Ancient Cave Paintings, Murals and Frescoes

The paintings which were created before the Ajanta and Bagh Caves belong to Pre-Buddha caves. The best example of the Pre-Buddha paintings is the Jogimara cave.

Jogimara Cave Paintings

Jogimara Cave is situated at Amarnath near the origin of Narmada, in Surguja in Chhattisgarh. The paintings of these caves have been dated from 300BC to as back as 1000BC. The roof of the cave has some seven paintings which include the human figures, fish and elephants. There are two layers of paintings in it. The Original paintings are of expert artists but the upper layer has been done by incompetent artists. In true sense, the Jogimara Caves seem to be the first human endeavours as expert paintings.

Murals of Ajanta

Ajanta is located about a hundred kilometres from Aurangabad, in the horse shoe shaped gorge of the Waghora River in the Sahyadri. The paintings of Ajanta are known to be the fountainhead of all the classic paintings of Asia.

Murals, Miniatures and Frescoes

Murals are large works executed on the walls of solid structures, as in the Ajanta Caves and the Kailashnath temple. Miniature paintings are executed on a very small scale for books or albums on perishable material such as paper and cloth. Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid lime plaster. This implies that the Fresco is done on wet plaster and that is why it is more durable work than Mural. Murals are painted on already dried surfaces.

The early murals of India were painted by guilds of painters. The themes were Buddhist, Jain and Hindu. However, the dharma or duty in life of the painters was to create their art: to continue the legacy of their ancestors and to present visions of life which looked beyond the veils of the material world, to the divinity which underlies the whole of creation.

Ajanta Paintings: Murals or Frescoes

• The mural paintings of Ajanta are not all frescoes, as they are sometimes mistakenly described, for they were not painted on wet lime plaster. These murals were executed with the use of a binding medium of glue applied to a thin coat of dried lime wash. Below this surface wash were two layers of plaster covering the stone walls.
• The first was a rough, thick layer of mud, mixed with rock-grit, vegetable fibres, grass and other materials; the second was a finer coat consisting of mud, rock dust or sand and finer vegetable fibres, which provided a smooth surface for the lime wash on which the paintings were made.

The artist got his colours from the simple materials that were available in these hills. For his yellow and red he used ochre, for black he used lamp soot, for his white he used lime. Only for his blue he used lapis lazuli, which came from Afghanistan. These simple colours were blended to provide the numerous colours and subtle hues, which are seen in the Ajanta paintings.

Ajanta Caves

The monument of Ajanta has 31 caves, which were excavated in the horse-shoe shaped gorge of the Waghora River in two phases. Ajanta caves can be classified into two phases namely the Hinayana phase (Uniconic) and the Mahayana phase (Iconic). Hinayana is the earlier phase when symbols were used to worship Buddha as compared to the later Mahayana phase when he was worshipped in the physical form. The first was around the 2nd century B.C. and the second was between the 4th and 6th centuries A.D.

Both phases of the excavation and the creation of art were patronised by Hindu kings, the Satavahanas in the early period and the Vakatakas in the latter period.

• Hinayana Buddhists did not believe in making any figure of the Buddha. Instead, they worshipped symbols, such as the stupa and the wheel.
• The large body of surviving, magnificent paintings were made during the 5th and 6th centuries. By then the Mahayana form of Buddhism had evolved, in which the Buddha is represented in human form and worshipped as a god. Mahayana Buddhism also believes in Bodhisattvas, beings who are on their way to enlightenment and who would help all of humanity to attain salvation.
• The paintings of the 5th and 6th centuries at Ajanta mainly depict the Jataka tales. These are the stories of the Buddha in his previous lives, when he was still on the path to enlightenment. These stories depict the qualities of a virtuous life and are told to serve as examples for the followers of the Buddha.
• On the ceilings of the caves is the depiction of the teeming life of the world, its flowers and fruit, the animals of the world and mythical creatures.

Padmapani and Vajrapani

The Padmapani, the Bearer of the Lotus. This gentle figure is one of the masterpieces of Indian art. The Vajrapani, the Bearer of the Thunderbolt. The glorious figure portrays the majesty of the spirit.

Ajanta’s Central position in art of Asia

• In the art of Asia, Ajanta owns a supreme and central position
• There has been an unbroken tradition of painting in India, which began at Ajanta 2,200 years ago.
• The legacy of Ajanta moved along the trade routes to inspire painters in Afghanistan, Central Asia and China and from there to Korea and Japan.
• The paintings of Ajanta are one of the most valuable treasures of the art of the world as they enshrine a sublime and compassionate view of life.

