Ajanta cave paintings

 

 

In news:

• The Ajanta cave paintings have started deteriorating in the past few decades and are losing the battle against insects and other climatic stressors.

 

Important facts:

• A research team from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) looked at all the available literature on the Ajanta caves and mapped out the different factors causing this damage.
•  They also mention a few environmentally friendly solutions to the problem in a paper recently published in Heritage.

 

Problems Ajanta caves facing:

• According to research team most common insects were silverfish, beetles and common bugs.
• Another main problem was the entry of rainwater and water from the Waghura River.
•  This leads to dampness in the cave atmosphere causing an increase in algae, fungi, insects, and microbes.
• All these together were changing the original colour of the paintings — white is turning to yellow and blue is becoming green.

 

Why microbes thrive?

• The paper notes that “a mixture of hemp, clay, and lime plaster was considered efficient for preserving paintings and carvings in nearby Ellora caves,” but this method was not used in Ajanta caves.
• Previous studies have shown that the basal layer of the murals was made of mud plaster and organic matter such as paddy husks, grass, vegetable fibres, thus making it a good breeding place for microbes and insects.
• Even though ASI has started many initiatives to keep bats and pigeons from the caves, it has failed and bat and bird excreta continue to damage the paintings.

 

Suggestions:

• The researchers have suggested using certain lights and colour to tackle the problem of insects.
• For instance, they suggest using ultraviolet light traps as nocturnal insects are known to get attracted to ultraviolet radiation.
• Many diurnal species move to yellow light traps so yellow lamps can also be an excellent tool to effectively control moths.
• By understanding the phototactic behaviour of insects, appropriate wavelength lights can also be used.
• ASI is presently carrying out precautionary treatments such as spraying of insecticides and herbicides, fixing the loose plaster on cave walls, regular cleaning and use of preservative coating on the painting.

 

 

Additional Information:

Ajanta Caves:

• A classic masterpiece of Buddhist art, the Ajanta caves, is a UNESCO world heritage site and a protected monument of the Archaeological Survey of India.
• The cave paintings have started deteriorating in the past few decades and are losing the battle against insects and other climatic stressors.
• The caves attained the name from a nearby village named "Ajanta" located about 12 km.
• These caves were discovered by an Army Officer in the Madras Regiment of the British Army in 1819 during one of his hunting expeditions. 
• The caves, famous for its murals, are the finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting.
• These caves are excavated in horse–shoe shaped bend of rock surface nearly 76 m in height overlooking a narrow stream known as Waghora. 
• The location of this valley provided a calm and serene environment for the Buddhist monks who retreated at these secluded places during the rainy seasons.
• This retreat also provided them with enough time for furthering their religious pursuits through intellectual discourses for a considerably longer period. 

 

 

Ajanta Paintings:

The world famous paintings at Ajanta also fall into two broad phases. 

1. The earliest is noticed in the form of fragmentary specimens in cave nos. 9 & 10, which are datable to second century B.C. The headgear and other ornaments of the images in these paintings resemble the bas-relief sculpture of Sanchi and Bharhut.
2. The second phase of paintings started around 5th – 6th centuries A.D. and continued for the next two centuries. The specimen of these exemplary paintings of Vakataka period could be noticed in cave nos. 1, 2, 16 and 17. 

 

Theme of the paintings-

• The main theme of the paintings is the depiction of various Jataka stories, different incidents associated with the life of Buddha, and the contemporary events and social life also. 
• The ceiling decoration invariably consists of decorative patterns, geometrical as well as floral.
• The paintings were executed after elaborate preparation of the rock surface initially. The rock surface was left with chisel marks and grooves so that the layer applied over it can be held in an effective manner. 
• The ground layer consists of a rough layer of ferruginous earth mixed with rock-grit or sand, vegetable fibres, paddy husk, grass and other fibrous material of organic origin on the rough surface of walls and ceilings. 
• A second coat of mud and ferruginous earth mixed with fine rock-powder or sand and fine fibrous vegetable material was applied over the ground surface. 
• Then the surface was finally finished with a thin coat of lime wash. Over this surface, outlines are drawn boldly, then the spaces are filled with requisite colours in different shades and tones to achieve the effect of rounded and plastic volumes. 
• The colours and shades utilised also vary from red and yellow ochre, terra verte, to lime, kaolin, gypsum, lamp black and lapis lazuli. The chief binding material used here was glue. 
• The paintings at Ajanta are not frescoes as they are painted with the aid of a binding agent, whereas in fresco the paintings are executed while the lime wash is still wet which, thereby acts as an intrinsic binding agent.

