Book Title: Jaina Rock Cut Caves In Western India Part 01
Author(s): Viraj Shah
Publisher: Agam Kala Prakashan

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Page 138
________________ 112 Jaina Rock-cut Caves in Western India log. The seated man on left with a garment over one shoulder is the Brāhmaṇa (Kamatha) The next panel is unclear. Next are two standing males facing right where a man is sitting holding hair with hands above head. He is prince Parsvanātha plucking his hair and renouncing the world. Next is Parsvanātha standing with a snake hood above his head and coils behind his body. To his left is a man on lion in the attitude of attacking Parsvanatha, while to his right is Padmāvati. This is the scene of Kamatha's attack on meditating Parsvanātha. The other two rows are very dark. Only a few figures can be made out. First panel on left has two elephant riders facing each other. Elephants are moving towards each other in the attitude of attacking. The left one has one rider, while the right one has two male riders. Behind the right elephant are two males standing and watching the whole scene. The next panels on right are very unclear. In the third row, first few frames are destroyed, while the next one is very unclear. Next scene has two males seated within a pavilion. Next is a seated figure of a corpulent man. To his right is a composite animal standing on hind legs. Next stands a male in kāyotsarga, probably Bahuabli. To his right are two seated males with hands in anjali. The identification of these panels is difficult as most of its destroyed, but probably they narrate the episodes from the life of Bahubali. An important feature of these narrative panels is the absence of clouds, which form integral part of all the painted frames at Ellora. The reason could be the narrative nature of the panels unlike others where celestial beings are depicted. 5. Figures: The next large panel has two squares above one another. One square has a male flanked by females, while the other has two males and a female. The square near sidewall has a male in anjali and a man and a woman with patra in the hands. The other square has both the females in añjali. The rest of the portion of this panel has a depiction of standing Parsvanātha. He stands in kayotsarga with halo behind his head. Though the snake hoods above the head are not very clear, the tail of snake is clear near feet. Below him is a deity seated on a lotus, with halo behind the head. It is not clear whether it is male or female. It could be a yaksa or yaksi. Parsvanatha and the deity are flanked by pilasters. Above them is depicted a scene with a seated Jina in right corner and a man and two horse riders moving to left amidst clouds above him. All the three figures are much larger than the seated Jina. To the right of this scene is a vertical row of six compartments with three figures in each, in a similar way as in the Jina panel on the stone beam of verandah pillars depicting a Jina within a shrine. 6. Figures: The portion of the ceiling beyond these large panels has two rows of squares as mentioned above. Most of the squares are destroyed. The extant ones show flying couples in various postures and attitudes. 7. Samvasarana : On the ceiling of central mandapa are traces of paintings in some portions, especially corners. Though only fragments remain and colours have peeled off at number of places, it can be reconstructed on the basis of common designs, position of extant portion and the space left around it. It depicts a single theme. There is a rectangular band binding the area of central mandapa ceiling. This band is absent near back central pillars. It is present near two front pillars on left and pillars on right side. Near front pillars the band is divided into two rows, bound on both the sides by

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