Location & History

Ajanta is about 105 km away from Aurangabad and one can reach the Ajanta caves by bus or by train. The old town of Ajanta is 7 km from the caves.

The landscape around Ajanta is verdant and peaceful and it was specifically for this purpose, that this site was chosen for the rock cut temple caves. The path lading to the caves is narrow but perfectly safe. The caves were virtually forgotten but were rediscovered by a small group of British officers who while hunting stumbled on this architectural treasure-trove of caves in 1819. These cave's came into prominence in 1845 when James Ferguson drew attention to the scholarly importance of those unique caves his Work "Illustrations" of the rock-cut temples of India.

Ajanta's art and architecture can be conveniently divided chronologically as follows: -

Cave numbers 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 group belong to the 2nd and 1st century B.C. a period which witnessed the dominance of Himalaya religion and thus it has influence on the temple of that time.

The later has to influence of the Mahayana group in which Buddha is depicted as opposed to the anionic precepts of Mahayana & it consists of cave number 6, 7, and 11 (450-500), cave 14-20 (500-550) and 1-5 and 21-29 (550-650).

Many of the famous and unique paintings in these caves have faded beyond recognition but were restored by Italian restorers. Historians are divided over the topic whether to let these paintings fade naturally and retain its authenticity or be allowed to be retouched by artists according to their own perceptions. Some of the caves are closed even now for conservation work.

Visitor to these caves should carry a good and a powerful torch and pre-knowledge about the history of the caves will help. Cheap guidebooks are easily available. There is an entrance ticket for visiting these caves.

Cave 1 and 2: are illuminated at a small charge. According to rules not more than twenty persons are allowed here at one time. Cave 1 is one of the most splendid viharas with breath taking paintings. Shading is noticed on the paintings and they are styled, hair around the faces it painted in black these enhancing the beauty of the face. The painters of that time had understood the art of the dance form and used it to their full advantage to express mobility, grace and feelings in their painting. Such a mastery of the medium is noted in the Bodhisattvas in Cave 1, which were probably painted during the rule of Pulakesin II who died in about 642.

Cave 2 was painted slightly later than cave 1. Caves 1 and 2 have ceilings, which are divided into dozens of bands. Cave 2 is smaller than cave 1. Both have similar features - a Buddha in the sitting posture teaching in the Sarnath Deer Park. From the main columnar hall are found the small cells, which were made so to give monastic privacy to the monks. The Jataka tales are painted around the walls. Clockwise these are the Hamsa tales, the birth stories of Buddha, the Vidhurapandita tales, the conversion of Purna, and the rescue of Purna's brother from the Shipwreck.

JATAKA TALES

There are nearly 547 Jataka tales written in the Pali language told by Gautam Buddha to his pupils in the forty years intervening between his enlightenment and the "shedding of his mortal remains."

Cave 1

can be seen first or last as one wishes for it is a splendid vihara, beautifully painted and it may be left till the last for a notable climax.

Cave 3, 5 and 8 - were viharas, which could not be completed.

Cave 4 - was started in the later 5th century and is also incomplete. Part of the hall ceiling collapsed and three of its cells remain unfinished; the main doorway has finely carved married couples (mithunas), tree spirits (sale-phangikas) and flying spirits (Gandharvas).

Cave 6
was discovered in 1935. It is a two-storey vihara, it has frescos over cell doors and the door of the shrine is beautifully carved.

Cave 7
This is again dated to the late 5th century. Most of its carvings depict the miracle at Sravasti, where the master multiplied himself.

Cave 8
is a vihara closed to the visitors. It belongs to the Hinayana groups.

Cave 9
This cave has a twin aisle supported by octagonal columns, with a further more eleven columns at the further end. On the left of the doorway a scene from the Hinayana period showing a Naga king and attendants has been partly superimposed by a pair of monks - probably of Mahayana age. This cave has many superimposed paintings, which were later added onto the original by the followers of Mahayana Buddhism.

Cave 10
It is a 2nd century B.C. Chaitya hall. At the lower level it is protected by shutters and curtains to keep out the strongest light from spoiling its interiors. Scenes like the worship of the Buddha in the guise of a Bodhi tree can be seen. On the right hand side of the wall one can see the Sama tales in which a king kills Sama (Bodhisattva) with an arrow, the resurrection of Sama and his final reconciliation with the king. The other paintings like the Buddha in a scene and compassionate expression accompanies the vardan mudra-granting a wish. Another unforgettable image of the Buddha is the one enclosed in a green gold rimmed aureole standing on a lotus. Another interesting painting is that of Buddha in a standing posture with two disproportionate tiny monks whom two snakes like flying guardians are surveying. Here some of the paintings have superimposed figures of Buddha, which one can surely say belong to the 5th-6th century workmanship. Another interesting tale depicted in the paintings here is taken from the Chhadantha Jataka which goes as follows: a Bodhisattva as a white elephant is killed by Chullasubhadda the favorite queen of the king of Varanasi in revenge for the elephant favoring the kings other consort. Chullasubhadda was his second consort. After killing the white elephant its tusks were brought to Chullasubhadda as a testimony to the fact that the elephant had been killed. Out of glee she cradled the tusks in her arms, it was then that she realized the enormity of what she had done in her vengeful mood, and died of remorse. This cave also bears the graffiti "John Smith 1819" - this is one of the earliest recorded British Vandals.

