the buddhist caves at aurangabad the impact of the laity brancaccio

7/23/2019 The Buddhist Caves at Aurangabad the Impact of the Laity Brancaccio

1/10

PIA BRANCACCIO

t h e uddhis t

a v e s

t

Aurangabad h e

m p a c t

o

t h e L a i t y

HE

PRESENT

STUDY of the

caves

at

Aurangabad wes much to

the

enlighten-

ing

work

of

Professor

Walter

Spink,

who

hasunfolded the

history

of

Ajanta

and related

cen-

ters.'It is fromwhathe calls theperiodof disrup-

tion

at

the Ajanta

caves that

I

intend

to

begin

my

survey

of

the

Buddhist

complex

at

Aurangabad,

d-

dressing

he

developmentof this

poorly

understood

site' in

termsof

patronage,

audience,

and

function.

Through an

analysis

of the

distribution f

space and

imagery rom

the end of

the

fifth

century

onward,

I

hope to

shed

light on the

site'sspecific

role as

a

sanc-

tuary

rooted in

lay devotional

practicesrather han

in

the

exclusive

monastic

radition.

Locatedon a slope of the Sihyachalrangebe-

tween

the

Kaum

River and the

Devgiri

basin, the

Buddhist

caves at

Aurangabad

re

divided

into

two

main

groups (figs.

1

and 2),

with a

third

unfinished

cluster

of

later

structures

o the north.3

The

oldest

structure t

the

site, partof

the

western

group, s

the

severely

damagedcaitya

Cave

4,

which

dates

to the

beginning f

the

CommonEra.

Surprisingly, o

early

vihara

attached o

this

structurecan

be

identified,

unless it

wasbuiltin

perishable

materials t

thefoot

of

the hill

or,

as

seems

ikely,

carved o

theeastof

the

caiya alongpartoftheescarpmenthathasnow col-

lapsed.

Another

significant

eatureof

the

religious

complex

at

Aurangabads the

absence

of

dedicatory

or

commemorative

nscriptions,n

contrast o

other

cave

complexes n

the

region.4

After

this

first

phase of

excavation,a

revivalof

patronage

occurred in

conjunctionwith

the

later

Vakataka's

ctivity

t

Ajanta, s

WalterSpink

hasbril-

liantly hown.' In

fact,

units 3 and

4a and

theunfin-

ished

excavation

1

at

Aurangabad

isplay

strongar-

chitectural nd artisticaffinities

with Caves

1,

2,

and

26

at

Ajanta.6

he so-called

Mahayana

hase

of

pa-

tronage at

Aurangabad

was

inaugurated

with

the

richly

decorated Cave

3,

which

occupies

the

most

privilegedpositionnext tothe older

caitya.

This

new

cave is a

small,

perfectly

designed unit

(figs.

3 and

4),

completewith

sculpture

and

paintings-the

lat-

ter

surviving nly

as

a few

traceson

the

ceiling.7The

existence of a

wealthypatron with

greatvision can

be

certainlydetectedbehind the

careftilly

rganized

spaceof this

structure. n

fact,

roman

accurate

lani-

metric

analysisof Cave

3

it hasbeen

possible

to

indi-

viduatethe

architectural

module on which

the

spa-

tial

distribution

of

the

cave

was

probablybased-a

unitequal othe radiusofthecolumns(40 cm).8The

imageryandthe

profusionof

ornamentation

within

AurangabadCave3 seem

to confirm

he

existence

of

a

planneddesign

thatwas

fullyrealized

hanks o

the

unbroken upportof the

sponsors. While

the

outer

faSade

s

ruined,

the inner

square

area s

intact,

de-

fined

by twelve

lavishly decorated

columns

and

flanked

on either

ide

by

two

cellaeand

a

rectangular

chapel.

Opposite the

entrance

door,

on a

sculpted

frieze

above he

columns,

s a

depictionof the

princely

Sutasoma

ataka.

A

porch leads

into the

shrine,

where a pralambapildasanaBuddha is flankedby

two

bodhisattvas

n

the

Ajanta

style,

precededby

two

unique rows of

life-size

sculpted

kneeling

devo-

tees

(figs.

5 and

6).

