DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.2371#0537
ANCIENT VIHAKA AT BHA.JA. 515
it. Below the tree a king, on a very much smaller scale, is seated
on his morha, tinder an umbrella of state, and with a female chauri
bearer and two musicians beside him. Below these again is one
woman dancing, and one, or it may be two, though only two legs are
seen, playing and dancing. In the centre of this lower compart-
ment is a sacred tree, surrounded by a rail, hung with garlands
and surmounted by an umbrella, but it, like the other, is of a species
not represented in any other sculptures known. Beyond these, too,
there is a man and a Kinnari—a woman with a horse's head. In
this instance she is not quite naked, as she is represented on the rail
at Buddha G-aya,1 having a bead-belt round her wai'st. The rest of
this portion of the bas-relief is filled with lions and monsters of
various kinds preying on one another.
The first impulse on looking at this extraordinary sculpture is to
assume that it is intended to represent the god Indra on his elephant
Airavata, but on the whole it seems most probable it is intended
only as a glorification of the king or prince who excavated the cave.
The exaggeration of his size and of that of his elephant, which is
greater than in any other Indian sculptures known, may only be an
attempt to express his greatness relatively to other men, and to the
king his father, who seems to be the figure seated in front of him.
The bas-relief on the other side of the doorway is of a much simpler
character. It represents a prince in his chariot drawn by four
torses, and attended by two females with most remarkable head-
dresses. One bears a chauri in her right hand, and behind the prince
w a staff, which may have been intended to symbolise or support an
umbrella, which has now however been entirely obliterated. Two men
on horseback attend them. The most remarkable part of this group
are the hideous female monsters which apparently support the
chariot, and the architectural features of the cave. They are so
totally unlike anything known to exist in any cave, in any age, and,
So far as I know, in any mythology, that we must pause before
tempting an explanation of their appearance here.
ihe three figures of men that adorn the front of the cave beyond
nd between the doorways are extremely well designed, and very
^arkable for their costumes, which are unlike any others known
anMere else. The most eastern one (Plate XOYI., fig. 5) is sin-
s i any elegant and well drawn, though his head is somewhat too
1 Dr. RajendraMla Mitra, Buddha Gaya, Plate XXXIV., Fig. 2.
K K 2
it. Below the tree a king, on a very much smaller scale, is seated
on his morha, tinder an umbrella of state, and with a female chauri
bearer and two musicians beside him. Below these again is one
woman dancing, and one, or it may be two, though only two legs are
seen, playing and dancing. In the centre of this lower compart-
ment is a sacred tree, surrounded by a rail, hung with garlands
and surmounted by an umbrella, but it, like the other, is of a species
not represented in any other sculptures known. Beyond these, too,
there is a man and a Kinnari—a woman with a horse's head. In
this instance she is not quite naked, as she is represented on the rail
at Buddha G-aya,1 having a bead-belt round her wai'st. The rest of
this portion of the bas-relief is filled with lions and monsters of
various kinds preying on one another.
The first impulse on looking at this extraordinary sculpture is to
assume that it is intended to represent the god Indra on his elephant
Airavata, but on the whole it seems most probable it is intended
only as a glorification of the king or prince who excavated the cave.
The exaggeration of his size and of that of his elephant, which is
greater than in any other Indian sculptures known, may only be an
attempt to express his greatness relatively to other men, and to the
king his father, who seems to be the figure seated in front of him.
The bas-relief on the other side of the doorway is of a much simpler
character. It represents a prince in his chariot drawn by four
torses, and attended by two females with most remarkable head-
dresses. One bears a chauri in her right hand, and behind the prince
w a staff, which may have been intended to symbolise or support an
umbrella, which has now however been entirely obliterated. Two men
on horseback attend them. The most remarkable part of this group
are the hideous female monsters which apparently support the
chariot, and the architectural features of the cave. They are so
totally unlike anything known to exist in any cave, in any age, and,
So far as I know, in any mythology, that we must pause before
tempting an explanation of their appearance here.
ihe three figures of men that adorn the front of the cave beyond
nd between the doorways are extremely well designed, and very
^arkable for their costumes, which are unlike any others known
anMere else. The most eastern one (Plate XOYI., fig. 5) is sin-
s i any elegant and well drawn, though his head is somewhat too
1 Dr. RajendraMla Mitra, Buddha Gaya, Plate XXXIV., Fig. 2.
K K 2