Architecture

Jayaram Poduval

The Buddhist cave cluster at Ajantā is situated 100 kilometres north of Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Having 29 caves in a single complex, Ajantā can be ranked as the second largest cave cluster of India, surpassed in number only by Ellorā. Ajantā can boast of exclusively Buddhist caves belonging to the Hinayana and Mahāyāna phases. Excavated in a horseshoe-shaped gorge created by river Waghorā, these caves date back to 100 bc to late fifth century ad. Among these, Caves 9, 10, 19 and 26 are caitya caves housing the stūpa at the rear of the apsidal interior and the rest are vihāras or monasteries. Except the Caves 12 and 13 all the vihāras are excavated in the second phase of Ajantā activity in the 5th century, inspired by the Mahāyāna Buddhism.

The architectural activity at Ajantā seems to have started around 100 bc, almost contemporaneous to the inauguration of rock cut architecture in western India. The caves as the caityagṛhas at Bhaja and Kondvite probably pre-date Ajantā 10. The Cave 10 of Ajantā has a facade which belongs to the "palace gate-way" type with the arch of the nave-opening encompasses the whole facade, unlike Cave 9, where the caitya arch has been separated from the small nave opening with a stone screen. The differences between these caves would persist in the ground plans too. Cave 10 retains the conventional apse shape for the colonnade and the overall plan, while Cave 9 alter the ground plan to square. There are pronounced rake of pillars, absence of proper entablature, and crude placement of once-existed rafters. Cave 9 on the other hand has developed facade design with prominent caitya window. The nave and aisle are apsidal and square shaped respectively. The advancement of architecture of this cave has prompted historians to place it around 100 ad contemporaneous to Cave 4 at Aurangabad and Cave 18 at Nasik. Cave 12, a Hinayāna vihāra has a central hall with cells opening into it. The wall on the facade of the cave is missing now, though the traces of it can be seen. The cells have rock-cut beds accommodating two each in one cell. This cave is of the same date as Cave 9, as evident from the absence of the rake of the cell doors and the decorative designs on the top of right wall.

The period between second century and fifth century witnessed an inexplicable slack phase for rock-cut architecture in Western India including Ajantā. However, the advent of the Vākāṭaka dynasty in the political scenario of western India changed the state of affairs significantly. Under their hegemony the rock-cut architecture became revitalized in western India. The Vākāṭaka dynasty due to their close proximity to the age and regions ruled by the Gupta dynasty, shares many similarities with the architecture of the Guptas, though the basic architectural tradition of western India was not forgotten. In case of Ajantā, the Vatsagulma branch of Vākāṭakas contributed to the art activity, albeit indirectly. But there is no direct patronage of the Vākāṭakas from epigraphical sources. However, the inscriptions of Caves 16 and 17 refer to the Vākāṭakas as the ruling power. The pronounced Gupta influence on Ajantā could be the outcome of the matrimonial relationship between the Vākāṭaka prince Rudrasena and the Gupta princess Prabhāvatīgupta, the daughter of Chandragupta (II) Vikramāditya (380- 410ad).

The chief patrons of Ajantā, Varāhadeva and Upendragupta, the minister and the vassal king of Harisena, the Vākāṭaka rulers, were great supporters of Mahāyāna Buddhism. However, the main patron of Cave 26 was Buddhabhadra, a monk himself. This inscription does mention the name of Harisena or the Vākāṭakas at all, circumscribing a later date for the Cave 26 and few other caves at Ajantā. Regardless of the date, or dates all the Mahāyāna vihāras share a similar plan where the religious and monastic functions could be fulfilled.

Ajantā initiates this amalgamated plan of caves where a shrine is incorporated into the vihāras. These Mahāyāna vihāras had a central maṇḍapa with cells opening to the circumambulating aisles. The cell on the cardinal axis is pushed in to accommodate an antechamber and a shrine to place the image of Buddha. The caves now act as the center of worship as well as the dwelling place for the monks differing from the earlier system where there were separate structures for each purpose as the vihāras and caityagṛhas.

