Ajanta Cave 17: Hamsa Jataka

INDIA, Maharashtra, Aurangabad

This mural is located on the left wall of the main hall and extends onto the left corner pilaster. The story is found in the Pali Jataka No. 533. It describes the past lives of the Buddha and Ananda as a goose king named Dhritarashtra and his loyal minister, Sumukha.
In the story, a golden goose appeared in the dream of Queen Khema of Benares and taught the Dharma. Upon waking, the queen decreed a beautiful lake be built in order to lure the sacred goose to the city. When Goose King Dhritarashtra and his flock arrived at the lake, a fowler snared him to take to the human queen. The goose king gave a warning call to the other geese so they would escape, but his faithful minister, Sumukha, refused to leave his side. The fowler, perplexed, returned to the entire royal court with both geese. The king and queen were impressed by the loyalty and courage shown by the minister goose, and received them both with great honors. Then, just as the queen had dreamed, the goose king taught the Dharma to the royal court.
A sequence of scenes in the mural illustrate: a flock of geese at rest on the bank of a lake, the flock flies away in fright, the goose king and his minister arrive at the royal court with the fowler, and in the last scene, the goose king teaches the Dharma to the king and queen. In the scene, the king and queen are seated on the left while Dhritarashtra and Sumukha are seated across from them on the right. They are surrounded by ministers and court attendants.