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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)
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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).
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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BUDDHIST CAVESAT
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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
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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
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