The

strong

affinities

n

design,

imagery,

nd

sculptural

etails

between

Aurangabad

Cave

3

and

some

of

the

latest

caves

at

Ajanta26

and

2)

indicate

that a few

of

the

same

hands

might

have

worked

atboth

sites.

Nevertheless,

Aurangabad

ave

3

displays

a

more

baroque isual

anguage fig.

7),

possibly

a

conscious

manipulation

of the

Gupta-

Ars

Orientalis,

supplement I

(2000)


2/10

PIA BRANCACCIO

FIG. 1.

Plan of the western

group

of caves

at

Aurangabad. By

Dr. GiuseppeMonzo.

zi04n

r\ll

O

4m

FIG.

3.

Plan ofAurangabad Cave 3.

By Dr. GiuseppeMonzo.

FIG. 4.

Cross ection ofAurangabad

Cave 3. By

Dr.

Giuseppe

Monzo.

FIG. 5.

Aurangabad

Cave

3, shrine, devotees,

eastern

wall.

After

C.

Berkson,

The Caves

at

Aurangabad (New York,1986).

42


3/10

THE

BUDDHIST CAVES AT AURANGABAD

FIG.

2.

Plan of theeasterngroup of cavesatAurangabad. ByDr. GiuseppeMonzo.

Vakataka

rtistic

diom,which can be interpreted s

a statement

f

powerby the new Aurangabad atrons

wanting

o outdo

theimperial

productionsat Ajanta.

Thus,

Cave

3 at

Aurangabad

ppearsto be deeply

connected

withthe ocalpolitical andscape,perhaps

sponsored

by the same eudatories hat ook overthis

territory

fter

he collapse of the Vakataka mpire.'

It

seems

that

the new local

kings excavatedAurang-

abad orpolitical

reasons, n order o createcontinu-

ity with practicesof patronage nitiatedby their il-

lustriouspredecessor.

To do so they chose a new

center

withno

imperial

onnectionswhere heycould

glorify

hemselves

ndthe

Buddha.

Aurangabadwas

FIG.

6.

Aurangabad

Cave

3,

shrine,

devotees,

estern

wall.

After

Berkson,

Caves

at Aurangabad.

the most

logical

choice

for this

site-overlooking

a

vast

plain

crossed

by

trade

routes,

easilyaccessible,

and

already

established

n the local

religious

tradi-

tionwith its earlierBuddhist

caitya.

.h~~~~~~~~~~~V'

rt#>, ''' V. .;

lX:' :

p .'..

FIGe

7.

Aurangabad

Cave

3,

interior,

detail

of

column.

Courtesy

merican nstitute

of

Indian Studies.

43


4/10

PIA

BRANCACCIO

1-N ~ ~ ~ ~

V -

1'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1

FIG. 8.

Aurangabad

Cave4a.

After

Berkson,

Cavesat

Aurangabad.

Unfortunately,

o donative

nscriptions

urvive

fromCave

3,

and one wonderswhether

hey

everex-

isted. In

fact,

the

patrons

of Cave 3 at

Aurangabad

didleave a differentkind of

long-lasting ignature

o

their dana

(gift)

n

the form of the life-size

kneeling

devotees

sculpted

in the sanctum.Such

uniquefig-

ures,

almosta tutto

tondo,

are located

along

the two

sides of the sanctum

converging

owardthe monu-

mentalBuddha

mage.They

are

certainly

ot

generic

devotees,since theyappear o be individually har-

acterized members of a

royal group,

and it seems

likely

that the male and female

igures

at

the head

of

each row are the actual

patrons

of the

cave.1?

Their

impressive

and

portraitlike ppearancemightjustify

the absence of

inscriptions,

as the

princelypatrons

would haveleft behind a

powerful

raceof their do-

nationin these

figures eternally

n

devotion,

as

pe-

rennial

receptacle

of merit.In a circumstance f

po-

litical

nstability

uch as the

collapse

of the

Vakataka's

empire,

t is conceivable hat ocal feudatories eek-

*~~~~~~~~~~~

FIG.

9.

AjantaCave

26,

interior.

Courtesy

American

Institute

of

Indian Studies.

ing recognition

would

opt

for such

visually powerful

solutions rather than

poorly

visible

inscriptions

to

obtain both

legitimation

of

their

power

and merit for

themselves.