In Ajantā, however, the caitya caves did continue to be carved among the vihāras, as it is evident from Caves 19 and 26, which are Mahāyāna excavations. The caitya Caves 19 and 26 incorporate the facade decoration of Nasik 18, a Sātavāhana period creation, in addition to the new designs influenced by the Gupta region in the shape of the monumental dvārapālas prominent caves and foliage motifs. The lower portion of the facade at 19 is metamorphosed into abutting porch, and in 26 into a columned verandah. Cave 19 is probably the cave mentioned in the inscription of Upendragupta as Cave 17 as gandhakuṭi, the chamber of worship. It has a beautiful facade, with elegantly carved Buddha images flanking the porch doorway. The porch has fluted pillars culminating in a cushion shaped capital. The upper facade has a caitya window guarded by the nidhi figures with stupendous grandeur. The facade has dentil and eves motifs imitating the palace architecture, a feature borrowed from the Hinayāna vihāras of western India. Apart from the fluted columns and the painted ceiling of aisles there is hardly any decoration in this cave. The entablature has makara toraṇa (foliate arches issued from crocodile like animals) with padmapatra (lotus petal motif) moulding to flank the Buddha images, aquatic bulls and elephants. An innovation introduced here is the Buddha image placed beneath the makara toraṇa on the front face of the cardinal stūpa. The tier of umbrellas with supporting figures that rises above the stūpa is monolithic, which had been mentioned by Xuanjang. 

Cave 26, the second caityagṛha of the Mahāyāna phase is quite akin to Cave 19 in plan and execution. This cave had a columned verandah in the front (now missing) with well-defined nave and aisle doorways opening into the cave. The verandah is raised from the ground level with an  adhiṣṭhāna or plinth. The columns in the cave are akin to Cave 19 but with shafts much intricately carved. The front columns of the colonnade jut into the nave of the cave. These columns have miniature bracket figures abutting from the cushion capital. These placements of bracket figures get prominence in the Brahmanical caves of western India, like Ellorā and Jogeśvari. The over all dimension of the cave is much bigger than Cave 19. Moreover, the cave introduces a new strategy of using the architectural motifs to embellish the stūpa. Unlike the makara architrave in Cave 19, here a maṇḍapa is created to place the Buddha image. Buddha images on the entablature are well placed inside the miniature maṇḍapas carved in relief, flanked by Bodhisattvas. Underneath the maṇḍapa are hordes of chubby little gaṇas, semi-aquatic creatures like the ones on Cave 1 ceiling, gandharvas and other semi-divine figures. On top of the maṇḍapa on the gavākṣa or caitya arch motifs. Tiger cubs play hide and seek, unaware of the divine paraphernalia which they are part of. No space is left unembellished and this laborious work does succeed in achieving the exuberance that which the patron was aiming to. A third caityagṛha was to be carved on top of Cave no 21, which is left unfinished and, is presently unapproachable.

Vihāras have an entrance verandah with nave and aisle doorways and side shrines, especially in the later examples. The antechamber is placed in the cardinal axis leading to the central shrine. Later caves like 21, 23, 24 and Upper 6 have subsidiary shrines opening to the lateral aisles. Both the shrine and verandah doorways were embellished in grand style. A few of the caves at Ajantā like Caves 11, 7, 4, 16 and Lower 6 have octagonal shafted columns akin to the Hinayāna period structure at the site and elsewhere. More decorated caves, which probably can be considered as the last entries on the chronometer, have 8 to 32 facets on the shafts. The brackets are carved with scroll motifs and human figures as in Caves 19, 20, and 26. The columns with bulbous fluted capital with cushion type crowning gains popularity in Ajantā as one observes them in Caves 1, 2,19, 20, 21, 23, 24 and 26. Pilasters with corresponding capitals appear in the doorframes of these caves. Cave Lower 6 has tapering columns with octagonal shafts, which are molded into 16 sides at the top. While the inner maṇḍapas in most of the caves have colonnade leaving a square clearing in the center of the maṇḍapa, Lower 6 presents a forest of columns. Cave 7 has two inserted square maṇḍapas in the verandah with columns showing a taper similar to that of 6. The upper shafts of the pillars are patterned like lotuses bearing cushion type capitals.

