The Bagh Caves (An Old and Rare Book)

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Chaityas, Viharas, Shrins,etc. hewn out of live rock are the ever living examples revealing the evolution and development of Indian architecture. Hindu, Buddhist and jain. These are the storehouses of the art heritage India Exhibiting a plethora of the finest specimens of plastic art, besides opening up a vast vista of the finest surviving specimens of Indian mural paintings.

While rock-cut caves with exemplary sculptural wealth are numerous those with wall paintings as well as very few. In Fact only two serious of rock architecture resplendent with murals still survive-Ajanta in Maharashtra and Bagh in Mandhyapradesh: the former numerically more and better preserved and the latter less in number and in almost in the last stages of obliteration decay having set in due to geological and climatic factors.

The Buddhist rock-cut monuments at Bagh are excavated in the only sandstone formation of the otherwise basaltic region of the Vindhyan range on the bank of Wagh or bagh river a tributary of the Narmada. The caves numbering nine datable to 6" 7 century AD, take its name from the river as well as the near by town bagh, situated at about 144km, from Mohow, a military cantonment.

The credit of discovering these immortal Buddhist relics goes to Lt. Dangerfield (1818). The Clearance of Debris and initial process of preservation had been the responsibility of the government of the erstwhile Gwalior State, Department of Archaeology, and Particular at the instance of the then enthusiastic art loving Maharaja. After the merger the task has developed upon the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Mahayana Buddhist caves of bagh are more important for the panoramic paintings which in style and executions simulate the Ajanta Paintings in fact Bagh is a mini Ajanta. But in some respect it excels complete. freedom and movement speciousness. To quote from the book itself: The painters were masters of expressional from attaining through the special use of the line which not only separates space from space but reveals the emotion of the circumstances that have brought such spaces together. Again "While Ajanta frescoes are more religious in the theme depicting incident from the previous lives of the Buddha with their human associations, the bagh frescoes are more human depicting the life of the times with its religious associations.

The present book a reprint, joint effort of Marshall, Grade, Vogel, Havell and Cousins, each contributing chapters of their specialization magnificently edited by Sir John Marshall, Contains 29 plans and drawing and 9 color plates. The Color plates were copied by a band eminent and well known artist Nandlal Bose, Asit Kumar Halsdar and others.

It is no exaggeration to assert that what has been bequeathed to posterity is due essentially the outcome of the "Industry of a prince and the skill of modern artists (who) have preserved for us the copies of the bagh frescoes now published in this volume which art lovers in all lands and through ages will treasures as an invaluable presentation of a hitherto vaguely known phase of classical art of India". To concur with the above one has only to visit the caves now.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages