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CLAIR 7
BAST INDIA anything which is specifically Jaina, for the same motifs are used both by the Buddhists and followers of the Brahmanical faiths.
Although conforming to the common denominator of the art-tradition of Madhyadeśa, the sculptured friezes have a distinct place of their own in early Indian art. The facial features of many of the figures have a provincial look. The workmanship of the reliefs is by no means uniform, but taken as a whole, the execution displays a decided advance on the work of Bharhut.
The lower storey of the main wing of Cave 1 (Rāni-gumpha) has a running frieze which appears to depict the victorious march of a dig-vijayin king, starting from his capital, where people gaze at his departure from their houses and his return to the capital after passing through many lands. It is tempting to think that the exploits of Khāra vela inspired the theme of this long frieze.1
The friezes (plates 32A and 33A) on the facade of the main wing of the upper storey of Cave 1 compare favourably with the reliefs of the gateways of Sanchi and have practically nothing that would savour of the archaic traits of Bharhut, like frontality, lack of perspective, rudimentary plastic conception, etc. The reliefs display the artist's appreciable mastery over forms and skill in depicting figures in varied positions-front, back and side. The faces are rendered in full or in three-quarters and half profiles. The poses of the figures are fairly easy and natural, their movement elastic and emotions tolerably well-expressed. The composition is also fairly coherent and effective; the different figures bear relationship with one another. The reliefs are also mature in depth, displaying a considerable plasticity of form and naturalistic modelling. Slender figures of men and women are marked by a suavity of outline.
The reliefs on the other caves and even those of the lower storey of Cave 1, to a certain extent, are not of this standard. They are relatively crude and
Mitra, op. cit., pp. 20-22. According to one scholar, the scenes from this frieze would represent Parsvanitha's wanderings as a Tirtha kara and the honours shown to him. According to the same scholar again, the friezes on the upper storey of Cave 1 and on the front wall of Cavo 10 (Ganesa-gumpba) also represent scenes from the life of PÅrsvanatha including his rescue of Prabharati and his subsequent marriage with her (L.S.S.O. Malloy, Bengal District Gazetteers Purt, Calcutta, 1908, pp. 256-and 259). However, V.S. Agrawala is inclined to identify two of these scones with episodes from the maies of Dugyanta-Sankuntall and UdayanaVinvadatta ("Varvadatta and Sakuntald scenes in the Rantgumpha cave in Orisha', Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental An, XIV, 1946, pp. 102-09).
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