tree and a stupa by a royal party. In these paintings we do not notice the picture of Buddha,
instead the Buddha was depicted symbolically by painting either the Bodhi tree, the throne,
the wheel, the Padukas or Triratna. It suggests that these paintings were done by the
Theravada artists. However, with the growing influence of Mahayana, the Manusi buddha in
human form was also depicted around the middle period of these paintings. For example, the
painting of Manushi Buddha on the door of cave 17 is very interesting and important from
iconographic point of view. If we noticed in the ceiling of the Viharas, they were also painted
with a variety of subjects. As the Mahayana was being influential it brought many ideas of the
Buddhist paradise and as a result celestial beings like Kinnaras, Vidyadharas and Gandharavas
soaring in the heavenly regions amidst clouds were depicted. Apart from that a lot of subjects
were also depicted on the ceilings such as floral patterns, geometrical designs jewellery-
motifs, mythical beings, playful birds and humans. Inscriptions can be seen on many paintings
indicating that it was the gift of some sakya bhikshu for the attainment of supreme knowledge
by all beings. One inscription mentions that the gift is said to endow on the donor good looks,
good luck and good qualities. Apart from all these the miracle of sravasti was also a very
popular subject at Ajanta. Rows of Buddha figures, one on the other, was also painted to depict
the 1000 Buddhas. This painting can be seen in cave 2.
The narrative subjects at Ajanta are painted in such a way that a single story may cover the
entire wall and even extend on the adjacent wall at an angle of 90 degrees. The perfect
example is Mahajanaka Jataka. Late paintings at Ajanta comprises of the paintings of Buddha
and bodhisattvas. These paintings can be seen in caves 10 and 9. They are painted on
architraves and pillars. In the same, the paintings on the subject like the miracle of sravasti are
painted on the walls of the antechamber that is antarala. When we talk about the lighting
arrangement for seeing the paintings, it Indicates that when the paintings were actually drawn
oil lamps were used. These were suspended to iron hooks that can be found embedded in the
plaster. These paintings were seen by devotees during daytime. We can experience that after
entering the Cave it takes some time for the eyes to get adjusted to the dim light. It is obvious
that white cloth seats were used for reflecting light. After that on the dark walls all the figures
appear by taking definite shape and form. When the rays of the setting sun enters the caves
through doors and windows the caves get beautifully illuminated. Various rasas are used in the
subject of the paintings of Ajanta. However, there are two dominant or frequently used rasas:
the one is karuna rasa (Compassion) and the other is santa rasa (peace). These rasas add
emotions to these paintings and make it as they have life.
It is also important to understand the technique of Ajanta paintings. An indigenous technique
was employed by the artist of Ajanta in preparing the ground and executing the paintings. The
compact volcanic rock with its many cavities was the ‘carrier’ for the paintings. To provide a
firm grip to the covering plaster the surface of the rock was made uneven. The paintings
consisted of mud plaster which included the mixture of vegetable fibres, paddy husk, rock-grit
and sand. The ground-coat of this plaster consisted of course materials over which another
basal layer was added made up of mud and ferruginous earth. After that the surface was
treated with a thin layer of lime wash over which pigments were applied. The pigments used in
the Ajanta paintings consisted of inorganic minerals such as red and yellow ochres, Lapis lazuli
for the blue and Terra verda or glaucomite for the green. The black pigment was taken out
from lamp-black and white from kaolin, lime or gypsum. The animal glue worked as the
binding medium. The Vishnudharmottara also mentions five primary colours that were used in
the paintings of Ajanta. Shweta or sudha was the name of white colour, rakt for red, pita was
yellow, Krishna was the word for black and harita for green. The text also mentions about the
various types of vartanas or the use of the brush for shading purposes. The book means three
types of vartanas for shading purposes. The first was patravartana with lines having the shape
of patra or leaf. Second is hairika vartana or very minute (sukshma) and the 3 rd is binduvartana,
formed by dots. A finer brush called tulika was also used, that was made out of a thin bamboo
rod with a cotton swab or a small feather attached to it. It was also known as lekhani.
To conclude, it can be said that the ajanta paintings are full of great aesthetic qualities. The
Vishnudharmottara describes the quality of these paintings as following: ‘the painting glistens
and embraces by its disposition as if coming out to meet the spectator and smiles with grace
and appears absolutely full of vitality. It breathes as such a chitra is really full of all auspicious
signs’. The best quality of these paintings is that, it is imbued with feeling and can be perfectly
called Bhavachitra which consists of all types of rasas. Thus, it can be seen that the Ajanta
paintings is set to the highest standard laid down in the Vishnudharmottara. The text codifies all
the norms and standards which the Ajanta artist prescribed for themselves. According to the
text, these paintings fulfil the main objectives of human life, namely dharma, Kama, artha, and
moksha. Last but not the least, it reminds of what Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book ‘Discovery of
India’, observed, “Ajanta takes us back into a distant, dreamlike, but a very real world.”