The Gupta age-said to be the "Golden Age" in India's history- witnessed the flowering of literature, art and philosophy both Buddhist and Hindu. The art of this period is understood to be "self-possessed, urbane, at once exuberant and formal." One among them is the great historic site of Buddhist art in India-lying in the dim, mysterious, grand, awe-inspiring cave temples of Ajanta in Maharashtra-often dubbed to be the "fountain-head of all the classical paintings of Asia". Life here appears as a "dome of many-colored glass"-exuding a spirit of harmony.
As you step inside the dark caverns in Ajanta, you discover beautifully chiseled walls, adorned with dazzlingly colorful paintings and the whole of ancient India comes alive. The subjects are taken from Jataka stories, bringing the element of supernatural, are Nagas, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas and Apsaras.
Who are the Nagas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Apsaras, et al? Time and again, poets have sung about them. The Nagas (snake divinities) like the powerful Yakshas, connected with the treasures of the earth, are the aboriginal divinities that Buddhism and Hinduism have always honored. Apart from these semi-human divinities, the murals of Ajanta bring together princes, sages, heroes, men and women from all walks of life. They appear in forests and gardens, in courts and cities, on wide plains, and in deep jungles. The paintings exude joy and zest for life and the nobility of men and women proclaims a glorious bygone era. |
