Ancient inscriptions and their meaning.

'Why should not a monument be raised by those possessing wealth, desirous of mundane happiness as also of liberation...'  

                           -- Cave 26 of Ajanta (translator: anonymous)

'As long as the sun shines with ray's reddish like fresh arsenic, even so long this spotless cave containing an excellent hall dedicated... be enjoyed.'  -- Ajanta cave (translator: anonymous)

'Blossoms are the ornaments of trees, It is the flashes of lightning that adorn the big rain clouds, The lakes are adorned by lotuses and water lilies by their intoxicated bees:  But virtues brought to perfection are the proper ornaments of living beings.'  -- ajanta cave.

                 (translated by Kern, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol 1)

For where ever a holy man of outstanding character, chooses to settle, the place becomes auspicious and delightful- it becomes an object of hermitage and pilgrimage. Cave 2. (anonymous author and translator)

Any one born in the human condition -which is not to be despised- who is of sound constitution and acute senses, who though death inevitably awaits him, is yet so reckless that he fails to do a good deed everyday, must be under some misconception. Cave 2.  ( anonymous author and translator)

Some observations about ancient Indian inscriptions:

Buddhist caves, such as Kondane Caves of MAharashtra, have an inscription that states that part of the cave was made by Balaka, the pupil of Kanha.  It shows that people of rahminical faith freely and openly followed other faiths as per their personal wishes (Kanha being Krishna's other name).

Names of women donors are frequently mentioned in the inscriptions (as in the caves of Pitalkhora); sometimes without accompanying male names.  Women in those times wielded a fair social equality in terms of freedom to profess their chosen religion, denounce family life in favour of spiritual life ( many nuns are mentioned in ancient inscriptions), donate personal wealth and getting social credit for who they were and for what they did in their individual capacity.  Men would also freely mention donations made by their wif, sister, daughter etc.  A translated inscription from Pitalkhora cave states that gift of cave cells by Magila, a Rajas physician, whose mother was of Vachha family, and of his daughter Datta and son Dattaka.  J Burgess states that

The prominence of the names of mothers and wives and daughters and nuns indicate that in ancient India, women enjoyed a much more public and honoured place than they have done for centuries past and this can be seen in ancient Sanskrit and Pali inscriptions.

Usually cave inscriptions record donations for merit making; but not so at Kuda caves.

Blacksmiths, gardeners, traders, lay people, women etc all kind of people from various backgrounds donated for construction of Buddhist cave temples.  Gifts were made not only for temple construction but also for paths leading upto the temple.

Karle Cave Inscription:

"Seth (trader) Bhutapala from Vejayanti has established a rock mansion - the most excellent in Jambudvipa (India)."

Junar Inscription:

"The meritorious gift of vivasenaka- a chief householder and upright merchant- a chetyagriha, dedicated for the welfare and happiness of the whole world."

Inscription at Ajanta:

"... May this hall, given out of affection, so long increase the comfort of saints, as the sun chases the darkness away with its Rays."

"... no happiness produced in the circle of birth produces (real) happiness."

Some observations on South Indian ancient inscriptions:

As per inscriptions records from the Vijaynagra dynasty, donations were made for groves around temples, for creation of flower gardens for the temple, paddy fields for feeding gods were also donated.  South Indian temples would normally have a courtyard, groves and flower gardens.  Gifts would also be made in the form of cows for ghee for the lamps, brass vessel for making offering to gods, flower garden for generating flower for temple decoration, donations for perpetual temple lamp, silver vessels, pendants (inset with precious stones), copper images of gods, well for the temple, donations for maintaining festive processions, fly whisks, white silk umbrella for use during processions etc.

... TO BE CONTINUED.

On Ajanta Cave Paintings -

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)

 

.https://www.flickr.com/photos/11473477@N05/

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.

..

The concept of non violence in Buddhism extends to all living beings including animals and birds. In this story, the prince (bodhisattva i.e., Buddha himself in his last birth before he achieved enlightenment) was tested for his generosity. The neighbouring kingdom of Kalinga was in the grip of severe drought and to help people, the prince gave them an elephant that brought rain to his own kingdom. People of his own kingdom did not like this gesture and asked the king to turn the prince out of the palace. The king obliged and the prince left the palace along with his wife and 2 children. The scene in the painting shows the princess (with an umbrella over her) following the prince. To further test the generosity of the price, the Gods sent an evil Brahmin (also shown in the painting) to the prince on his way out who asked the prince for his 2 children so they would look after him. The prince again obliged and left for jungle with only his wife. Eventually the story ends happily. This is the Visvantra Jataka.

The blue pigment used in Ajanta paintings is Lapis Lazuli.