Cave IX. is one of the earliest chaityas yet discovered in Western India. The open screen of the arch was in wood, and the remainder of the front in stone; but the facade shows clearly the imitation of wooden forms, as they were in use before the Christian era. The chaitya is 45 feet-deep, by 22 feet 9 inches wide, and 23 feet 2 inches high. The plan is square; the aisles are flat-roofed and lighted by windows; and the pillars slope an inch or two inwards from bottom to top. The date of the chaitya may be assumed to be about 100 B.C. A colonnade all round divides the nave from the aisles; and at the far end the pillars form a semi-circular apse, in the centre of which stands the dagoba. The base of the dagoba is a plain cylinder, 7 feet in diameter and 5 feet high; and the dome is 6 feet 4 inches in diameter and 4 feet high. The square capital on the top is 1¼ feet high, and is carved on the sides with the Buddhist rail pattern. It represents a relic box, crowned by six plain fillets, each projecting over the one below; and it probably supported a wooden umbrella. Inside the entrance are two pillars, which are square below and above, and octagonal in the middle. The nave has twenty-one plain octagonal columns, without base or capital, 10 feet 4 inches high, and supporting an entablature 6 feet 8 inches deep. The vaulted roof was originally fitted with wooden ribs; but the aisles are flat-roofed, and are an inch higher than the columns. A window opens into each aisle; and over the front doorway is the great window, of horse-shoe form, 11½ feet high, with an inner arch 9¾ feet high, just above the front pillars of the nave. The great arch has horizontal ribs, five of which project on each side in the direction of the centre, while eleven above project in a vertical direction. The barge-board is wider than usual and perfectly plain, but it was probably plastered, and its ornament was reproduced in painting A terrace on the sill is 2 ¼ feet wide, and has a low parapet in front, wrought in the Buddhist rail pattern. Another terrace outside is 3¾ feet wide, and extends the whole width of the cave. The front of the cave is ornamented with patterns of the window itself, as the latter must have appeared, with a wooden frame of lattice work in the arch. A colossal figure of Buddha is on the wall at each end at right angles to the facade. The few figures of Buddha in the facade, and even the dagobas at the ends of the side walls, are of very-much later date than the cave, and belong to the 5th century. Dagobas and. figures of Buddha have also been sculptured in the faces of the side walls looking into the court; and again to the left of the facade, a small chapel has figures of the latest Mahayana type. The porch has fallen away, and had two struts of a wooden appearance supporting a cornice. The walls and pillars have been hewn quite smooth, and a very thin coating of plaster or paint has been put on them. The paintings consist of traces of buildings, and six figures of Buddha on the left wall, each with a triple umbrella. On the back wall are figures of Buddha variously engaged, with disciples, worshippers, a dagoba, &c, all of high artistic merit, and of older date than the generality of the paintings. Portions of painting of at least three different ages can be detected. On the front wall, over the left window, are two layers of paintings; and a fragment of the lower or older painting, which has been laid bare, contains the jataka of Sibi raja, giving his eyes to Indra, who appeared in the form of a mendicant to test him. [The following details are from an account by Mr. Griffiths, who made copies of these paintings. The dresses, heavy jewelry, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and head-dresses of the lower painting, resemble the style represented in the Sanchi and Amravatti topes, and in the earliest sculptures discovered at Mathura. They are probably not later than the time of Gautamiputra of the latter half of the 2nd century A.D.
Over the left window of the cave, on the inside of the front wall, is a version of the legend of Sibi raja. A chief sits with one foot on the ground and the other on a seat, wearing a broad heavy neck-chain with large oblong jewels slipped over it, large earrings, and a high turban with a knob in front. On his wrist are four massive rings, and on his arm is a large bracelet. Four men and a woman stand before him; and two men are behind, one on either side. In the back ground to the left, two men come in with high turbans, broad necklaces run through oblong jewels, heavy chased bracelets on the wrists, and long narrow waistcloths; while one of them has very large oblong earrings. Above is a flying figure, perhaps Indra, similarly dressed. Over the lintel are the heads of two Buddhas, of later date; and to the left are two men seated under an Asoka tree, on a hill. The painting over the door is more recent.