The fact that these individualized figures

of

lay

devotees were represented

inside the

sanctum,

the

holiest of

places,

raises

questions

about the

function

of the

Aurangabad

caves and about the

possibility

of

ritual access to the main

image by sravakas,

who were

not members of the

samgha.

In this case the depic-

tion of

worshippers

of

royal

rank could also

be taken

as

a reference to the direct connection

between the

spiritual cakravartin,

the

Buddha,

and

the

temporal

cakravartin,

the

king.

Nevertheless,

I

believe that

the

occurrence

in

such a

privileged

position

of

images

representing

not

gods

or

monks but

lay

devotees can

be

interpreted

as an indication of the

prominent

secu-

lar nature of the

complex

at

Aurangabad.

In

contrast

to the monastic

emphasis

at

Ajanta,

Aurangabad

seems to have been more

open

to

laity, emerging

as a

44


5/10

THE BUDDHIST

CAVESATAURANGABAD

religious

anctuary

ervingprimarily

he

nonordained

members

of the

community.

The lack

of

residential

tructures or

monks,

es-

pecially

n

the western

group

of

caves,

confirms

his

hypothesis seefig.1).Even Cave3, which wasvisu-

ally

and

conceptually

modeled after

Ajanta

Cave

2,

seems to have

clearly

abandoned he

vihara

pattern

so recurrent t the

imperialVakataka

omplex.Only

four residential-like ells

showing

scarce traces

of

use12 were

excavated

along

the side

walls of

Aurang-

abadCave

3,

as the

planners

hose

to

omit

additional

cells and to introduce wo axial

rectangular hapels.

Immediately

o the

right

of the earlier

aitya

hall

is an

open shrine,Cave4a-also

dating

o the ate ifth

century-that

attests o the

lay activity

t

Aurangabad

because of its prominenceand accessibility fig. 8).

Currently

erydamaged,

his

deep

niche

n the basal-

tic

rock,

once framed

y

foursmall

columns,

contains

a

majestic mage

of a Buddha

n

dharmacakramudra

seatedon

a

highly

decorated hrone hat s flanked

y

two

bodhisattvas.

t s

surprising

o

find

suchan elabo-

rate mage

n

an

independentoutdoor

shrine,barely

protectedby a ledge of

rock,

as all other

comparable

images

of this

type

are

always

carved

n

the most sa-

cred

coresof the caves.

In

fact,

Cave

4a's

mage

s

very

similarnstyleanddecoration o the onecarvednthe

body

of

the

stupa

of

AjantaCave

26 (fig.9)

or the

one

in

the dark

sanctumof

Cave

3 at

Aurangabad.Here

the focal

iconography

of

the

large

caves crosses the

threshold

of the inner

shrine o be

easilyapproached

andviewed n

the4a

chapelat theentrance f the

com-

plex.

This small

and

independent tructure

ontain-

ing only a main mage s

an unprecedented

rchitec-

tural

olution'3

hat

llustrates he innovative

piritof

lay patronage nd

audienceat

Aurangabad.t is pos-

sible thata

wealthy ndividual

ponsored his public

unit in conjunctionwith the princely patronageof

Caves

1

and 3.

The

secularorganization f the Buddhist

cave

complexat

Aurangabad,which was

intimately on-

nected with

lay

patronageand devotion,

continued

beyond

the end

of thefifth

century.The next

phase

of

excavation t

the site is

characterizedy the

diffu-

sion

of new

cave

plans

focusingon an increased

use

of

public space. The

innovativedesigns appear

to

reflect he ritual

needs of

the lay communityand

in-

dicate a

differently

mediatedapproach o the

deity.

Cave

2'4(see fig. 1)

shows a

distinctive

plan

con-

sisting

of a

simple

shrinechamber

enclosed within

a

corridoror

circumambulation,

hich n turnwas

ap-

proached

hrough

a

small,

now

collapsed,

mandapa.

This structure, queezed nto the lastavailable ock

withinthe western

group

of

caves,

has a central anc-

tum

containing

he usual seated

Buddha n

dharma-

cakramudra

lanked

by

two bodhisattvas.

The

en-

trance

to the cella

is

guarded by Maitreya

and

Avalokite?vara,

oth

attended

by nagarajas.

