Ajanta

   Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India are rock-cut cave monuments dating back to the second century BCE and containing paintings and sculpture considered to be masterpieces of both "Buddhist religious art"[1] and "universal pictorial art."[2] The caves are located just outside the village of Ajinṭhā in Aurangabad District in the Indian state of Maharashtra (N. lat. 20 deg. 30' by E. long. 75 deg. 40'). Since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

topHistory 

    The caves can be traced back up to 1st century B.C. There are two main caves. The main cave which is the Chaitya (prayer hall) has a beautiful Stupa. Both the caves have some carvings also. The caves are facing eastwards. So it is recommended to visit the caves early morning as in sunlight the beauty of carvings is enhanced.

    A very famous incident is told about the caves. Till around 1861, the carvings on the walls and the Stupas were in proper condition. A British Officer after hearing about this arranged his visit there. When the local officer came to know about this, he urgently employed labour to clean and paint the walls of the caves.

topAttractions

    The cave complex was rediscovered by a British army officer in 1819. Cave 4 - Vihar - largest with 28 pillars, size (100'X41'X36'). Cave6 - The only double storied Vihar with some pillars on the upper floor musical i.e. sound carriers. Cave 19 - Chaitya, with coloured Stupa, Buddha in begging posture, Nagraja king & queen, Kuber images forming the two ends of the facade. Cave 29 - 'Buddha Mahanirvan' sculpture though little less sharp & proportionate, its grandeur is aweinspiring. Though not a monolith image and carved out from five different stones, it is strikingly beautiful.
    Caves 1, 10, 19 - the pillars are circular with rotating hinges above - a unique feature.
    Caves 1, 2, 16 & 17 - world famed for their wall & ceiling frescoes. Colours made of minerals and other natural elements used to paint Jatakas i.e. scenes from life of Buddha. These caves are attributed to the 5th century A.D., Vakataks. The painting panels on the walls & ceilings of cave - 1, presumably record the events ( roughly 630 A.D.) of exchange of embassies between the Chalukya King Pulukeshin II & the King of Persia Khusran II, though not supported by convincing evidence.  

• Cave 1  -
  
  It is first approach and has no relation to the chronological sequence of the caves. It is the first cave on the eastern end of the horse-shoe shaped scarp. According to Spink, it is one of the latest caves to have begun on site and brought to near-completion in the Vākāţaka phase. Although there is no epigraphic evidence, it has been proposed that the Vākāţaka king Harisena may have been the benefactor of this better-preserved cave. A dominant reason for this is that King Harisena was not involved initially in patronizing Ajanta, but could not have remained aloof for long, as the site was burgeoning with activity under his rule, and the Buddhist laity would have loved to see the Hindu king participating in the pious act of patronage. Besides, most of the themes depicted are royal.
  
  This cave has one of the most elaborate carvings on the facade with relief sculptures on entablature and fridges. There are scenes carved from the life of the Buddha as well as a number of decorative motifs. There was once a two pillared portico visible in the 19th-century photographs, which has since been perished. The cave has a front-court with cells fronted by pillared-vestibules on either side. These have high plinth level. The cave has a porch with simple cells on either end. The absence of pillared vestibules on ends suggest that the porch was not excavated in the latest phase of Ajanta when pillared vestibules had became a necessity and norm. Most areas of the porch was once covered with murals of which notably high degree of fragments remain. There are three doorways: a central doorway and two side-doorways. Between the main and the side-doorways, two square windows have been carved that lit the interiors.
  
  Each wall of the hall inside is nearly 40 feet long and 20 feet high. Twelve pillars make a square colonnade inside supporting the ceiling, and creating spacious aisles along the walls. There is a shrine carved on the rear wall, which houses an impressive seated image of the Buddha, his hands being in the dharmachakrapravartana mudra. There are four cells each on the left, rear, and the right wall. The walls are covered with paintings suggesting a fair state of preservation from decay. The scenes depicted are mostly didactic, devotional, and ornamental. The themes are from the Jataka stories (the stories of the Buddha's former existences as Boddhisattva), life of the Gautam Buddha, and those of his veneration.
• Cave 2 -
  
  Ajanta CavesCave 2 is next to Cave 1. It looks similar to Cave 1 in many respects. Like Cave 1, it is relatively in a better state of preservation. It is known specially for the paintings preserved on its walls, ceilings, and pillars.
  
