The
present manuscript with three illustrated folios was purchased for the
National Museum, New Delhi, from Professor O-C.
Gangoly, Calcutta. The
manuscript is protected by two covers.
The
manuscript is of palm-leaf and in its present condition is an incomplete
one. It now consists of only 137 folios.
The colophon and many other folios are missing. Many of the extant leaves
are damaged, while some are only in fragmentary condition.
The
dimensions of the well-preserved leaves of the manuscript are 5.05 cm. x
55 cm. and each of these contains six lines of writing in black ink.
The
manuscript is written in the Eastern Indian script of circa twelfth century A.D. Palaeographically, there are similarities
between this manuscript and the other manuscripts of the P¡la period,
especially those of R¡map¡l¡'s times.
The
manuscript in question contains nine paintings on three folios (each folio
contains three paintings). These
paintings, though mostly damaged, present an excellent phase of style.
On palaeographical and stylistic grounds, the manuscript can be
attributed to the early twelfth century.
The
covers of the manuscript are of wood. They measure each 6.05 x
57 cm. They do not contain any illustration but on the inner side of
one is written:
I . Om/áubham/Bhagavata(vatI)
Prajµ¡p¡ramIt¡yai I
2.
Samvat
777
ár¡v¸am¡sa(se) ¿ukra (¿ukla)-(she)
3.
pustak-p¡¶ha- Y¡chaka-yajam¡na-S£riya.
4.
Purohita- Vijar¡jasya
5.
Vajramatasya (2).
The above
inscription shows that the covers originally belonged to another
manuscript (written in 1657) and
not to the present one, the date of which cannot be later than the twelfth
century as noted above.
The chief
interest of the present manuscript lies in its paintings on three folios.
As a result of the damaged condition of the manuscript, two of the
illustrated leaves have lost the pagination marks. The remaining one seems
to bear the numeral '96'.
The
miniatures are in square format and show the plastic traditions of Eastern
India, with strong or profound influence from Ajanta. As noted by certain
scholars, "these small miniatures do not represent a separate style
of book illustration, but that they have merely the appearance of reduced
mural paintings. Down to the
Mughal period Indian miniature painting always seems to have maintained
the character of monumental painting in miniature and never seems to have
developed a truly characteristic phase of book illustration as in Persia,
China, Japan or in the medieval West."1
The
colours used in the paintings of the present manuscript are yellow, red,
blue, black, green and white. As
a result of the old age and bad state of preservation of the paintings the
colours have faded at places. As already noted, there are stylistic
affinities between the present paintings and those of the R¡map¡la
manuscripts (viz. the Ash¶as¡hasrik¡-prajµ¡p¡ramita,
years 3 and 69 of R¡map¡la,
and the Paµcharaksh¡-s£tra
manuscript of the same ruler's year
53). It may be noted here that the paintings of the R¡map¡la manuscripts
show a vigorous modelling and matured draughtsmanship, showing some of the
special characteristics of the P¡la (Bihar) school of sculpture, namely
the robustness and solidity of the physical forms of
the Buddha figures. On the above grounds I feel inclined to hold
that the manuscript under discussion I was perhaps written during R¡map¡la's
time; unfortunately, no colophon page is available to confirm these views.
At any rate, the manuscript, as the style of its paintings shows, belongs
to the P¡la period though it
may not be possible to attribute it specifically to R¡map¡la's time
without further evidence.
With
the above introductory remarks, we may now proceed to discuss the
individual paintings. For the sake of convenience, the illustrated leaves
may be cited as A, B, and C.
The
illustrated leaf 'A' contains three paintings, and beginning from the left
they show the birth of Bodhisattva Gautama, Buddha in dhy¡n¡sana attended by a monk on either side, and Buddha in
meditation with the right hand in earth-touching attitude. Each panel
measures 4.5 cm. approximately.
The
Birth of Gautama (Pl. XI, Fig. I) is
one of the finest paintings on the subject, though unfortunately the head
of M¡y¡ and partially also of her sister Mahaprajapati and the bottom
portions down below the knees of the figures are damaged.
M¡y¡ stands in attenuated pose with her right hand (partially
damaged) holding the branch of the s¡l
tree and the left thrown over the shoulder of Mah¡praj¡pati. The
plasticity and graceful contours of the figure of M¡y¡ bespeak the skill
of the artist. Further, the
joy of Mah¡praj¡pati is vividly shown in her wide open eyes and smiling
face. Indra with his crown and eyes all over his body as special marks,
stands in a reverential attitude to receive the newly born Bodhisattva
who, with a prominent ush¸¡sha, is shown between the right waist and right arm of his
mother. The Bodhisattva
touches his mother's right arm with his two hands.
