Ajanta cave paintings are a source of visual delight for historians and art lovers. The paintings are dated from 2nd century B.C.E (Mauryan period) to 6th- 7th century C.E. These paintings are colored photographs of ancient India! Although most scenes depict Buddhist themes such as Jataka tales, boddhisatvas (beings on the way to enlightenment), the non Buddhist themes include animals and birds, vegetation, war scenes etc.
Ajanta caves were meant as shelters for Buddhist monks during monsoon period. Monsoon season in India is also the time when a lot of new life sprouts such as insects, soil creatures etc. Sheltering oneself during the monsoons not only protected the monks against nature but also spared the lives of the new creatures, an important precept of Buddhism. These hand cut granite caves were probably cut by monks themselves, at least the first few caves. Painting the inside of the caves was meant to decorate the caves as well as use the decorations for educational purpose. Below is a black and white photo copy of Ajanta painting (source of the photocopy material unknown at the time of writing the blog). Shown here is a woman holding an offering tray in a typical Indian manner i.e., on the palm of one of her hands and the arm is folded in a manner so that the hand is at shoulder level. This manner of holding auspicious items such as holy water, offering tray, on the palm of a raised hand, is still practiced in villages in India. Ajanta painting from the Gupta period (3rd century C.E) show that this very typical practice is an ancient Indian mannerism. Looks beautiful!
In photo below shows a sculpture of a (2nd century A.D) woman carrying a pitcher
with a glass as its lid and grapes in the other hand. (Source: Mathura Museum, India)
The photo below is that of Goddess Ganga's sculpture (dated to 4th century A.D). She is shown carrying holy water pitcher in one hand. (Source: National Museum, New Delhi)
The photo below is that of Yama, the God of death ( dated to 10th century A.D). He is shown carrying a small tray in one of his hands, in a typical Indian manner.
The photo below is that of Goddess Yamuna's sculpture. She is shown carrying holy water in one of her hands. Source: National Museum, New Delhi. The sculpture is dated to 5th century A.D.
The manner of carrying the pot vessel is again similar to that painted in Ajanta painting photo and is very much an indigenous Indian style of carrying pious items.
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