Later Mural Traditions

2.1 Core concepts

After the great Ajanta cycles of the 5th century CE, very few painting sites survived to the present day, although sculptures were routinely plastered and painted, and cave-excavation continued across the Deccan and South with simultaneous sculpting and painting (NCERT §Intro, p. 61). The Indian mural continuum can be reconstructed from disparate but high-quality surviving fragments: the Indian wall-painting tradition did not die with Ajanta but migrated southward and was adapted by successive dynasties.

The first major site is Badami in Karnataka, which was the capital of the early Chalukyan dynasty that ruled from 543 to 598 CE. With the decline of the Vakatakas, the Chalukyas had established power in the Deccan, and Badami's rock-cut caves became the principal heir to the Ajanta tradition (NCERT §Badami, p. 61). Cave No. 4 at Badami was patronised by the Chalukya king Mangalesha, the younger son of Pulakesi I and the brother of Kirtivarman I. The dedicatory inscription is dated 578–579 CE and records the dedication of an image of Vishnu — for which reason the cave is popularly called the Vishnu Cave. Only a fragment of painting survives, on the vaulted roof of the front mandapa, depicting palace scenes including Kirtivarman seated with his wife and feudatories watching a dance performance, with Indra and his retinue in a corner. NCERT describes the Badami style as a direct extension of the Ajanta mural tradition into South India: sinuously drawn lines, fluid forms, compact composition, large eye-sockets, half-closed eyes, protruding lips and a sense of volume created by simple line treatment rather than by heavy modelling (NCERT §Badami, pp. 61–62).

Next come the Pallava, Pandya and Chola muralists. The Pallava king Mahendravarma I, who ruled in the seventh century, built temples at Panamalai, Mandagapattu and Kanchipuram. His Mandagapattu inscription bestows on him three honorific titles that CUET examiners love to test: Vichitrachitta ("curious-minded"), Chitrakarapuli ("tiger among artists") and Chaityakari ("temple builder"). These three titles together signal the new royal self-identification as a connoisseur, an artist and a builder — a self-conception that will recur in later dynasties (NCERT §Pallava-Pandya-Chola, pp. 62–63). The Kanchipuram temple paintings, patronised by the later Pallava king Rajsimha, depict the Somaskanda theme — Shiva, Uma and the infant Skanda — and are stylistically characterised by round, large faces, rhythmic lines with increased ornamentation, and elongated torsos.

The Pandya murals survive chiefly at Tirumalaipuram caves and at the Jain caves of Sittanvasal. At Sittanvasal, paintings occur on the ceilings of shrines, in the verandas and on the brackets; pillars are decorated with dancing celestial nymphs in vermilion red on a lighter background, with bodies modelled subtly in yellow. The captioned Sittanvasal panel is dated to the early Pandya period, ninth century CE (NCERT §Pallava-Pandya-Chola, p. 63).

The Chola mural tradition extends from the 9th to the 13th century, reaching its zenith in the 11th century. The masterpieces are at Brihadeswara at Thanjavur, at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, and at Darasuram, built respectively under Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Rajaraja Chola II (NCERT §Pallava-Pandya-Chola, p. 64). The Brihadeswara paintings are located on the walls of the narrow passage that runs round the shrine, and they consist of two superimposed layers. The upper layer was painted in the Nayak period (16th century); cleaning of the upper layer revealed the great Chola layer beneath, showing Shiva in Kailash, Shiva as Tripurantaka, Shiva as Nataraja, Rajaraja with his mentor Kuruvar, and various dancing figures. The two-layer Brihadeswara fact is a perennial CUET favourite, including in Assertion-Reason format.

The next section is Vijayanagara murals (14th–16th century). The Vijayanagara empire captured the region from Hampi to Trichy, with Hampi as the capital. The earliest Vijayanagara murals are at Tiruparakunram (14th century). The Virupaksha temple at Hampi has ceiling paintings of the dynastic history of Vijayanagara rulers, scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and a famous panel showing Vidyaranya — the spiritual teacher of Bukkaraya Harsha — being carried in a palanquin; Vishnu's incarnations are also depicted on the ceilings (NCERT §Vijayanagara Murals, pp. 64–65). The Vijayanagara style is characterised by faces shown in profile but with large frontal eyes, narrow waists, two-dimensional figures and objects, still but fluid lines, and rectilinear compositional compartments. Lepakshi near Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh — particularly the Virbhadra (Shiva) temple — preserves glorious examples of mature Vijayanagara murals.

