The Vakatakas and the Ajanta caves

In a horseshoe-shaped gorge of the Waghur river, north of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, about thirty caves are cut into a basalt cliff. Some are austere, carved two thousand years ago. Others are richly painted with scenes from the Buddha's past lives — princes and dancers, elephants and monkeys, palaces and forests — in a style that has influenced Asian art ever since. These are the Ajanta caves, and their most splendid phase belongs to a dynasty from Vidarbha: the Vakatakas.

Who were the Vakatakas?

The Vakatakas rose in the Vidarbha region in the third century CE, after the decline of the Satavahanas.

• Founder: Vindhyashakti, a Brahmin, according to an inscription at Ajanta.
• Pravarasena I: the first to take the imperial title of Samrat; he performed several Vedic sacrifices, including the Vajapeya and the Ashvamedha. After him, the kingdom divided into two branches.

The two branches

The Gupta alliance: Prabhavatigupta

The most famous political fact about the Vakatakas is their marriage alliance with the Guptas. Chandragupta II married his daughter Prabhavatigupta to the Vakataka king Rudrasena II. When Rudrasena died young, Prabhavatigupta ruled as regent for her minor sons for many years.

Why did the alliance matter?

• For the Guptas, a friendly power in the Deccan secured their southern flank during Chandragupta II's campaigns against the Shakas of western India.
• For the Vakatakas, it brought prestige and cultural influence from the Gupta court.

Prabhavatigupta's copper-plate grants, which mention her Gupta lineage, are an important source for both dynasties.

Pravarasena II: king and poet

Pravarasena II, son of Prabhavatigupta, founded a new capital, Pravarapura. He is credited with the Prakrit poem Setubandha (also called Ravanavaho), which tells the story of Rama's bridge to Lanka. Tradition links Kalidasa with the Vakataka court, though this is not certain.

Harishena and the golden age of Ajanta

Harishena of the Vatsagulma branch ruled in the late fifth century and controlled a large territory across the Deccan. During his reign, the later phase of Ajanta was excavated and painted at remarkable speed. Inscriptions at Ajanta name patrons connected with his court:

• Varahadeva, a minister of Harishena, dedicated Cave 16.
• A feudatory of Harishena was associated with Cave 17.

Soon after Harishena's death, the Vakataka kingdom declined, and much work at Ajanta seems to have stopped abruptly — some caves were left unfinished.

Ajanta: two phases

The paintings

Ajanta's paintings are made on a prepared ground of clay, plaster and other materials applied to the rock, with pigments applied on the dry surface. This is why many scholars describe the technique as tempera or fresco secco rather than true fresco.

Themes include:

• the Jataka tales — stories of the Buddha's previous births;
• events from the Buddha's life;
• courtly scenes, processions, music and dance.

Some celebrated paintings:

• Padmapani (the Bodhisattva holding a lotus) in Cave 1;
• the "Dying Princess" in Cave 16;
• the Mahajanaka Jataka in Cave 1.

The paintings are admired for their graceful lines, modelling of the human figure, and sense of movement and emotion.

Architecture and sculpture

• Chaityas — prayer halls with a stupa at the end (Caves 9, 10, 19, 26).
• Viharas — monasteries with cells around a central hall.
• Cave 26 has a large sculpture of the Mahaparinirvana (the reclining Buddha).

Rediscovery and protection

After the monasteries were abandoned, the caves were forgotten by the wider world, though known locally. In 1819, a British officer, John Smith, came upon them while hunting — a famous episode he recorded by inscribing his name on a pillar in Cave 10.

Ajanta was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, the same year as Ellora. Both are in present-day Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

Why the Vakatakas matter for Maharashtra

• They made Vidarbha a centre of political power and culture.
• Through the Gupta alliance, they connected the Deccan with north Indian court culture.
• Their patronage produced Ajanta's later phase, one of the world's great artistic achievements.
• Their Prakrit literature continued the Satavahana tradition.

Questions to practise

Prelims-style:

1. Who was Prabhavatigupta, and why is she significant?
2. Which Vakataka ruler composed the Setubandha?
3. During whose reign was the later phase of Ajanta executed?
4. Which cave at Ajanta has the "Dying Princess" painting?

Mains-style:

• "The Vakatakas were more than a regional dynasty." Discuss with reference to their political alliances and cultural patronage.
• Explain why the Ajanta paintings are considered a landmark in Indian art.

Understand the Vakatakas as the bridge between the Satavahana Deccan and the dynasties that followed — the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas, whose own masterpiece stands at Ellora.