His name means “lotus in hand”, and he holds one gently. This is Padmapani, painted on a wall of Cave 1 at Ajanta. Two religions shaped Indian painting more than any others. Buddhism led the earliest murals. Hindu mythology took over later.
Contents
Jataka Tales: Buddhism’s Favourite Story
Jataka tales tell of the Buddha’s earlier births. They were the most common subject of early Buddhist painting.
Ajanta is the best-known home of these stories. Its famous subjects include the Mahahamsa, Kapi and Shaddanta Jatakas. Scenes from the Buddha’s own life are also painted there.
The murals were made under the Satavahana, Vakataka, Chalukya and Gupta rulers. Only parts survive today, mainly in Caves 1, 2, 9, 10, 16 and 17.
Jataka scenes also appear in small book paintings. Early miniatures, from about the ninth century, were mostly illustrations of Buddhist texts. In eastern India, such work was made under the Pala dynasty.
Sources: NDL study text on Ajanta; Taylor & Francis, Origins and Development of Miniature Painting; EBSCO Research Starters, Eastern Indian painting.
Crowned Bodhisattvas, Plain Buddha
A Bodhisattva is an enlightened being who stays to help others. Buddhist painters gave these beings a clear look. They wear crowns and jewels.
The historical Buddha is shown very differently. He wears plain monastic robes.
At Ajanta, Padmapani on the left wall of Cave 1 has lowered eyes. They express endless compassion for the world.
Sources: NDL study text on Ajanta; Smith, History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon (part 2).
Krishna Lila: The New Favourite Theme
Krishna Lila means episodes from Krishna’s life and his love for Radha. It became the most popular subject of Pahari painting.
One reason is the Rasamanjari. This Sanskrit poem by Bhanudatta describes and classifies lovers. In a famous Basohli series from about 1660, the hero and heroine are shown as Krishna and Radha.
That series is among the earliest in a distinctly Pahari style. The poem gave artists a ready set of romantic scenes to paint.
Hindu painters also used fixed visual signs. Many arms or heads show divine power. Each deity has a mount, called a vahana. Viewers in any region could read these signs.
Sources: V&A, Rasamanjari painting from Basohli; IGNCA, Indian iconography.
One Religion Fades, the Other Rises
Buddhist subjects led the earliest murals. Hindu subjects led later painting. This follows the wider fall of Buddhism as a major religion inside India.
Pala art shows the change. It flourished in the 11th and 12th centuries, mostly in palm-leaf books. In its late phase, Hindu gods also appear.
Later, the two faiths even met on one page. A Garhwal painting from about 1760-1780 shows the Buddha as an avatar of Vishnu. Such scenes are rare in Pahari art.
This was a shift of theme in India, not the end of the tradition. Buddhist painting went on elsewhere in Asia.
Sources: EBSCO Research Starters, Eastern Indian painting; Christie’s, Buddha as the ninth avatar of Vishnu; IGNCA, Indian iconography.
The Gita Govinda Gives Krishna Lila a Script
Jayadeva was the court poet of Lakshmanasena in the late 12th century. He wrote the Sanskrit poem Gita Govinda. It describes the love of Radha and Krishna in all its stages.
Eastern India became a major centre of the Radha-Krishna cult by the fifteenth century. Poems like this gave painters a clear story to illustrate. An open-ended myth was harder to paint.
Sources: IGNCA, Radha-Krishna text.
A Language Anyone Could Read
Both traditions used standard signs. Crowns marked a Bodhisattva. Extra arms and mounts marked a Hindu deity.
A viewer who knew the rules could name a figure in any region or century. The same signs worked in very different hands.
Sources: IGNCA, Indian iconography; NDL study text on Ajanta.
Check your understanding
Choose an answer first. The short explanation appears after your choice.
1. Jataka tales are stories of the Buddha’s previous lives.
2. In Buddhist paintings, Bodhisattvas wear plain monastic robes.
3. The Rasamanjari classifies lovers, and its paintings show Krishna and Radha.
4. Padmapani is found at Ellora.
5. A Hindu god with many arms shows divine power.
6. Buddhism was always absent from Indian painting after the early medieval period.
Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0
Two Approaches to Religious Storytelling
Buddhist painting leaned on one device, the Jataka tale. Hindu painting drew on many epics and devotional poems. That gave it a wider range of subjects.
The Ramayana already mentions paintings on walls and palaces. The Natyashastra discusses colour mixing and how colours affect the mind. Painting had a long written tradition before these schools.
Sources: NDL study text on Ajanta; Smith, History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon; IGNCA, Indian iconography (part 3).
UPSC CSP 2017: Padmapani at Ajanta
UPSC asked where the famous Bodhisattva Padmapani painting is found. The answer is Ajanta, Cave 1.
The trap options, Badami, Bagh and Ellora, all have notable ancient art. None holds this painting.
Source: UPSC CSP 2017, GS Paper I, Q69.
Sources: NDL study text on Ajanta (part 4).
ASI Prioritises Boulder Stabilisation at Ajanta, June 2026
On 3 June 2026, Dr Arun Malik, the new Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI Aurangabad Circle, spoke of his plans. His first priority is stabilising boulders before the monsoon. Boulders on the slopes above Ajanta are a rockfall risk.
The plans also include replacing nearly 300 optic-fibre lights in Caves 1, 2, 16, 17 and 26. They were installed in 2002 under the Ajanta-Ellora Development Project.
These are the caves that hold the murals in this article. Protecting them from rockfall helps preserve the Padmapani painting.
Sources: Lokmat Times, 3 June 2026.
How to Remember It
Think of two timelines running one after the other. Buddhism comes first. Its painters tell one kind of story, the Jataka tale, and mark holy figures with crowns and jewels.
Hinduism comes second. Its painters draw on many epics and poems. The Rasamanjari and the Gita Govinda gave them ready scenes of Radha and Krishna.
Two habits link both timelines. Artists kept to fixed signs, and viewers learned to read them. A crown meant a Bodhisattva. Many arms meant a Hindu god.
In an exam, match the theme to the period. Jataka scenes and Padmapani point to Ajanta. Krishna Lila and Basohli point to Pahari painting.
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