An Introduction to the Ajanta Caves: With Examples of Six Caves

Contents
Acknowledgements
General Information
A Note to the Reader
Chapter I: Introduction
     Introductory
     What Were the Caves Called by the Makers of Ajanta?
          Caityagriha vs. vihara: A dubious classification
          Kandara, shailagriham, and layanam
          Mandapa
          Stupaviharam, munirajacaityam, caityamandiram or caityagriha
     Political Background
          The Satavahanas
               Patronage
               The chronology of the Satavahanas
               The Satavahana period caves of Ajanta
          The Vakatakas
               The chronology of the Vakatakas
               The Vakataka period caves of Ajanta
               About the conflicts between Rishika and Ashmaka
     Buddhism of Ajanta
          The erroneous constructs of the Hinayana and Mahayana
          The mainstream Buddhist schools
          Is there a Mahayana at Ajanta?
     The Samgha at the Samgharama of Ajanta
     The Original Layout of the Fifth-Century Mandapas
Chapter II: Cave 1
     Sequence of Excavation
          460–61 CE: The planning
          Late 463 CE: The beginning of excavation
          464–mid-465 CE: The porch and the interior front aisle
               Late 464: Excavation of the main doorway
          Late 465–early 469 CE: The hall and porch colonnade
               The window types and aisle-doors
               Late 465 CE: The excavation of the windows
               466–68 CE: The hall
               The pillar decorations
                    Early 469 CE: The interior colonnades
                    Late 469 CE: The porch colonnade
          470 CE: The cross-axis abandoned and shrine antechamber begins
               The plan for pillared-chamber-with-inner-cellsabandoned for simple cells
               Excavation of the antechamber
               The shrine doorway
          471: The shrine and the right pillared pavilion on the front court
               The shrine
               The right pillared pavilion on front court
          475–77: The final years
               475–76: The paintings on the facade and the porch
               476 CE: Upgrading of cell doorways and excavation of the left pillared pavilion
               476–77: The shrine images and painting activities in the cave
     Narrative Wall Paintings
          Maitribala
          Mahasudarshana
          Shibi-Kapota
          Udrayana
          Sudhana
          Shankhapala
          Janaka
          Kalyanakarin
          Sumagadha
          Mahoshadha
          Maravijaya
          Mahapratiharya
          Campaka
          Nagakumara
          Prabhasa
Chapter III: Cave 2
     Sequence of Excavation
          Early 465 CE: The beginning
          466 CE: The ‘conversion’ of the dormitoryinto a temple
          467–68 CE: The hall
          469 CE: The cells, pillars, and carved decorations
               More about pillars and pilasters
               The shrine antechamber
               Paintings
          475–477 CE: The porch-end pillared pavilions, shrine, etc.
               475: The shrine
               Evidence of worship activities
     Narrative Wall Paintings
          Bhuridatta
          Prabhasa
          Kshantivadin
          Maitribala
          Hamsa
          Shibi-Kapota
          Bhagavatprasuti
          Mahapratiharya
          Bodhisatva King in a Mountainous Landscape
          Rúru
          Vidhura
          Purna
     Devotional Wall Paintings
          Bodhisatva King in a Mountainous Landscape
          One thousand Buddhas
          Yaksha temple of Manibhadra and Purnabhadra
               The shrine’s left wall: painted version of a yaksha temple
               The shrine’s right wall: painted version of another yaksha temple
          Yaksha temple for Hariti and Pancika or Kubera
               Hariti chapel, left wall: unidentified scene
               Hariti chapel, right wall: unidentified scene
Chapter IV: Cave 9
     Art and Architectural Features
          The layout
          Architecture
     Narrative Wall Paintings
          Pandara
          Mahagovinda
          Shasha
          Kunala
          Udaya
          Kashyapa
          Elapattra
Chapter V: Cave 10
     Art and Architectural Features
          The layout
          The facade
          The vault
Chapter VI: Cave 16
     Sequence of Excavation
          Varahadeva, the patron
          460–61: The planning
          Late 462: The elephant gate, Nagendra shrine, and tunnelled staircase
          463: The cistern, facade, porch, and maindoor
               Early 463: The cistern, facade, and front court
               Late 463: The porch and main door
          464, 465, 466: The hall
          464: The front aisle and ‘hall-windows’
               The front aisle
               The ‘hall-windows’
          466: Plans for a shrine and the ‘conversion’process
               Early 466: The porch floor and aisle-doors lowered - the first time
                    The aisle-doors
                    The porch floor and aisle doors re-cut downwards
               Late 466: The ceiling decorations and ribbed capitals inthe front aisle
          467: The excavation of cells
               The interior cells
               The porch-end cells
          468: The shrine begins; decorations on the pilasters, main door, shrine pillars; addition of the square bases; the porch columns defined with capitals and adhishtana
               The shrine begins
               The carvings of main door, porch pilasters, shrine pillars
               The interior floor lowered for adding the square basesbelow axial pillars
               The porch floor lowered – the second time, to add the adhishthanas
               The porch pillars and capitals defined with 3.5 volutes
          469: The painting work and the a+ modedoor fittings
               The A+ mode door fitting in some interior cells
          475–77: Upgrading the cells to the 'D' mode door fittings, the donative inscription, and the shrine Buddha
               477: The pralamba-padasana posture
               The shrine door
               The dedicatory inscription
          478–80: Intrusive paintings and dedicationof the main image
     Narrative Wall Paintings
          Devavatara
          Sutasoma
          Vartakapota
          Vishvantara
          Bisa
          Kumbha
          Hastin
          Mukapangu
          Nanda
          Mahapratiharya
          Mahasamaja
          Bhagavan
Chapter VII: Cave 17
     Sequence of Excavation
          Upendra[gupta II], the donor
          463: The tunnelled staircase and facade
               The tunnelled staircase
               The facade
          464: The cistern, narrower porch, higher floor, and main doorway
               The cistern
               The porch
                    The columns
                    The main doorway
                    The narrower porch
                    The higher floor level
          465: The front aisle and ‘hall-windows’
               The chronology of the hall-windows, aisle-doors, and aisle-windows
               The front aisle
               The hall-windows
          466: The aisle-doors, simha dvara theme,lowering of the porch floor, and the ideaof adding square bases below interior axialpillars
               The aisle-doors
               The idea of the simha-dvara 
               The lowering of the porch floor
               The idea of adding square bases below the interior axial pillars
          467: The interior capitals, the forward cells, and the lone semi-circular step
               The hall partially done
               The interior capitals: 4.5 volutes
               The lone flying gandharva on a left pillar
               The cells: porch and front aisle
                    More about the porch-end cells
                    The lone semi-circular step
          468: The carved decorations, centralinterior cells, and shrine
               The carved decorations on the axial pillars
               Carved decoration on the main door
               The central cells on interior side walls
               The shrine antechamber
               The shrine
          475 CE: 3.5 ribs on the porch capitals
          477: The dedication of the image and worship activities
     Narrative Wall Paintings
          Simha
          Avalokiteshvara
          Samsaracakra
          Shuddhodana
          Udayin
          Dhanapala
          Rahula
          Sumati
          Mahasamaja
          Shibi
          Rúru
          Riksha
          Mriga
          Shaddanta
          Mahakapi
          Hastin
          Bodhi
          Sarvadada
          Hamsa
          Vishvantara
          Indra
          Vanara
          Sutasoma
          Sharabha
          Shasha
          Matriposhaka
          Matsya
          Shyama
          Mahisha
          Simhala
Spink ’s Research
     ‘Defining Features’
     Types of Doorways and Door Fittings
     Time Chart
Further Readings
General Plan of the Ajanta Caves