Chitra sutra and Ajanta-Theory and Practice of Bharat's Painting

Presenter: Dr Sindhu Saraswathy

Artist ,Author,educator and researcher focused on India’s artistic traditions. Author of two study companions -AJANTA UNFOLDED-flora,figures figures and THE THIRD DIMENSION IN AJANTA -Breathing space into flatness

Workshop: Hands-On Ajanta Painting Workshop

Title -Chitra sutra and Ajanta-Theory and Practice of Bharat's Painting

Overview

For over a century, scholars have described Ajanta's paintings as "flat," lacking perspective. But the walls tell a different story. The citrakāra—the ancient master painters—possessed complete systematic knowledge of how to create three-dimensional space on stone.

In this workshop, you will:

LEARN:

• Rekhā — how line weight creates volume and spatial depth
• Sthanas/Positions and Foreshortening
• Vartana — traditional shading techniques (patrāja, airika, binduja)
• Kṣaya-vṛddhi — the principle of foreshortening
• Ujjotana and Nimnonnatha-highligts and colour contrast
• The Ajanta palette — yellow ochre, red ochre, lamp black, lapis lazuli, terre verte, lime white
• Compositional principles from ancient texts (Chitrasutras and Nāṭyaśāstra)

PRACTICE:

Paint traditional Ajanta motifs—lotus blooms, peacocks, elephants, human figures

Apply authentic techniques using natural pigments

Create spatial depth using the citrakāra's systematic methods

Work through step-by-step instruction grounded in śāstric texts

TAKE HOME:

• Your painted studies created during the workshop
• A comprehensive practice manual with step-by-step instructions, reference images, and technical guidance so you can continue practicing at home
• Deep understanding of how Ajanta's three-dimensional illusion was created
• Connection to 1,700 years of artistic lineage
• Practical skills for ongoing development

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

• Fine arts students and practicing artists
• Anyone interested in traditional Indian painting
• Art historians and enthusiasts of Ajanta
• Those seeking hands-on engagement with India's sacred art

About the Instructor:

Sindhu Saraswathy is a practitioner of traditional Indian painting and author of Ajanta Unfolded: Flora, Fauna and Figures and The Third Dimension at Ajanta: Breathing Space into Flatness.

As an inheritor of the citrakāra's lineage, she teaches the systematic techniques documented in ancient texts and visible on Ajanta's walls—techniques that have been overlooked for over a century but remain as sophisticated and applicable today as they were 1,700 years ago.

This workshop honors the Pitr—the unnamed masters whose knowledge breathed space into stone.