Other Cave Paintings in India

To the external world, Ajanta Caves are probably the only examples of Indian Murals. However, it has been proved that the tradition which was started at Ajanta was actually started way back in ancient times. And it did not end with Ajanta but carried forward by people of different faiths at many parts of India. The creative impulse of Ajanta is seen in many other contemporary sites in India as follows:

Cave Paintings at Bagh

• Located on the bank of Baghani river in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.
• These rock cut caves posses the most amazing paintings known to be made by ancient man. Out of the initial 9 caves only 5 have been extant.
• The legend says that these caves were established by Buddhist monk Dataka. The caves were carved in late 4th century – 6th century AD.

Bagh Caves are known for Mural Paintings. Murals of Bagh certainly represent “golden age” of Indian classical art. The walls and ceilings were to be painted were covered with a thick mud plaster in brownish orange color. Over this plaster there was done lime-priming and then paintings were laid. This is also known as tempera technique, which refers to use of permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder media.

At the time of discovery of the Bagh caves, only Cave no. 3 and 4 had endured the ravages of time.

Armamalai Cave paintings

• Located in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, Armamalai Cave is known for a Jain temple with ancient paintings, Petroglyphs and rock art.
• The cave has three parts with walls of mud and adobe, turning it into complex of three shrines – trikūta. The cave belongs to 8th century AD. The ceiling and walls of the cave are covered with beautiful color paintings depicting the stories of Jainism, many of them don’t survive to date.
• These paintings are similar to murals in Sittanavasal cave which is located 250 km south of Armamalai Cave. Western part of ceiling is adorned with floral designs with lotus as dominating motive – similar as in Sittanavasal.

Paintings at Badami

• There are very little survives of the mural paintings in the caves of Badami in Karnataka. The paintings of Badami are among the earliest surviving in Hindu temples, just as the paintings at Ajanta and Sittannavasal are the earliest Buddhist and Jain murals.
• The caves at Vatapi were fully decorated with murals; many of them were inspired from Puranas. The most surviving murals include the paintings of Shiva and Parvathi as well as some other characters. The painting style is close with that in Ajanta. The Cave number 4 has a mural painting of Adinatha, the Jain tirthankara.

Pitalkhora

• The caves of Pitalkhora are located near Ellora in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. Pitalkhora Caves belonged to once upon largest temple complexes of Buddhists in India. Today it is known as largest group of Hinayana Buddhism monuments in India.

Bhaja & Kanheri Caves

• The Buddhist caves of Bhaja and Kanheri in Maharashtra and those of Kerala were also painted profusely. Paintings from the 6th century to the 10th century are found at Ellora.
• Bhaja Caves located at the Valley of Indrayani River, near Lonavala in Maharashtra has 22 rock-cut caves that were created approximately 2,200 years ago, circa 200 BC. These are one of the oldest surviving examples of rock cut architecture in India. These caves are known for their ornate facades. There is an impressive chaitya (Cave 12), though the most of the caves in Bhaja are viharas. Apart from the sculptural wonders, Bhaja Caves contain the paintings of Buddha. Due to the nearness to Karla caves, the Bhaja Caves are sometimes known as Bhaja-Karla

Kancheepuram

The Kailasanatha temple at Kancheepuram has the remains of exquisite paintings of the 7th century. The

T Pallava kings of Tamil Nadu gave exuberant and glorious expression to themes of Siva in the temple of Panamalai and Kailasanatha in Kancheepuram. The walls of the pradakshina patha (the outer ambulatory path) of the Kailasanatha temple were once covered with paintings of brilliant colours. Their traces are still discernible and provide us a view of the excellent art of that period.

Sittannavasal

The Jain caves at Sittannavasal in Tamil Nadu also have beautiful paintings of the 9th century.

Mural Paintings in Brihadeeswara temple, Thanjavur

The Brihadeeswara temple of the 10th century at Thanjavur has another exquisite body of work. There is a mural painting of King Rajaraja Chola and guru Karuvurar in the Brihadeeswara temple, Tamil Nadu from 11th century. This is the earliest royal portrait in Indian painting. In keeping with ancient traditions, the guru is given importance and the king is shown standing behind him.

Murals at Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

The ceiling of the great Virupaksha Temple at Hampi is covered with paintings of the 15th century. As in the paintings of the past, the themes are mainly religious. There is a deep intertwining of the story of the Vijaynagar Empire and its kings, with the stories of the gods they believed in. Along with epic themes, we see the procession of the revered sage Vidyaranya.

Kuda Caves

Located in Raigad district of Maharashtra. Walls of caves were plastered with earth and rice-chaff. Several caves contain traces of paintings.

Lenyadri Caves

Lenyadri Caves are also known as Ganesh Lena. Located in Pune district of Maharashtra. Lenyadri contains nearly 40 rock-cut caves. Lenyadri caves have preserved traces of ancient cave paintings and inscriptions.