Ajanta: History and Development, Volume 7 Bagh, Dandin, Cells and Cell Doorways: History and Development, Volume 7 Bagh, Dandin, Cells and Cell Doorways

Walter Spink's intense concern with the development of the Ajanta caves and their architectural, sculptural and painted features finds its most insistent reflection in his present richly illustrated study. In part 1, Spink explains the many connections between the Bagh caves and its "sister site", Ajanta. He particularly emphasizes the leading role that Bagh plays in establishing the "short chronology" and in the crucial matter of Buddhist shrine development from the aniconic to iconic forms of worship. In part 2, along with his colleague Professor Naomichi Yaguchi, who also provided the photographs and the newly informative plans, the authors show how, over the course of a mere decade, better and better ways were discovered to fit the doors in the cells where the monks lived. Such an analysis reveals the vigor of the conceptual and technical changes that characterize Ajanta's evolution from its start in the early 460s to its traumatic collapse in about 470. Moving from Ajanta's beginning to its ending, the evolution of door fittings parallels the precise and dramatic development of Indian history in the remarkable course of the emperor Harisena's reign. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Part One Ajanta, Bagh and Dandin (By Walter M. Spink) Chapter 1 Ajanta: An Introduction Chapter 2 Dandin, Ajanta, Bagh, and the Historicity of the Visrutacarita Bagh and Ajanta Appendix I The Development of the Vihara Shrine from Bagh to Ajanta Appendix II Shortening the “Short Chronology” Chapter 3 Solstitial Concerns: Ajanta’s Vakataka Caitya Halls Cave 26 Cave 19 Cave 29 Chapter 4 Ajanta; Four Painted Viharas: 1, 2, 16, 17 Ajanta Cave 1 Ajanta Cave 2 Ajanta Cave 16 Ajanta Cave 17 Chapter 5 Comments and Comparisons Part Two Ajanta's Cells and Cell Doorways (By Walter M. Spink (Text) and Naomichi Yaguchi (Illustrations)) Chapter 1 Ajanta and the Trajectory of Vakataka History Chapter 2 Ajanta’s Cells and Cell Doorways Summary Analysis of Caves 17 and 1 The Basic Door Fitting Modes Found at Ajanta A Mode 465 through 467 B Mode 468–469 C Mode (470–471) D Mode (473–478) E Mode (478–479) A+ Mode (468–471) Minor Mode-transformations Cells: Cave by Cave Cave 1 Cave 2 Cave 4 Cave 5 Cave Lower 6 (Cave 6L) Cave Upper 6 (Cave 6U) Cave 7 Cave 8 Cave 11 Cave 14 Cave 15 Cave 16 Cave 17 Cave 19 Cave 20 The Asmaka Caves Cave 21 Cave 22 Cave 23 Cave 24 Cave 25 Cave 26 Cave 26LW Cave 26RW Cave 27 Porch and Shrine Doorways at Ajanta Cave 15: Shrine Doorway (penetrated 467) Cave 26 Development Cave 26RW Porch Doorway Cave 26LW Porch Doorway Cave 26LW Shrine Doorway Cave 25 Porch Doorway Variants of the B Mode Cave 6L: Shrine Doorway Cave 11: Porch Doorway Cave 15: Porch Doorway Cave 20: Shrine Doorway Later Porch and Shrine Doorways Detailed Discussion of Door Fittings in Cave 17 Cell and Fitting Count for the Vakataka Caves at Ajanta Illustrations ABCD Mode Door drawings A: Illustrations for Trajectory (chapter 1) B: Cave plans C: Cell Door fittings D: Defining Features and Time Charts Bibliography Index Volume Two begins with writings by some of the most important critics of Walter Spink's conclusions, interspersed with his own responses, using a thorough analysis of the great Cave 26 to support his assertions. The author then turns to matters of patronage, and to the surprising fact that, unlike most other Buddhist sites, Ajanta was purely \'elitist\', developed by less than a dozen major patrons. Its brief heyday traumatically ended, however, with the death of the great emperor Harisena in about 477, creating political chaos. Ajanta's anxious patrons now joined in a headlong rush to get their shrines dedicated, in order to obtain the expected merit, before they fled the region, abandoning their caves to the monks and local devotees remaining at the now-doomed site. These \'intrusive\' new patrons now filled the caves with their own helter-skelter votive offerings, paying no heed to the well-laid plans of the years before. A similar pattern of patronage is to be found in the redecoration of the earlier Hinayana caves, where the careful planning of the work being done during Harisena's reign is suddenly interrupted by a host of individual votive donations. The volume ends with a new and useful editing of Ajanta inscriptions by Richard S. Cohen Volume 7 Of Walter Spink's Monumental And Still Controversial Study Of The Famous Ajanta Caves Considers The Many Connections Between The Bagh Caves And Its “sister Site”, Ajanta, Particularly Emphasizing The Leading Role That Bagh Plays In The Crucial Matter Of Buddhist Shrine Development And The Transition From The Aniconic To Iconic Forms Of Worship. He Also Explains The Relationships Between Certain Caves And Solstices, As Well As Changing Technologies, Especially In The Development Of The Door Fittings In The Monks’ Cells. Volume Five comprises, along with introductory comments, two "cave by cave" guides. One which, very briefly, describes the character of each cave and its patronage, is intended to be useful for the general visitor to the site. The other, very detailed, discusses the position and peculiarities of each cave in relation to the overall, year by year, development of the site. This volume also contains a complete set of cave plans, and various illuminating charts, graphs, outlines, and maps "The twenty-nine Buddhist caves near Ajanta form a devotional complex which ranks as one of the world's most startling achievements, created at the very apogee of India's Golden Age. Ajanta: History and Development, appears as part of the series Handbook of Oriental Studies, present the reader with a systematic treatment of all aspects of the site, the result of forty years of painstaking research in situ by Walter M. Spink"--Publisher