The

sty-

listic

idiom of these

figures

is far from the late

Vakataka

ne at

Ajanta

or

Aurangabad

nd seems

to

be

in

linewith the

sixth-

and

seventh-century

alacuri

Brahmanical

ave

sculpture

found at sites such as

Elephanta,Jogesvari, Mandapesvar,

Mahur,

and

Ellora.

What

is

particularly nteresting

in

Cave

2

at

Aurangabad

s that the corridor

surrounding

the

shrine s

literally

illedwith a

multitudeof

heteroge-

neous panelssculptedon the walls

(fig.10).Most of

them

display

an established

iconographic

format,

with the Buddha

eatedon

a

lotus throneandflanked

by

two bodhisattvas.

n

many

of

these

images,

the

triad

pattern

ntersectswith

the so-called

depic-

tions of the

Miracle

of

?ravasti,

when the

Tathagata

multiplieshimself on lotus flowers. To explore the

source of this

imagery

s

beyond the

scope

of

the

present

article,but it is sufficient o

point out that

such an

iconographicpatternoccurs

invariably

n

votive

panelsdonatedbyindividuals n the Buddhist

caves of the

Deccan

during

the so-called

Mahayana

phase.

At

Ajanta,WalterSpink has

suggested

that

these

intrusive

anelswere added

during

the dis-

ruption

of

the site, when

the Vakatakasost control

over the caves and

patronage suddenly

collapsed

priorto theabandonment f

the complex.'5

Conversely,atAurangabadCave2 thedesignof

the

cave seems to

have been

conceived in

order to

accommodate

hese

attestationsof

individualdevo-

tion,

as the

pradaksinapatha

was

leftundecorated o

make

pace

or

such

magery.'6 singulareature hat

betrays

he

popularvotive

origin of thisbody of im-

agery

s the

frequent

depiction

of

worshippersat the

bottom

register

of

these

panels: they are mostly lay

people,

often

women, and

rarely members of the

samgha. Further,

n

Cave

2, images of a squatting

female,commonly dentifiedas

Lajj Gauriholding

45


6/10

PIA BRANCACCIO

FIG. 10.

Augangabad

Cave

2,

interior,

detail

of

the western

pradaksinapatha

wall.

Courtesy

American

Institute

of

Indian Studies.

a lotus,'7occur in four instances n associationwith

representations f theTathagata'spiphany fig. 11).

The emergence nto the Buddhist mageryof such a

figure ied to the world of local and ancestralbeliefs

seemsto confirm he ay devotionalmatrix f thisunit

and its sculptedpanels.

The whole conception of Cave2 at Aurangabad

seems to respond to the devotionalnecessitiesof the

sravakas,

which s not

surprising

t a site that howed

a

strong ay

orientation ince the

inception

of the so-

called

Mahayana hase

of

patronage.

The

plan

with

a central anctumcertainlyallowedforeasieraccess

to thedeity

and

theperformance

f devotional

prac-

tices.Ofparticularignificance

s

the fact

hat he

core

of the shrine s projected orward o meetthe needs

of a largercommunity.This architecturalormatap-

pears sporadically

in

many parts

of the Buddhist

world

n

conjunctionwith structures ocatedoutside

the exclusivemonasticareas

and

generally

ssociated

with

lay

devotional

practices.

Besides

CentralAsia,'8

relevantexamples of such shrines can be found

in

Sri Lanka n associationwith the

patimaghara,

or

shrinereceptacleof the image of the

Buddha. '9

t

is

interesting

o observe hatsuch a

structure,

denti-

fied

in

Pali also as

p&sada

r

palace,

the residenceof

KiiPln)1

FIG.

11.

Aurangabad

Cave

2, interior,

detail

of

a votive

panel.

After

Berkson,

Cavesat

Aurangabad.

46


7/10

THE

BUDDHIST CAVES AT AURANGABAD

FIG. 12.

Plan

of

Ellora Cave 21.

LIJi

the Buddha, was central only to the suburban

pabbata viharas-religious complexes with a more

distinct devotional purpose.