The
painting brings out in a vivid manner the importance of the occasion,
namely the birth of Buddha. The body of M¡y¡ has been depicted in
yellow, while her lower garment has red ornamental bands with tassels.
The child Bodhisattva and Indra are also depicted yellow, while
their lower garments are in red. Mahaprajapati has, however, been shown in
green. The right side of the panel contains some red patches.
The second painting on this leaf is of Buddha (with a nimbus)
seated in dhy¡n¡sana inside an
arched gateway. He is
accompanied by two monks (one on either side) with hands in aµjali mudr¡. The
figure of Buddha is proportionately drawn and this shows that the painting
was the work of a good artist.
Buddha
has elongated ears, short-cropped black hair and an ush¸¢sha.
The eyes are half-closed, and lips bow-shaped. The frontal treatment
as well as the physical features of the Buddha show that this figure, was
based on earlier Buddha figures of the same type at Ajanta. The influence
of Ajanta on the Eastern Indian palm-leaf manuscript paintings is very
extensive as already noted.
As
to the colour scheme, Buddha's body has been painted in red; his garment
covering his whole body is yellow. The nimbus around his head is white.
The colour of the devotees (or the monks) attending on
him is green, but their garment is red. The arch (with five
divisions) of the gateway seems to be in blue while the lintels are in
yellow. The background colour is again red.
The
third picture on this leaf shows Buddha seated in dhy¡n¡sanana with right hand touching the earth. He is attended by
two Bodhisattvas or Avalokite¿varas seated in ardhapaya´ka attitude (Pl. XI, Fig. 3). Buddha has been painted in
yellow colour, while his garment showing his right shoulder and right bare
arm is red. He is provided with a white halo and a green vesica.
The
Bodhisattva seated to Buddha's right is depicted white with an oval halo
in yellow. He seems to wear a lower garment with a red scarf. His black
hair is bound in a bunch at the top with red flowers attached to it.
The
Bodhisattva to Buddha's left is shown in yellow, having a red lower
garment. His hair, like that of the other Bodhisattva, is black. He seems
to be seated with yogapa¶¶a tied
round the legs. His halo is white. The
Buddha figure of this panel is almost similar in style to the one depicted
on the Paµcharaksh¡-s£tra Manu-script
dated in the 53rd regnal year of Rgmapgla (Pl. XII, Fig. g), now preserved
in the National Museum, New Delhi, and published by me in the Journal of
the Indo-Asian Culture (Volume
18, No.
I, pp. 61-63).
The paintings on the illustrated leaf 'B' contain, beginning from
the left, three well-known events of Buddha's life, viz. the subjugation
of N¡l¡giri, Buddha receiving honey from a monkey at Vai¿ali, and
Buddha's descent from the Trayastrim¿a heaven after expounding dhamma
to his mother. All these
panels measure 5 x 6 cm. in
size.
In
the panel showing the subjugation of N¡l¡giiri (Pl. XI, Fig. 4), Buddha
stands with his body slightly bent facing the mad elephant N¡l¡giri set
against him by his jealous cousin Devadatta. The elephant came running
with his trunk raised and the tusks prominently shown. But he calmed down
in the presence of the Buddha whose love was not confined only to the
human beings but embraced also the animal world. In the panel Buddha is
accompanied by his two prominent disciples, S¡riputra and Maudgaly¡yana.
Both of them have a begging bowl in their hands.
In
the painting in question, Buddha, with an oval red halo and green vesica,
stands under a tree. He has
black hair, closely cropped, with an ush¸¢sha,
now damaged. His body is depicted yellow, while his garment, leaving
his right shoulder and arm bare, is in red.
The
disciple to his right, painted yellow, is clad in red garment covering his
body. He has a red halo like the Buddha. The begging bowl in his hand is
black. The disciple to his left is shown in green colours with a red
garment covering his body and an oval red halo, like the other disciple.
Similarly, he has a begging bowl.
Though
N¡gl¡giri, depicted white, was a huge elephant, he has been shown in
diminutive form to bring out Buddha's majesticity. Further his eyes show
that he became perplexed as Buddha (with his right hand in abhaya
mudr¡) came close to him. Buddha's left hand is shown raised almost
to his shoulder, holding the hem of the garment.
The
leaves of the tree behind Buddha seem to have been shown in light yellow
colour. The whole background colour seems to be blue; on the right of the
panel is a floral design in red.
