Buddhist art in India which flourished from the time of king Ashoka (3rd century B.C.) to that of the Pala dynasty (13th century A.D.) is devoted to monumental and sculptural art. Fresco painting is a salient feature of this period particularly during the reign of Guptas. While the frescoes at Ajantas are a favorite subject of art critics and historians, those at Bagh in Central India seem to have been overlooked. Few scholars worked on Bagh frescoes, which are now almost destroyed. Dr. Meena Talim has attempted to collect all slender strings of information about the paintings and bring forth a clear and complete picture of Bagh frescoes. Her approach is guided by the belief that Buddhist art cannot be truly evaluated without the help of Buddhist texts.

Contents
1. SITE AND SITUATION HISTORY OF EXPLORATION. 1
A.
Site and Situation. 3
History of Exploration. 4
B.
About the Caves. 7
Dates of the Caves. 15
2. IDENTIFICATION AND INTERPRETATION. 19
Part I
A. Paintings in Caves 2 and 3 Nos. 21
B. Paintings in Cave No. 4. 28
Part II
C. Painting of Persian. 65
D. The Painting beyond restoration. 68
E. The Scenes in the remnants. 73
3. BODHISATTVAS AND BUDDHA. 77
A.
Bodhisattvas in Paintings. 80
Images of Bodhisattvas. 89
B.
Images of Buddha aniconic and iconic. 96
4. MORE ABOUT BĀGH CAVES: THE BĀGH AND AJANTA PAINTINGS. 109
A. A Comparison with Ajanta. 111
B. Selection of the Topics. 120
C. Scroll Paintings. 123
5. CONTRIBUTION OF THE SCHOLARS. 131
Epilogue. 146
Bibliography. 147