Copy of painting in the caves of Ajanta by John Griffiths and students of the Bombay School of Art.

From the left hand side of the painting there is a woman, probably a queen, sitting on a striped cushion, her face is not visible. There are attendants around her looking with concern at her. In the next section of the painting a king, wearing a large turban, sits on a throne with two women holding an umbrella over him. There are other people around him, including one in a blue and white striped shirt who faces him as if listening to what is being said. There is a woman at the feet of the king.

The following scene had a woman sitting on a striped cushion, probably the same queen seen in the left of the painting. She holds her hands on her cheek and looks forlorn. She has attendants around her. The far right of the painting has been damaged in a fire and is therefore dark but it is possible to see a group of women following the king (identifiable through his turban) somewhere. Across the entire painting there are scratch marks which indicate the level of damage on the actual cave paintings.

Historical significance: The paintings inside the Ajanta caves tell stories from the lives of the Buddha. This one depicts scenes from the Saddanta jataka.

Narrative:
A queen sits looking forlorn and announces to the king that she has an unsatisfied desire for the tusks of a six-tusk (Saddanta) elephant. The elephant is infact her husband from a previous birth and she wants to take revenge on him for his supposed unfaithfulness. She lets the hunters of the court know where this six-tusk elephant lives. (IS.33-1885)

A brave hunter goes in search of the elephant and from the top of a rocky landscape (IS.19-1885) he catches sight of it and the herd with which he lives while they are bathing in the lotus pond.

The hunter digs a pit along a path which the elephants use and climbs in. He mortally wounds the elephant as he walks over the pit and the rest of the herd flees into the jungle, lost without their leader. The hunter saws the tusks off the elephant and ties them to a yoke in order to carry them to the queen (IS.19-1885).

When the queen sees the tusks she is full of remorse and regrets the action. To make amends the relics of the elephant are kept in a stupa within the caitya-hall of a monastery which the king and his attendants visit. (IS.33-1885)

The cave paintings of Ajanta are the oldest surviving examples of painting in India. They depict stories from the lives of the Buddha (the jatakas) and date from the 1st century BC to about AD 480. The cave complex was discovered in 1819 and since then attempts have been made to document the paintings inside them. In 1844 Major Robert Gill was commissioned to make copies. Unfortunately most of the paintings he completed were destroyed in a fire in 1866. To make up for this loss, from 1872, John Griffiths from the Bombay school of Art and seven Indian students spent every winter for the following 13 years at the caves producing approximately 300 paintings, of which this is one.

Painting by John Griffiths and students from the Bombay School of Art

This is a copy of a painting in cave 10 at Ajanta. These cave paintings are the oldest surviving examples of painting in India and date from the 1st century BC to about AD 480. They depict stories from the lives of the Buddha (the Jatakas). This one depicts a scene from the Saddanta Jataka.

The cave complex was discovered in 1819 and attempts were made to document the paintings inside them. In 1844 Major Robert Gill was commissioned to make copies. Unfortunately most of the paintings he completed were destroyed in a fire in 1866. To make up for this loss, from 1872 to 1885 John Griffiths from the Bombay School of Art and seven Indian students spent every winter at the caves. This is one of the approximately 300 paintings they produced.

IS.33-1885