At Aurangabad, the plan with a central sanctum

and pradaksinapatha is also found in Cave 5. Fur-

ther, it occurs with some additions

in

Caves

6 and

7

of the eastern group,20providing

us

with

a useful

pa-

rameter in support of a chronological framework for

the second phase

of

activity at

the

site. A comparable

layout appears

in a

Brahmanical

context at

Ellora

Caves 14, 20, and in particularCave21, the so-called

Ramesvaracave (fig. 12). The architectureand sculp-

tural evidence seems to indicate that Caves

2,

5, and

the entire

eastern complex at Aurangabad belong to

the same phase of patronage as the above-mentioned

excavations at Ellora,2' which Walter Spink has at-

tributed

to

the Kalacuri

kings,22

who

probably

con-

trolled these

parts

of

Maharashtra.23

With

the excavation of Caves

2

and

5,

all the

rock

available around

the

Hinayana caitya

at

Aurangabad

was exhausted.

Thus,

a new cluster of units was ini-

tiated to

the east with Caves

6 and 7

(see fig. 2), still

in keeping with the devotional orientation of the site.

During

the last

phase

of

activity

at

Aurangabad

the

space accessible

to

public devotion was maximized,

and new

ways

of

approaching the deity appear to have

been in practice.

The

unfinished Cave 9 represents the next and

final stage at

Aurangabad-in which the expansion

of the public space makes

the structure even more

physically and

emotionally accessible

to

devotion.

The unusual plan of this cave (see fig. 2),

with three

sancta opening onto

a

large, rectangular

porch,

has

been generally attributed to

its hasty

completion,

as

patronstend to finish the main

Buddha images to gain

merit before

abandoning a site. Contrary to what we

would

expect

in

a similar rushed

situation,

the

Bud-

dha in

the central

shrine,

likely

the

focal icon on

which the most

effort would

converge,

was

only

roughed out, while the main images in the two side

sancta were fully carved.

It

seems

possible

that the

various shrines had different

patrons,

who

inter-

rupted their work in

the cave at different times. Nev-

ertheless,

I

believe

that the

uncommon layout was

part of the original

plan,

and the abrupt interruption

of

work at the site did not

change the basic organiza-

tion

of space. The

large rectangular mandapa was

probably part

of

the

original

design,

as it

functioned

to

unify

and

allow more direct access to the

images

in

the sancta.

In

Caves

5 and

6 at

Aurangabad

we

47


8/10

PIA BRANCACCIO

FIG. 13.

Plan of

Mandapesvar

Cave.

_q~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~16

already notice an increasing

emphasis on the

mandapa as a bridge between the outerworld and

the inner

sacredspace

of

the cave. Cave9 represents

the ultimate

developmentof this

concept,

in which

the barriers

between

the

two spheres are almostre-

moved and the

mandapabecomes the cave. It marks

the climaxof theprominent ay orientation f the site

that

grows

in

keeping with the

devotionalneeds of

the

sravakas.

The

presence of a

largeparinirv?nzna

scene carvedon the

westernwall

of

Cave

9, usually

a

populardevotional

con, supports

he

hypothesis

hat

the structure

was conceived as a

place

for collective

worship.

In

fact,

such

images

are

generally

ocated

in

more accessibleshrines ike the caitya Cave

26

at

Ajanta.

The cave

layout,

with three

shrines opening on

a

mandapa,

is a

pattern

that

occurs elsewhere

in

Kalacuriarchitecture.The

Saiva temple at Manda-

pesvar

in Konkan

(fig. 13), attributedto Kalacuri

patronage

nd

also

thought

o be the resultof a

hasty

excavation

s

t was never

completed,24

s

surprisingly

similar o

Cave 9.

Thus,

it is reasonable o

suggest

that

Mandapesvarmight

have had some

impact

on

the

planning

of

Cave

9 at

Aurangabad.25

While

innovative

in

format,

with its

ample

mandapa eading directly nto the most sacredunits

of the

structure,

he basic

three-sancta

ype adopted

at Aurangabad had

alreadyemerged

n

the Bud-

dhist world. Withinthe same region t occurs n

the

fifth-century

ave of

Ghatotkacha26nd

in

the unfin-

ished Cave 21 at Ajanta.

In

conclusion,I hope that his briefsurvey

of the

development

of cave

planning at Aurangabadhas

shedlighton the functionof this

complex

as

a center

orientedtoward

popular devotion and secularpa-

tronage. Its

so-called Mahayanaphase appears to

have been intrinsically onnected with the

collapse

of

imperialVakataka nd their patronageat Ajanta.