The
next painting (Pl. XII, Fig. 7) which shows the gift of honey to Buddha by
a monkey at Vai¿¡li is a balanced composition. Buddha is seated on a
white cushion on a pedestal or throne depicted yellow. His right hand is
in abhuya mudr¡ while by his left hand he receives a bowl of honey given by the monkey.
Buddha has elongated ears, black hair and prominent ush¸¢sha. He has a
red oval halo and a vesica in
blue with a white outer band. The background of the picture is red.
The
monkey offering honey to Buddha is shown twice; first, when he offers the
honey with a broad grinning face and next, when he is shown dancing in joy
as Buddha receives the gift. The body of the monkey is shown in flesh
colour, while his face red. Round his waist is a cord in dark green from
which are hanging certain green leaves or tassels. To balance the whole
composition is a flying figure in yello colour at the right top corner.
The
third panel (with a blue background) on this leaf depicts Buddha's descent
from the Trayastrim¿a heaven (PI. XII, Fig. 8), as already mentioned.
He is accompanied by Brahm¡ with four heads and Indra with kir¢¶a
over his head and eye-marks on the body. He extends his right hand in varada mudr¡ and his
left hand is raised to his breast, holding a part of his garment. He has a
red (now faded) halo and a green vesica
against a red background. His body is painted yellow, while his
garment leaving his right shoulder and arm bare is red.
Brahms
is coloured white, with a red halo. Some locks of his black hair fall on
his shoulders. His yajµoPav¢ta
and lower garment are also in red. Indra, decorated with various
ornaments, is shown in yellow colour.
His
crown also seems to have been in yellow. But his garment is red.
The leaves of the tree behind Buddha are light yellow; some are,
however, green.
The
figure of Indra is in highly attenuated pose while Buddha and Brahms also
have flexioned bodies. The
first panel (measuring 4 x 5
cm.) on the illustrated leaf 'C' shows Buddha seated in dhy¡n¡sana
with hands in the attitude of preaching. The upper part of his
head is damaged. He has been depicted yellow, while his garment covering
his whole body is red. He is accompanied by two monks, one on either side,
with
folded palms. They have been
painted in green colour, though their garment is in red. The background
colour is faded.
The
second painting on this leaf is of Prajµ¡p¡ramit¡ (Pl. XI, Fig. 5)
seated on a throne inside an arched gateway. Her hands are raised against
the breast in vy¡khy¡na mudr¡.
She seems to be provided with various ornaments, a crown and an
elaborate hair-do. Red flowers are tucked into her hair-do.
Her
body is depicted in yellow while her lower garment is in red. She is
accompanied by two female attendants, one on either side, seated in ardhopay´k¡sana. They
are depicted in green, wear various ornaments, and have an elaborate
hair-dress. The arch of the gateway has been shown in blue while the
lintels against a red background have been shown in yellow.
The
third panel on this leaf measures 4 x
6 cm. and shows Buddha seated with his hands in dharmachakra
Mudr¡.
He
is painted yellow, though the garment covering his whole body is red. He
has black hair with an ush¸¢sha and
is endowed with a halo in red and vesica
in green. On either side is again
a Buddha figure depicted
likewise. The scene represents the miracle of ár¡vast¢ (PI. XI, Fig.
6).
Fig. 1. Birth of the Buddha. From an illustrated palm-leaf MS. of Prajµ¡p¡ramIt¡. Eastern India. 12th Cent. A.D. National Museum, New Delhi, Size: 4.5x5.05 cm. approx.
Fig. 2. The Buddha with two monks. From the same MS as Fig. 1
Fig. 3. The Buddha with Avalokitesvaras. From the same MS. as Fig. 1
Fig. 4. Subjugation of N¡gl¡giri. From the same MS. as Fig. 1
Fig. 5. Prajµ¡p¡ramIt¡. From the same MS. as Fig. 1
Fig. 6. The miracle of Sravasti. From the same MS. as Fig. 1
Fig. 7. Monkeys offering honey to the Buddha. From an illustrated palm-leaf MS. of Prajµ¡p¡ramIt¡. Eastern India, 12th Century A.D. National Museum, New Delhi. Size 4.5x5.05 cm approx.
Fig. 8. The Buddha's Descent from the Trayastrimsa heaven. From the same MS. as Fig. 7
Fig. 9 The Buddha. From an illustrated palm-leaf MS. of Paµcharaksh¡-s£tra painted in the 53rd regnal year of R¡map¡l¡, 12th century A.D. National Museum, New Delhi.