  Facade: The cave's facade has a porch visibly different from Cave 1. Even the facade does not have carvings as in Cave 1. What we see here is a cave supported by robust pillars that are ornamented with designs. The size and general ground plan, however, shares many things in common with Cave 1.
  
  Porch: As first suggested by Walter M. Spink, the porch has cells fronted by pillared vestibules (hereinafter CPV in this article) on either ends. This architectural element is not found in the porch of Cave 1. That cave has simple cells on porch-ends. The reason is, as evidences indicate, similar porch-end cells once existed not only in Cave 2 but most other caves began early in the Vakataka phase and transformed later as CPVs in later years. In fact, all the porch-ends in various caves as wells as on the facade's side-walls were originally blank without even a cell in the earliest, the inaugural plans that were based on the prototype of a typical Hinayana vihara. The need of the cells on the previously "wasted areas" arose as a solution to greater housing requirements in later years. It became a norm subsequently to add porch-end cells in the planning of later Vakataka excavations. Still later, these simple single cells on porch-ends were converted into CPVs or were being planned as such in order to create accommodate more room, symmetry, and beauty.
  
  The paintings on the ceilings and walls of this porch are widely published. They depict the Jataka tales that are stories of the Buddha's life in former existences as Bodhisattva. The porch's rear wall has a doorway in the center, which allows entrance to the hall. On either side of the door is a square-shaped window carved to lit the interiors.
  
  Hall: The hall has four colonnade making a square in the center of the hall. They support the ceiling. Each arm or colonnade of the square is parallel to each of the respective wall of the hall making an aisle in between. The colonnades have rock-beams above and below them. The capitals are carved and painted with various decorative motifs that include ornamental, human, animal, vegetative, and semi-divine forms. Monika Zin's research on the decorative and devotional themes of Ajanta paintings should be consulted by readers wanting to learn in detail.
  
  Paintings: Paintings are everywhere except the floor or they were intended as such. At many places they have been damaged by the process of decay or human interference. Therefore, many areas of the painted walls, ceilings, and pillars are fragmentary. The painted narratives of the Jataka tales are depicted only on the walls, which demanded special attention of the devotee. They are didactic in nature meant to inform the community about the Buddha's teachings and life through successive births. Their placement on the walls required the devotee to walk through the aisles and 'read' the narratives depicted in various episodes. (Alas, to prevent vandalism, the entry in the aisles is restricted by site-authorities). The narrative episodes are depicted one after another although not in a linear order. Their identification has been a core area of research on the subject since the time of the site's rediscovery in 1819 CE. Deiter Schlingloff's identifications have updated our knowledge on the subject.
  
  For long the paintings were erroneously referred to as frescoes. However, we know now that it is best to call them murals because the typically known process and technique of 'fresco' painting is not found in these murals. At Ajanta, the technique used, the medium, materials, and process is unlike the examples found in the art history of other civilizations. In fact, these murals have a certain uniqueness about them that is rarely found elsewhere, even within the history of South Asian art. The process of painting involved several stages. First of all the rock surface was chiseled rough so that it can hold the plaster. The plaster was prepared of clay, hay, dung, lime, etc. Variations are found in ingredients and their proportions from cave to cave, and in various places in the same cave. While the plaster was still wet, the drawings were done, and the colors applied. The wet plaster has the capacity to soak the color so that the color becomes a part of the surface and would not peel off or decay easily. As regards the color, they were the so called 'earth color' or the 'vegetable color.' Various kinds of stones, minerals, and plants were used in combinations to prepare different colors. Sculptures were often covered with stucco to give them a fine finish and lustrous polish. The stucco had the ingredients of lime and powdered sea-shell or conch. The latter afforded peculiar shine and smoothness. In cave upper six, some of it is extant. The smoothness resembles the surface of a glass, which astonishes the visitor today.
  
  The brush for painting was made of animal hairs and twigs of certain plants.
  

topReaching There

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Bus Timings

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topAccommodation

The caves are taken care of by the Archeiological Survey of India; hence not allowed to stay.