Copy of painting in the caves of Ajanta (cave 16)

The scene belongs to the Bhagavan Jataka, one of the narratives recounting the Buddha’s previous lives. It portrays the future Buddha as a school‑aged boy, learning the skill of archery, a motif that underscores the development of virtue and discipline before his enlightenment.

Griffiths rendered the mural in oil on canvas, translating the original fresco’s muted palette and delicate line work into a medium suited to Western studio practice. He preserved the composition’s hierarchical arrangement, the flattened figures, and the subtle use of color that characterises early Indian wall painting.

The Ajanta murals were first documented after the caves’ rediscovery in 1819. Major Robert Gill’s 1844 copies were largely lost in an 1866 fire. From 1872 to 1885, Griffiths, a professor at the Bombay School of Art, and seven Indian apprentices spent each winter copying the frescoes, producing around three hundred oil replicas, including this 1881 work.

The Ajanta caves served as a Buddhist monastic complex, where murals functioned as visual scripture for monks and pilgrims. The Jataka narratives, such as the one depicted, were central to Buddhist pedagogy, illustrating moral lessons through the Buddha’s past incarnations.

Griffiths’ copies, created before many original murals deteriorated, remain valuable records of the Ajanta art. They continue to inform scholars about the iconography, technique, and narrative content of early Indian Buddhist painting, especially where the originals have faded or been damaged.