 

Ajanta Caves

• Ajanta caves are a series of 30 Buddhist caves located in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra.
• This site is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It encompasses both Theravada (Hinayana) and Mahayana Buddhist traditions.
• The Ajanta caves preserve some of the best masterpieces of Buddhist art in India.

 

History of Ajanta Caves

• The earliest Ajanta caves were carved in the 2^nd Century BC out of horse-shoe shaped cliff along the Waghora River.
• They were used by Buddhist monks as prayer halls (chaitya grihas) and monasteries (viharas) for about nine centuries.

In date and style, these caves can be divided into two broad phases.

• Phase I (2^nd Century to 1^st Century BCE) – The earliest excavations were done by the Satavahanas and belong to the Hinayana (Theravada) phase of Buddhism. The object of worship is a stupa here. Caves 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15A belong to this era.
• Phase II (5^th Century AD to 6^th Century AD) – These excavations are a major contribution of the Vakatakas and Chalukyas and belong to Mahayana phase of Buddhism.

What are the major differences between the Ajanta and Ellora caves?

 

Ellora Caves:

• The Ellora caves, locally known as ‘Verul Leni’ are located on the Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road at a distance of 30 km north-northwest of Aurangabad, the district headquarters.
• Ellora is also famous for the largest single monolithic excavation in the world, the great Kailasa
• The caves are hewn out of the volcanic basaltic formation of Maharasthra, known as ‘Deccan Trap’, the term trap being of Scandinavian origin representing the step like formation of the volcanic deposits.
• At Ellora, we can also have a glimpse of the channels through which the volcanic lava once flowed. These channels, due to overheating, have a characteristic brownish red colour. Similar rock was used in the construction of the Grishneshwar Temple nearby and also utilised for the flooring of the pathways at Bibi-ka-Maqbara.
• The hills in which the caves are hewn, forms part of the Sahyadri ranges of the Deccan and dated to the Cretaceous era of the Geological time scale (about 65 million years ago). The hills rise abruptly from the surrounding plains on the south and west, the western surface being extensively utilised for hewing the cave complexes.
• The hill also supports several streams, the prominent among them being the Elaganga, which drains into the Shiv, a stream of the Godavari river system.

 

Facts related to Ellora caves:

• The Ellora caves, locally known as ‘Verul Leni’ are situated on the Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road at a distance of 30 km north-northwest of Aurangabad, the district headquarters.
• Ellora is also world famous for the largest single monolithic excavation in the world, the great Kailasa (Cave 16).
• Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture.
• The 34 "caves" are actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills.
• Hindu, Buddhist and Jain rock-cut temples and viharas and mathas were constructed between the 5th century and 10th century.
• Ellora is famous for Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cave temples built during (6th and 9th centuries) the rule of the Kalachuri, Chalukya and Rashtrakuta dynasties.
• The five Jain caves at Ellora belong to the ninth and tenth centuries. They all belong to the Digambara sect.
• Twelve Buddhist caves were built during the 5th-7th century.
• Most popular of the Buddhist caves is cave  number 10, a Chaitya hall (chandrashala) or 'Vishvakarma cave', popularly known as the 'Carpenter's Cave. (See Pic. below)
• Dashavatara cave (Cave 15) at Ellora depicts the ten avataras of Lord Vishu.

Archaeological Survey of India: The Archaeological Survey of India is an Indian government agency attached to the Ministry of Culture that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monuments in the country.  It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General.

 

Source)

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/how-insects-pests-wipe-off-ajanta-cave-paintings/article29748083.ece