Devotion and Splendour: The Story of

e A UNESCO W o r ld Heritag Sit e •

art

292 pages, 250 illustrations 9.5 x 11.5” (241 x 292 mm), hc

ISBN: 978-93-85360-79-4 3950 | $70 | £50 Spring 2023 | devotion and splendour The Story of the Caves at Ajanta Rupika Chawla

The Ajanta Caves, in western India, are rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments, worked upon from the 2nd century BCE to about the 6th century CE and containing paintings and sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art. This volume, by the noted scholar of art Rupika Chawla, explores the life of the Buddha and his teachings through the paintings of Ajanta.

Beginning with the mathematical and architectural achievements of the Vedic age which influenced the carvings of the Ajanta Caves, the author traces the birth of the Buddha and his path to enlightenment through the paintings. Several of his basic tenets are discussed with Ajanta images as the central point, including his conversions, attitudes to women and the growth of his sangha. The various dynasties who propagated Buddhism—including the Satvahanas, under whom the making of the Caves commenced—and the defeat of various patrons, which led to the adandoment of the Caves, are explored with relevant images. Separate chapters highlight the Jataka tales, influenced by Hindu and Buddhist oral traditions, Naga (humanised versions of snakes) stories, and the history of maritime trade as narrated by the paintings in the Ajanta Caves.

Rupika Chawla is a conservator of paintings who has restored several Ravi Varma art works. She is also a curator, and imparts training in conservation. She has written extensively on contemporary Indian art and is the author of the seminal work Raja Ravi Varma: Painter of Colonial India (Mapin, reprinted 2019).