Aurangabad

ises

in

response

to this exclusive mo-

nastic center, controlledby imperialpatrons, o tes-

tify

to the

triumph

of the

regionalpowers and local

popular

Buddhist forces at the

end of the fifth cen-

tury.

The

accessibility

of

the

site,

the smallnumber

of cells for the

samgha,

and thepresenceof life-size

depictions of lay

devotees,

probably

noble

donors,

in the sanctumof Cave3

certainly

ndicate he

grow-

ing importance

of

the secular t

Aurangabad.

Its

life and

prosperity

continued to be

strongly

rooted in the world

of lay devotion and patronage

through time, as illustratedby Cave2 and related

structures

datable o the Kalacuri

eriod.

The

strong

linkage

of the site

with popular religiosityis

par-

ticularly

evident

in

Cave

2,

with its centralsanctum

and

pradaksinapatha for

circumambulation

left

48


9/10

THE

BUDDHIST CAVESAT

AURANGABAD

undecorated to display a number of

individually

commissionedvotivepanels. Finally, n the eastern

groupof caves,the

unusualand unfinished tructure

9, with three

shrines on a wide man.apa and the

parinirvana, seems to mark he culminationof the

popular tendency

at the site, reducingevenfurther

the distancebetween

the common devotees and the

holiest of images.

D

Notes

1. It would be impossibleto cite here all the significant ontri-

butions

by

Walterji

o

the

understanding

of

Ajanta

and

other

rock-hewn

eligiouscenters n the

westernDeccan. I

would

like

to

rememberhis

Ajanta to

Ellora, which appearedas a

special

issue of

Marg

n

1967,

and

some ofhis most recent

articles:

The

Great Cave at

Elephanta:

A

Study

of

Sources,

in

Essays

on

Gupta

Culture,

ed.

B. Smith and E. Zelliot

(Delhi:

Motilal

Banarsidass,

983),

235-82;

The

Archaeology

of

Ajanta,

Ars

Orientalis

21

(1991):

67-94; Before

he

Fall:Pride and

Piety

at

Ajanta,

n ThePowers

ofArt:

Patronage

n

Indian

Culture,

ed.

B. Stoler

Miller New

Delhi:Oxford

UniversityPress, 1992),

65-77;

finallyhis

booklet

Ajanta,

A

Brief History and Guide

(Ann

Arbor:AsianArt

Archives,

University

f

Michigan,1994).

2.

Surprisingly

the caves at

Aurangabad

have

scarcely

been

investigatedby scholars.

A first

description of the

complex

appeared

n

1858,

in Dr.

Bradley's

Account

of

Statistics

of

the

Sarkar

of

Paithan, done on

behalfof the Nizam's

government.

More

scientific

was the

approach

ofJames

Burgess

in his

Re-

Port

of

theAntiquities

n the

Bidar and

Aurangabad

Districts,

18 75-76

(London: W. H.

Allen,

1878).

The more

recent and

scarce

bibliographyon

Aurangabad,besides

guidebooks, in-

cludes:

G.

Yazdani, The

Rock-Hewn Temples of

Aurang-

abad:

Their

Sculptureand

Architecture,

ndian Art

andLet-

ters

1

(1936-37): 1-9; R.

S. Gupte,

An

InterestingPanel

rom

the

Aurangabad

Caves,

Marathwada

University

ournal

3.2

(1963):59-63;D. Brown-Levine,Aurangabad:StylisticAnaly-

sis, Artibus

Asiae 38

(1966):

175-88; A.

Ray, Aurangabad

Sculptures Calcutta:Firma

K. L.

Mukhopadhyay,

1996);

K.

N.

Dikshit, A

Newly

Discovered

Buddha

Image from

Aurangabad

Caves,

in

Madhu:

Recent

Researches n

Indian

Archaeology

nd

Art

History,

ed.

Nagaraja

Rao

(Delhi:

Agam

Kala

Prakashan,1981),

235-36; J.

Huntington,

Cave

Six at

Aurangabad:

A

Tantrayana

Monument,

in

Kaladars'ana:

AmericanStudies

in the

Art of

India, ed.

J.Williams

(Leiden:

E.J. Brill, 1981),

47-55;

C.

Berkson, TheCaves

atAurangabad

(New

York:

Mapin,1986); R.

