Drawing in the Caves

For the last three weeks I have been in India
drawing the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain sculptures
in the caves at Ellora and Ajanta.

I was following in the footsteps of the Swiss artist
Alice Boner (1889-1981) who had contemplated these sculptures
and discovered the sacred geometry within the forms
(more on this later).

The thirty-four caves at Ellora were carved out of the rock
from the sixth through the ninth centuries.
They are shrines within a mountain.
Cave as womb.
Cave as heart.
I begin the process of exploring,
moving from the outer world to the inner . . .

First Day.
Wandering through the stone spaces -
listening, waiting, for the way IN . . .

The whole image of The Mighty Boar (Varaha Avatara)
is too complex for me to take on this first day.
I sit and draw the details -
his great hand, and foot, and snout,
feeling the sweetness of his contact.

Varaha is an emanation of the god Vishnu - the Preserver -
who comes to save the world when some great evil threatens.
Here he has taken the form of the Boar who has plunged into the ocean
to rescue the Goddess Earth and lift her up.

I see how trusting and relaxed she is in his hands -
raised into the clouds - victorious. . .

In the next cave I am drawn to the pillar carvings.
I'm warming up - finding relationships everywhere !

On to Ajanta - next posting coming soon . . .