The
Western Chalukyas succeeded the Vakatakas in the Deccan as the most powerful
dynasty of kings. Pulakesin I was succeeded by his war-like son Kirtivarman,
the father of the famous Pulakesin II. Mangalesa, the younger brother of
Kirtivarman, succeeded the latter to the throne. He was a great patron of art
and created some of the most magnificent caves and temples in his capital. The
loveliest of them all is Cave 4, i.e., the Vaishnava cave, as it is usually
called. Imposing carvings here represent the principal forms of Vishnu like
Trivikrama, Narasimha, Virat, Bhogiblogasanasina and Varaha. As the lanchhana
or emblem of the Chalukyas, the Varaha has especially been shown to advantage,
and suggests how the king had a reason to be proud of himself for carrying
lightly the burden of a vast empire on earth under his sway, like Varaha, who
raised the almost submerged Prithvi.
In an
inscription dated Sakti 500, i.e., A.D. 578-79 in the twelfth year of his
reign, the construction of this cave temple is described at length as also the
installation of the image of Vishnu in it. The inscription near the Varaha
panel is so informative that it gives a clue to the visitor to look around on
the ceiling and walls as well as the sculptures to appreciate the wonderful decoration
of the cave by the craftsman of Mangalesa.
Usually
every part of a building was so painted as to arrest the attention of
appreciative and aesthetic-minded connoisseurs of art. At Mahabalipu ram,
fragments of paintings may be noted in the upper cells of the Dharmarajaratha.
Similarly they occur in other Pallava cave temples and the Kailasanatha temple
at Kanchipuram. At Badarni also, this decorative factor is present. It is so
recorded in an inscription at Badami that we can understand that the painters
of Mangalesa's court were continuing the traditions of the earlier Vakatakas
who had got their Ajanta caves painted. The classical idiom in the paintings of
Badami clearly bears out the fact of the continuation of their tradition by the
Chalukyas of Badami. The credit for the discovery of these paintings on the
heavily vaulted roof goes to Stella Kramrisch. The paintings of Badami are
among the earliest in Brahmanical temples, just as the paintings at Ajanta and
Sittannavasal are among the earliest Buddhist and Jain murals, respectively.
In the
fragmentary paintings at Badami, Mangalesa is clearly seen as a great patron of
the painter's art. A large panel represents a scene in the palace. The central
seated figure in it is witnessing music and dance. Watching the scene from the
balcony above is a group of visitors. The principal figure, soft bluish green
in complexion, is seated with one foot resting on his seat and the other on the
padapitha, but the painting is so damaged that it is difficult to make out
details. The beautiful torso and both the hands can be made out. Though the
face is lost, a portion of the makuta is preserved. A beautiful necklace with
lovely pendant tassels, usual in Chalukyan style, can be noticed on the neck.
The yajnopavita is composed of pearls. At the feet of this important personage
are a number of seated figures, mostly damaged, and several damsels are in
attendance, some of them holding the chamaras. To the left is the orchestra
composed of musicians and two beautiful dancing figures a male and a female.
The male dancer dances in the chatura pose with his left hand in the
dandahasta. The other has her legs crossed almost in the prishthasvastika
attitude and her right hand is in danda. She wears her hair in an elaborate
coiffure. All the musicians playing various instruments like the flute and the
drum are women. The scene is placed in a grand mansion with a pillared hall
provided with a yavanika or screen arranged for indicating the inner apartments
of the place. It may be identified as the court of Indra in his magnificent
palace Vaijayanta, witnessing dance and music, and the dancer may be Bharata or
Tandu himself, it may be recalled that Urvasi committed an error on one such
occasion of performance at the court of Indra. 
The
next panel should be understood in this context. This depicts a princely figure
seated at ease in the maharajalila pose, with his leg on the padapitha, his
left leg raised and placed on the seat, and his left arm resting leisurely on
his knee. There are several crowned princes seated on the ground to his right.
Towards the farthest end is a woman dressed in a lower garment of the
aprapadina type reaching up to her anklets and holding a vetradanda or staff.
She is probably the usher or pratihari. To the left of the picture is the queen
attended upon by prasadhikas or attendants, one of whom is painting her foot
with alaktaka. The queen is seated on a low couch with a rectangular back and
provided with cushions. Chamaradharinis also attend on the prince. The queen is
seated in a leisurely pose, her right leg touching the padapitha and the left
raised on the seat itself. Her coiffure is beautifully fashioned. The prince is
swarthy and the queen is of the gaura or fair type.
This appears to be the
portrait of Kirtivarman, in the vicinity of Indra in all his glory, in the
Indrasabha, to suggest the close similarities between the lord of heaven and
the lord of the earth, the comparison that Kalidasa has so often made in his
works. The great ruler on earth, when he reached heaven, became a partner of
the glory in heaven with Indra. Mangalesa had such a great love for his royal
brother, and such respect, that the entire merit of the offering of the cave
was made over by him as recorded in the inscription there, to his elder born,
and it is no wonder that he got his portrait also painted, as seated in his
private chamber with his queen and select friendly subordinate rulers. There
can be no better compliment paid to his brother by Mangalesa than by presenting
these two pictures of Indra and Kirtivarman side by side, enhancing the
prestige of the latter in terms beyond any formal praise.
It is
interesting to note that this painting is close to the Varaha panel in the
Badami cave. It is a fact that this Varaha panel inspired the Varaha panel at
Mahabalipuram. It is also interesting that at Mahabalipuram the portraits of
Narasimhavarman's grandfather and father, Simhavishnu and Mahendravarman, with
their queens, are carved close to the Varaha, following the tradition at
Badami, where Kirtivarman and his queen are presented in the Vaishnava cave of
Mangalesa. It is interesting to recall the lines of Kalidasa in the context of
this panel: aindram padam bhumigatopi bhunkte (Raghuvainsa), tayor divas
paterasidekas sinthasanardhabhak dvitiyapi sakhi sachyah paraijatamsabhagini
(Raghtivamsa) with close stress on both king and queen.
Two
more fragments of panels are noticed in the Badami cave delineating flying
pairs of Vidyadharas. One of them shows their hands closely entwining each
other's neck in kanthaslesha. The trtakuta of the Vidyadhara and the beautiful
dhammilla of the Vidyadhari are noteworthy. The latter is swarthy, while the
former is fair.
Even
more beautiful, though less preserved, is the second pair. The Vidyadhara plays
the vina. In this case, the damsel who is fair and her consort greenish blue
recall the description of Kalidasa: indivarasyamatanur nriposau tvam
rochattagattrasarirayasht atlyonyasobhaparivriddhayevam yogas tadittoyadayor
ivastu (Raghuvamsa).
The few
fragments at Badami, although the only existing material for study of early
Chalukyan paintings, are yet beautiful and suggestive of all the grace of the
painter's art, comparable to the magnificent remains of sculptural work of the
period of glory in the Deccan.
Writer-
C. Sivaramamurti
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