Cave 11
is contemporary of cave 10 but was later remodeled in the 5th century. The work done later was so bad that it was left unfinished.

Cave 12
Built in the 1st and 2nd century the facade's of the caves have come apart revealing square halls. In cave 13 one can see rock-cut monastic beds in the small cells located in cave 13.

Cave 14
Above cave 12 & 13 is cave 14, which is an incomplete Vihara.

Cave 15
Cave 15 is also a Vihara. Cave 15a can be approached by a flight of steps near cave 15, but only its front wall survives the other parts are ravaged by time.

Cave 17 has a collection of one of the finest painting and their high quality is reflected in their state of preservation. Due to the demand for entry in this Cave by the visitors the time to be spent in this Cave is limited. Therefore a little pre-knowledge is helpful in enjoying the beauty of this Cave fully. The Verandah's ceiling is painted. Above the doorway love couples below the eight seated Buddhas. On the left, one can see a royal couple drinking wine and then offering alms to the populace. On the far left one can see the "Wheel of Life"- a Buddhist view of the life span of man i.e.- childhood, youth, old age and then death. On the left of the central entrance one can see the flying, Indra surrounded by his attendants; on the right are "Apsaras, heavenly maidens resplendent in their heavenly beauty and well adorned with jewels. On far right one can see Buddha subjugating the elephant sent to trample him by his jealous cousin Devadda, who resented Gautam's fame and objected to his unorthodox teachings. In the interior one can see the 5th and 6th century frescoes of the 'Jataka Stories'. The halls of the doorway depict tales of compassion; the Chhodanath Jataka and then the Mahakapi Jataka- which tells how Buddha in his incarnation as a monkey rescues a peasant from a ravine only to be attacked with a rock, a crime for which the protector receive immediate pardon. Stories of Devadatta are also depicted.

The entire left wall is a fascinating chronological creation portraying incidents in the life of Bodhisattva incarnate as Prince Vessantara - like giving of the miraculous elephant gifted with the faculty to bring rain. Vessantara being forced into exile with his family, living as an ascetic, giving his children to a Brahmin and later redeeming his children and in the end being by his father side the king who realizes his piousness is of high spiritual quality.

Further down on the same wall one can see the triple frieze scenes taken from the Sudasama Jataka, in which Gautama is depicted in his incarnation as a lioness persuading Prince Sudasa to give up cannibalism. One can also see scenes from Matiposhaka Jataka delightfully showing elephants in various moods and antics. Scenes from Samavataka show Bodhisattva as a pious youth carrying his parents at the two ends of a bamboo pole carried on his shoulders. The great Simhala frieze shows the Badhisattva incarnate as a benevolent horse protecting Simhala protecting his merchants from being shipwrecked off Sri Lanka, and also from being seduced by a demon in the form of an "Apsara. Scenes from the Splendor of the royal palaces gave these painters ample opportunity for their imagination to run amuck showing ethereally beautiful heavenly women with their sinuous bejeweled bodies and elaborate hairstyles in different postures. These reflect the life and time existing nearly 1,500 years ago. The sequence ends with a moving tale of a compassionate Buddha in the form of a stag offering himself to a palace chef in place of a pregnant doe.

Cave 16 and 17 like 1 and 2 are illuminated at a small charge.

Cave 19 is a chaitya hall. It has numerous columns, fluted, octagonal square rounded all compounded below an intricately carved capital below a ceiling, which is painted. This magnificent chaitya hall has horse shaped window over a porch.

Cave 20-25: It seems that these were used as residential halls. Cave 20 has charming bracket figures on its pillars. Cave 23 depicts fine lotus medallions. Cave 24 has a full-fledged verandah with a main door.

Cave 26: It is the fourth chaitya hall. Its huge dimensions reflect the chaitya hall in cave 19, but it is incomplete. One can see numerous figures of Buddha around the Stupa. It also depicts scenes of Buddha being tempted by Mara and his beautiful daughters. The paintings of Buddha entering Nirvana, (Salvation from the cycle of birth and death is an integral part of this ephemeral world) is touching, and forces one to think about the ephemeral nature of everything in this world; i.e. one's body, nature, power etc. everything is temporary as death is inevitable. In this cave one can see the serenity, pondering on the misery and sadness of a world which Buddha no longer inhabits as he enters nirvana. Below the wailing and disconsolate disciples are shown who have lost their guiding beacon of light; above the apsaras and the heavenly beings are shown rejoicing in their freedom from the shackler of the cycle of death rebirth

Cave 28 and 29: these caves are not very interesting and are also not very easily accessible.

The caves of Ajanta are a marvel to look at. Each painting and carving is a labor of love. Those caves are cut beginning with the ceiling and working downward. The process of cutting into the basalt, carving and painting was long drawn out and painstaking process. At any given cave several decades were spent. The planning was meticulous and the finishing shows the utmost technical skills which should have gone into chiseling these caves.

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