The Nayaka paintings (17th–18th century) at Thiruparakunram, Sreerangam and Tiruvarur depict the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, Krishna-leela episodes, the Muchukunda legend (at Tiruvarur), and the Bhikshatana Murti and Mohini panels (at Chidambaram). The Sri Krishna temple at Chengam in Arcot district has 60 Ramayana panels of the late Nayaka period (NCERT §Vijayanagara Murals, pp. 65–66). The Nayaka style is essentially a continuation and elaboration of the Vijayanagara style — profile figures against flat backgrounds, slim-waisted males with less heavy abdomens than their Vijayanagara predecessors — with the Nataraja at Tiruvalanjuli serving as a classic illustration (NCERT §Nayaka, p. 66).

Kerala murals (16th–18th century) developed a distinct pictorial language by drawing cues from the contemporary Kerala performing tradition of Kathakali and from the ritual floor painting known as kalam ezhuthu. The Kerala style is recognised by vibrant luminous colours, three-dimensional human figures and an emphasis on facial expression. More than sixty Kerala mural sites survive, including three royal palaces — the Dutch palace at Kochi, the Krishnapuram palace at Kayamkulam and the Padmanabhapuram palace. The mature phase is best represented at the Pundareekapuram Krishna temple, Panayanarkavu, Thirukodithanam, the Triprayar Sri Rama temple and the Trissur Vadakkunathan temple (NCERT §Kerala Murals, pp. 66–67).

The tradition extends into the present. Folk mural traditions still survive: pithoro paintings in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat; Mithila painting in northern Bihar; warli paintings in Maharashtra; and wall paintings in Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Indian mural tradition is therefore unbroken, descending from Bhimbetka and Ajanta through the dynastic phases to today's village walls (NCERT §Kerala Murals / Folk traditions, p. 67).

2.2 Definitions to memorise

2.3 Diagrams / processes to remember

Key plates students should be able to identify visually include: the Queen and Attendants fragment from the vaulted roof of the front mandapa of Cave No. 4 at Badami (p. 61), recognised by its Ajanta-derived line work and palace-scene composition; the Sittanvasal dancing celestial nymphs in vermilion-on-yellow, with their lotus pond pillar (p. 62); the Devi from Panamalai, dated to the 7th century CE, a Pallava female divinity (p. 63); the Dakshinamurty panel from Vijayanagara Lepakshi (p. 64) showing the south-facing teaching Shiva; the Ladies Attending Parvati from the Virbhadra Temple at Lepakshi (p. 65), illustrating Vijayanagara two-dimensional rectilinear composition with profile faces and frontal eyes; the Venugopal from the Sri Rama Temple at Triprayar in Kerala (p. 66); and the Krishna playing flute, accompanied by gopikas, from the Krishna temple at Pundareekapuram in Kerala (p. 67), illustrating the luminous palette and three-dimensional facial modelling of mature Kerala murals.

Stylistically, students should remember the diagnostic features of each tradition: Badami = Ajanta-derived sinuous line, large eye-sockets, protruding lips; Pallava (Kanchipuram) = round large faces, rhythmic line, elongated torso; Pandya (Sittanvasal) = vermilion-on-light-background ceiling panels with celestial nymphs; Chola (Brihadeswara) = lower of two layers, monumental Shiva narratives; Vijayanagara = profile face + frontal eye + narrow waist + two-dimensionality + rectilinear compartments; Nayaka = continuation of Vijayanagara but slimmer males with less heavy abdomens; Kerala = three-dimensional faces + luminous palette + Kathakali influence.

2.4 Common confusions / NTA trap points

• Mangalesha was the younger son of Pulakesi I and brother (not son) of Kirtivarman I.
• The Badami Cave 4 inscription is dated 578–579 CE, not 543 CE (543 is the start of Chalukya rule).
• Mahendravarma I's three titles (Vichitrachitta / Chitrakarapuli / Chaityakari) are frequently shuffled in distractors; remember the meanings — curious-minded / tiger among artists / temple builder.
• Brihadeswara has TWO layers: Chola underneath, Nayak (16th c.) on top. Students often reverse this.
• Lepakshi is in Andhra Pradesh (near Hindupur), NOT Tamil Nadu.
• The capital of Vijayanagara is Hampi, NOT Trichy (Trichy was the southern limit).
• Vidyaranya was the spiritual teacher of Bukkaraya Harsha, depicted at Virupaksha temple, Hampi (not Lepakshi).
• Kerala murals draw on Kathakali and kalam ezhuthu — not on Yakshagana or Theyyam in this text.
• Sittanvasal is Jain (not Buddhist or Hindu), and its murals belong to the Pandya tradition.
• Gangaikonda Cholapuram was built by Rajendra Chola, not Rajaraja Chola.
• Darasuram was built by Rajaraja Chola II, not the original Rajaraja.
• Kerala has more than 60 mural sites and three palaces with murals.

2.5 Key artworks / artists