Brown, A Laiia

Gauri n a

Bud-

dhist

Context at

Aurangabad, The

Journal of the

Interna-

tional

Association

ofBuddhist Studies

13.2

(1990): 1-16;

D.

Qureshi,

Artand Vision

ofAurangabad

Caves

Delhi:

Bharatiya

Kala

Prakashan,

1998).

3. We do not

know

the ancient

name of the

complex, though

t

hasbeen

suggested

thatthe site

was known

as

Rajatalaka

ased

on an early nscription ound at Kanheri.S. Gokhale, Ajanta:

The CenterofMonastic

Education,

n TheArt

ofAjanta,

New

Perspectives,

ed.

R. Parimoo

(New

Delhi:

Books

&

Books,

1991), 52.

4.

Donative

epigraphic

records

appear

at

most of the

Bud-

dhist cave

sites of the

Deccan, such

as

Bhaja, Karli,

Pitalkhora, and

Ajanta.

See

J. Burgess

and I.

Bhagwanlal,

Inscriptions rom the

CaveTemplesof Western ndia

(Delhi,

1880)

or

V.V.

Mirashi, Inscriptions

of

the

Vakatakas,

Cor-

pus InscriptionumIndicarum 5

(Ootacamund:

Government

Epigraphist

for

India,

1963).

5. WalterSpinkhastraced heconnectionsbetweenAurangabad

and Ajanta ince his 1967

study

Ajanta

to

Ellora.

6. The later

caitya

Cave

26

at

Ajanta hows columnsand deco-

rative lements

omparable

o the ones

occurring

n

Aurangabad

3.

The

viharas

1and

2

at

Ajanta

also

sharea similar

patial

or-

ganization

with unit

3

atAurangabad.

7. Remnants

fpainted

medallions

hat

survive

n

the

antecham-

ber to the

sanctumarealmost

dentical o

the one

foundat

Ajanta

Cave17.

8. This

study

has

been

conducted n

collaboration

with the

ar-

chitectDr.GiuseppeMonzo. See P. Brancaccio, 11Complesso

Rupestre

di

Aurangabad

(Ph.D.

dissertation, Istituto

Universitario

Orientale,Naples,

1994), appendix1.

9.

According

to Walter

Spink,

the

local

kings,

the

A?makas,

controlled

he

regionafter he fall

of the

Vakatakas.

ee

W.Spink,

The

Vakataka's

lowering

and

Fall,

n Art

ofAjanta, 71-99.

10. On

portraits

n

ancient

India,

see

V.

Dehejia,

The

Very

Idea of a

Portrait, Ars

Orientalis

28 (1998): 41-47.

For the

visual

idioms and

meanings

behind

patron's

portraits,

see

P.

Kaimal, PassionateBodies:

Constructionsof

the Selfin

South

Indian

Portraits,

Archives

fAsian

Art 48

(1995): 6-16.

11.

Figures

in

devotional

attitude

already appear at

Ajanta,

sculpted

on the

bases of

themain Buddhas'

thrones.

They are

small,never

acquirea

prominent

position in the sancta,

and of-

ten seem tomake

reference o

the

audience

witnessingthe

First

Sermonat

Sarnath.

The

presence

of

devotees

by

the feet

of the

Buddha n

the shrine

seems to

become

more

established

during

what

Spink recognizes

as

the

later

excavation

phase at

the site

(A.D.

475

onward),

culminatingwith nine

small figures

carved

on the

pedestal

of the

Buddha's

throne

n Cave

1

sanctum.

In

this

ight

he

mpressive ife-size

ay devotees

at

Aurangabad ep-

resent the

culminationof a

tendency

that

had

already

emerged

in nuce at

Ajanta.

49


10/10

PIA BRANCACCIO

12. Only two inner cells show, in the

upper part

of

the

door

frames, racesof a door hinge,usually akenasindicatinguse of

the chambers.

13.

We

do

not come acrosscomparablesolatedchapels

at

Ajanta

withsuch elaborate hrine-typecons.They arealwaysattached

to

largercaves, such

as

the side wings of Cave 26.

14. Cave 2 is located between the

earlierunits

1

and

3,

at the

same evel as Cave 3.

15.