Proceeding along the left wall from the front, are six Buddhas with three umbrellas each. The pillars contain relic shrines of sitting and standing Buddhas. There are also some traces of buildings, and a sort of temple can be made out. The wall below has been painted in a later style. The roof has been divided into a double row of squares, with a rosette in each. On the back wall, Buddha is sitting on a hill to the extreme right with two disciples before him, and a third figure stands in the back ground. At Buddha's right is a bottle; and a figure bends forward below him, pouring something from a bottle into a small vessel. A Buddha stands near a palace to the right, and faces the opposite direction, holding an alms bowl. A young beggar is in front of him: and there are three other beggars,-one of whom wears a beard and a top-knot head-dress; while a bottle is hung on a tripod behind them. A man on a ladder, ascending to the upper floor of the palace, receives a pitcher from the shoulders of another to the left; and a third also with a pitcher,- is climbing the ladder to the right. Next to this is a tall Bodhisattva, with his right hand raised, and wearing a top-knot head-dress. He has a bottle in his left hand, a deer-skin over his left shoulder, and a white waistcloth round his loins suspended by a green ribbon. A white object surrounded with a halo is above to the right. Then comes a Buddha in the teaching attitude, seated on a throne, with his feet on a lotus; and below is an obliterated inscription. Two richly jewelled attendants stand behind the throne, holding fly-flaps; and in the foreground to the right, a figure in a top-knot head-dress and striped robe, holds a vessel in which are flowers, while a garland hangs from his finger. Below sits a chief with a square crown and his wife is beside him. To the right is a Buddha sitting on a lotus, with an umbrella hung with strings of pearls, and a nimbus over his head, from which issue flames. His hair is short, curly, and crisp; he holds his robe with the left hand, and his right hand hangs down before him, with the palm turned up. At, his foot is a small beggar, and behind him is a portion of the striped dress of the umbrella-holder. In the next compartment, a Buddha sits on an elaborately ornamented throne, with a halo round his head, and his feet on a lotus, the stalk of which is held by two small Naga figures with snake tails. There was an inscription below, but very little of it remains. Two richly dressed figures holding fly-flaps stand beside Buddha; the one on the left has also a thunder-bolt; and a chief and his wife are sitting on the same side. The chief wears a high square-topped crown, and is looking up at Buddha, intent on all that is said; while his wife looks appealingly to him. Above them, a heavenly musician over a ledge points to Buddha; and before the chief is a disciple bowing with closed hands. A beggar on the right kneels and makes obeisance; and so do two disciples, the younger of whom has a striped scarf over his left shoulder, and the other wears a robe like Buddha. There were two more figures richly dressed, but they are destroyed. In the next fragment, Sakya Muni sits with his feet on a stool in the teaching attitude, and beneath is an obliterated inscription. A fair figure, with jewelry, thin scarf, and waistcloth, stands on the right holding a fly-flap; and three small figures sit before Sakya Muni making presents, the one on the left offering a flower, the one in the centre making a more substantial present, and the third holding the hands up in the attitude of prayer. A tall Sakya Muni stands gracefully on a lotus further to the left. A couple of little beggars sit before him, towards whose heads he stretches his right hand, the palm of which contains the emblem of the wheel. His left hand holds a portion of his robe, and an ornamental glory is behind his head; while two children come with offerings to pay him homage. A fragment, probably of a fly-flap bearer, is on the right; and in the foreground next to this is a child, tallying with one on the extreme left. Portions of umbrellas can be traced over the two figures of Sakya Muni.
A large fragment of painting occurs on the triforium to the right of the relic shrine, but only umbrellas and some tall figures can be made out. Further forward are more Buddhas, sitting and standing under umbrellas, with attendants.
An old painting on the front wall to the right has been covered by a later painting, but neither is intelligible.] Another piece in the same style, extends from the front wall some way down the left side wall. On the back wall is a large fragment of later date; while the paintings on the pillars and other parts of the walls apparently belong to the 5th or 6th century A.D. There are some painted Sanskrit inscriptions, mostly donative, but they are too fragmentary to be intelligible. A portion of an older Pali inscription is on the back wall.