A distinct pattern of architecture is shared by the Caves 1, 2, 5, 4, 21, 23, and 24 is as that they all have columns as well as walls broader in size compared to rest of the caves. Another distinguishing feature shared by these caves is the kapotali (double roof) motif on the lintel of the doorways. These caves also introduce decorated windows flanking the doorways. The verandahs of these caves are much broader and higher than the other caves. The commonality between them is the distinct decorative porch doorways.

The porch and shrine doorways at Ajantā present the largest group in the entire history of Indian art. Unlike the other sites, all the doorways have developed śākhā (jamb) modulation and decoration. A link between Gupta and Ajantā doorways is certainly in evidence. Significant motifs such as slender pilasters, acanthus bands, gaṇa figures, kapotali (double roof motif) on the lintel, prominent lateral protrusions of the lintes, gavākṣas (caitya motif) and above all makara vāhini (female figures standing on the crocodile-like animal) flanking the lintel have their precedents in Mālwā and Udayagiri. Along with these central Indian elements and motifs, those from Andhra and western Deccan may have contributed to the development of the doorways. The affinity with the central Indian parallel is clear in the porch doorframes of Caves 26, 24, 24, 21, 5 and 4.

The shrine doorframes of Cave Lower 6 represent the indigenous type of Ajantā doorframes with its affiliations with the Hinayāna architectural developments in the coastal western India and Nasik regions. The porch doorways of Cave 16, 17, 1 and 2 of Ajantā forms another stylistic group with simplicity in decoration and rectangular frame. Among these, Caves 16 and 17 have painted doorframes. The third group consisting of Caves 21, 23, 24, 26, 4 and 5 has more śākhās and thus allow greater room for decoration. The śākhās are equipped with ratna (gem), latā (creeper), and mithuna (amorous couple) motifs. Emphasis on the religious affiliation of the caves is made by the Buddha image carried as lalāṭabimba on the lintels as in Caves 26 and 4.

A zealous observer can identify many strands of architectural lineages at Ajantā, especially during the Mahāyāna phase of activities here. A change of guild seems to have occurred in the middle of the activities, as is evident from the doorway decorations and the intricacy of plan. The caves belonging to the later stage are all on the outer phase of the horseshoe-shaped Ajantā gorge, like Caves 1 and 26. Especially, the Caves 21 to 26 with the exception of Cave 25 have long verandahs with sub shrines, thicker walls, massive columns and intricately decorated doorways. The double-roof motif on the door lintel is an added feature that is shared by these cave. These features are conspicuously absent in Caves 16, 17, 19 and 20. The simplicity of the architectural design and technique employed in these caves prompts the historians to place them in a time bracket earlier than the rest of the caves. The later group bears more affinities to Gupta period cave doorways of central India like the Amrita Cave at Udaygiri which can be dated around 450 ad. The development of individual idiom is evident in Ajantā where the guilds from central India have come in contact with the western Indian guilds. One can map the emergence of column types from a simpler octagonal-shafted column in Cave 16 to intricately designed columns of Cave 1. This process is in noticed in the case of doorways too. Lay out of the caves, however, remains unaffected except for a few variances.

Ajantā presents the magnum opus of the Buddhist architectural tradition and presents a culmination of a continuous tradition from post Mauryan days in western and northern India. It magnificently amalgamates the designs and motifs of the north Indian structural temple tradition with the rock cut architectural traditions of western India. The artist-guilds working in various parts of the country seen to have visited and worked at Ajantā. These guilds eventually go back to their respective regions to germinate new lineages.