See Spink, Checklistof Sculptured ntrusions

at

Ajanta,

in

Ajanta, A Brief Historyand Guide,36-3

7.

16. Donative panels were primarily ocated in visibleareas of

the

structure.

t

seems likely thatsome of them might have

also

been

painted,

as at

Ajanta,

and

simply

have not survived

at

Aurangabad.

17.

RobertBrown, A LaiiaGauri, dentifies his

image

as

re-

lated

to

the

Buddhist

goddess Vasudhara.

18.

A surveyof

the

square ype of plan

appears

n H. G.

Franz,

AmbulatoryTemples

in

Buddhism

and

Hinduism,

South

Asian

Archaeology 979,

ed. H.

Hartel

Berlin:

Dietrich

Reimer

Verlag,1981),

449-58. The

layoutwith

acentral ella hatcould

be

circumambulated

ecame

very

popular

at the

cave

temples

of

Kyzil, Kumtura, Bazaklik, and Qutcha. A. Griinwedel,

Altbuddhistische ultstattenn ChinesischTurkestan

Berlin:

G.

Reimer, 1912);

A. von Le

Coq,

Buried Treasures

of

Chinese

Turkestan.An Accountof the Activities

and

Adventures

f

the

Secondand Third German TurfanExpeditions London: G.

Allen &

Unwin, 1928).

19.

R. PrematillekendR. Silva, A BuddhistMonasteryType

of

Ancient

Ceylon Showing Mahayanist nfluence, Artibus

Asiae

30.1

(1968): 61-84; S.

Bandaranayake,

inhaleseMonas-

tic

ArchitectureLeiden:E.J. Brill, 1974).

20.

In

these

caves there

are,

n

addition

o the

central hrine

and

pradaksinapatha,

mallcells

lining

the

side walls.

21.

The

chronological

ssues

related to the later

phase

of

pa-

tronageatAurangabad re too complex to be includedin the

present paper. It is probably enough to remember hatthe af-

finitiesbetween the Kalacuri aves

at

Elloraand

the

laterunits

at

Aurangabad,

n

particular

Cave

7,

were

alreadyput

forward

by W. Spink, Ellora'sEarliestPhase, Bulletinof theAmeri-

can Academy f Benares

1

(1967):

10.

The

Brahmanicalock-cut avesat Mahur ndDhoke,with

a central

hrine,

also

represent nterestingcomparisons

or

the

units excavated n thelater

phase

of

activity

at

Aurangabad.

or

Mahursee Soundara

Rajan,

Cave

Temples f

theDeccan

(New

Delhi:

ArchaeologicalSurvey

of

India, 1981), 164-67;

for the

cave at Dhoke see G.

Tarr,

The

Siva Cave Temples at

Dhokesvara, OrientalArt

15.4

(1969): 260-80.

I

do

not

en-

tirely agree, however, with the author's nterpretation f the

Kalacuri tructure

at

Dhoke.

22.

For the

chronology

of thesecavesat

Ellora,

ee

Spink,Ajanta

toEllora.

23.

Unfortunately,

we do not have

a

clear

picture

of the

histori-

caldevelopmentsn the regionafter he collapseofthe

Vakatakas.

It seems

reasonable

o

suggest

that after

a

conflictbetween the

Traikutakas

ndthe

Visnukund.ns,

the

Traikutakas

riefly

on-

trolled the area.

Finally

at

the

end

of

the

sixth century the

Kalacuri eem to have established

their

supremacy.

For a re-

view

of

the various historical

issues,

see

Brancaccio, Il

Complesso Rupestre

di

Aurangabad, 1-29.

24.

Spink,

The GreatCave at

Elephanta,

43.

25. Althoughit is hard to establish secure chronologicalse-

quences

with

regard

o

the

structures

n

consideration,t

seems

reasonable

o

suggest

that

the

caves in Konkan

represent

he

first

stage

of

Kalacuri

atronage

n

Maharashtra.

26.

With threeshrineson the back

wall,

the

centralone

with

the

main

Buddha con and the

side

ones

probably ubsidiary hapels

with

painted

mages.

See

W.

Spink, Ajanta

nd

Ghatotkacha:

Preliminary

Analysis,

Ars

Orientalis

5

(1966): 135-56.

50

the buddhist caves at aurangabad the impact of the laity brancaccio

Documents