Ajanta Caves

Ajanta caves, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, holds masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, considered the finest examples of architecture. These historical manmade caves containing paintings on the walls and ceilings primarily depict the life of the Buddha before his enlightenment. The caves are located 100km northeast of Aurangabad, the nearest railhead being 55 km north at Jalgaon city of Maharashtra, India.

The golden age of Buddhism began with the conversion of Emperor Ashoka into the religion in the 3rd century BC. Around 2nd century AD Buddhism split into two sects,

Hinayana and Mahayana. The caves at Ajanta which cover both the systems, belong to two distinct phases of Buddhist rock-cut architecture, separated from each other by an interval of about four centuries. They were created out of hard rock with the barest of implements and served as monastic retreats for Buddhist monks, scholars, pupils and artists. The caves which were found to be continuously used or lived in from 200 BC to about AD650 were rediscovered in 1819, by a group of British soldiers who stumbled upon these cultural treasures overrun by foliage, many of them clogged with debris. 

The 30 rock-cut caves with incomparable beauty, are cut into the steep face of a horseshoe-shaped hillside, silent but for the birdsong from the nearby Waghore River. The caves, some of them unfinished, are of two basic designs called 'Chaitya grihas' and 'Viharas'. Five of the caves (9,10, 26,29) are Chaityas (Buddhist cathedrals) while the other 25 are Viharas (monasteries). Chaitya grihas were halls of worship - large, rectangular chambers separated by rows of pillars into a central nave, surrounded by aisles on three sides, for circumambulation during prayer, with a sanctuary opposite the entrance. The Chaityas are decorated with sculptures and murals depicting the many incarnations of Buddha. Viharas or monasteries are rectangular shaped halls with series of small cells attached on two sides for the dwelling of monks. Among them, the earlier group belong to the Hinayana sect (2nd century B.C) and the latter group, to the Mahayana sect (A.D. 450 to 650).

Many of the caves are dark inside and without a light paintings are hard to see. A lighting ticket has to be purchased on production of which the cave guards turn on the lights for you to see the paintings. Many of the paintings still glow in their original colours. The outer walls are covered with sculptures. The art depicts the elegant timber-built interiors of spacious palaces, halls, peopled by be- jewelled princess and princesses, retinues of attendants, mendicants and market places, celestial musicians and fur capped foreign emissaries on unknown missions. War-horses in colourful trappings, monkeys, peacocks and elephants and host of other images dominate the world of these unknown artists. 

Ajanta paintings are more correctly tempera, since they are painted on a dry surface. The paintings were executed after the rock walls were coated with a 1cm thick layer of clay and cow dung mixed with rice husks. A final coat of lime was applied to produce the finished surface on which the artist painted. These beautiful paintings have survived time and still make the atmosphere very vibrant and alive. The contours of the figures leave the visitor spell bound.