Ajanta Caves - Maharashtra, India - Travel & Discover

The Ajanta Caves are cut from the volcanic lava of the Deccan Plateau in the forest ravines of the Saryadri Hills in the Indian state of Maharas. A viewing platform across the river affords an excellent view of the entire Ajanta site. The natural beauty of the area makes it clear why the monks chose this site for their spiritual pursuits. Dating from the period of Buddhism's predominance in India from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD, the caves of Ajanta reflect the Buddhist spirituality of their creators. But as Hinduism re-emerged as India's dominant religion in the 6th century, the caves fell into disuse and laid buried under debris on the jungle-covered slopes until 1819 when a British cavalry officer, John Smith, rediscovered them. The 30 monastic caves and prayer halls at the Ajanta site were intricately built and adorned with paintings and sculptures considered masterpieces of Buddhist religious art. The caves, some of them unfinished, are of two basic designs called Chaitya Giras and Viharas. Five of the caves, numbers 9, 10, 26, and 29, are Chaityas, or Buddhist cathedrals, while the other 25 are Viharas, or monasteries. Of the five Chaityas in the complex, the earlier group belongs to the Hinayana sect from the 2nd century BC, while the later group belongs to the Mahayana sect, dating from roughly 450 to 650 AD. The caves are numbered from east to west, 1 through 29. Today, a terraced path connects the caves, but in ancient times each was independently accessed from the riverfront. The caves were used as a refuge by monks in the monsoon season, when the dry riverbed seen here would be filled with running water, fed by a pool and waterfall, and the surrounding valley would be blanketed in lush, green vegetation. Cave number 26 has a splendidly carved entrance. Each cave was accessed from the riverfront by its own set of stairs. Its large arched framed window allowed light into the cave. The peacefulness of Buddha's expression reflects his blissful leave-taking from the world of material existence. The circumambulatory passage is full of statues, mostly representing the Sravasti miracle, when Buddha revealed himself in all his various forms on the skies above the village of Sravasti. The horseshoe arch of this 5th century cathedral cave is imposing. The Buddha on the front of the stupa, or Buddhist reliquary, is framed by a straight lintel rather than an arch. He is seated on a lion throne with his legs apart, his left hand in vittarka mudra, his right forearm broken off. The Buddha's feet rest on a lotus footstool. He is flanked by riders and flying attendants. The various images of the Buddha are sculpted with rare skill. Cave number 26 is richly decorated with panels of Buddhas, attendants, flying figures, lion heads, and foliage. Cave number 23 is an unfinished monastery consisting of an a-styler hall, that is, without columns or pilasters, an inner sanctum, antechamber, side cells, and a pillared veranda. This cave, with its beautifully carved doorway, would have been the largest vihara or monastery at Ajanta if it had been completed. The cave is known for the elaborate decorations of its pillars and pilasters and the naga or snake deity doorkeepers. Cave number 25 is a monastery and consists of an a-styler hall, pillared veranda, and enclosed courtyard excavated at a higher level. Two cells can be seen on the left end of the veranda, but the hall itself has no cells or shrine. This cave shows how the caves in general were constructed. Long galleries were cut into the rock, and then the rock separating them was demolished to create large interior spaces. Cave number 19 is known for the sculptural grandeur of its facade. This cave is a chaitya dating to the 5th century. Its entrances are mounted by a large chandrasala or window. The sculptural program depicts Buddha ordaining his successors. The interior cave depicts a standing Buddha with sheer drapery covering his body. An impressive three-tiered umbrella tops the figure. The band between the column brackets and the roof is decorated with sculpted panels of the Buddha. An impressive variety of decoration on the brackets and panels includes Buddha images, flying celestials, mounted riders, vegetation, and lion heads set at intervals of other panels. Similar decoration is found at cave 26. A barrel-vaulted roof with stone ribs arches above the central hall. The elaborate pilasters have a heavy and strong base. The Ajanta caves are home to some of the most astonishing frescoes in the world. The cave's beautifully chiseled walls are adorned with a series of ravishing paintings all in dazzling colors. Cave 17, a monastery, is composed of a spacious hall surrounded by 17 cells on three sides, a vestibule, and a sanctum containing an image of a Buddha. Apart from its elaborately carved doorway, what makes this cave especially remarkable is the number of murals that have survived. This cave houses some of the best preserved paintings of the Vakataka age from the 3rd to the 5th century AD. Maidens and celestial musicians decorate the ceiling while Buddhas, celestial guardians, goddesses, lotus petals, and scrollwork adorn the doorway. Above are the seven Buddhas of the past with the future Bodhisattva Maitreya. The interior of the cave is profusely carved with pillars, a monolithic carved symbolic stupa, or Buddhist reliquary, and images of the Buddha heralding the introduction of the Mahayana phase. The paintings on the walls at Ajanta illustrate the events in the life of Prince Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, as well as the more popular Jataka tales recounting Buddha's previous incarnations. According to Buddhist beliefs, the Buddha performed many deeds of kindness and mercy and a long series of transmigrations as Bodhisattva before achieving his final birth as a sage of the Sakya people. Here the Buddha is shown subduing an elephant, Nalajiri. Cave 16 is one of the largest and most recent of the monasteries. A combined media of painting and sculpture adorns the cave's dark interiors. Pillars with heavily decorated bracket capitals support the hall ceiling. This cave was originally entirely covered in painted decorations. A giant statue of Buddha in the Payamudra, or teaching gesture, is found in the cave's inner shrine. When they were discovered, these paintings were in better condition than they are now. The School of Art has copies of the paintings that have since disappeared from the caves. These copies provide important evidence of pictorial art in India before the rise of Hinduism. The smallest of the excavations at Ajanta, Cave 15 consists of a small central A-styler hall with one cell on three sides. Before entering the cave, one is greeted by carvings of welcoming elephants and the presiding Naga deity of the Wakora Valley. Cave 9 is a chaitya dating from the Hinayana period. Its entrance facade, like those of most of the chaityas, includes a large chaitya arch framing a window with imitation timber construction. The cave presents a large liturgical hall with a monolithic stone stupa carved from the living rock. The nave is flanked by side aisles, or padiksanas, separated on either side by a row of 23 pillars and a stupa. Stupas are architectural symbols of the Buddha's death. The pigments used for the wall paintings were made from pebbles and vegetables taken from the surrounding hills. Different colored pebbles were crushed, ground, and then mixed with glue. The main colors used in the cave paintings were red ochre, yellow ochre, brown ochre, black, white, and lapis lazuli, or blue. This last pigment was imported from northern India, central Asia, and Persia. Green was made by mixing lapis lazuli with Indian yellow ochre. This sculpture, found in cave number seven, depicts the miracle at Shravasti, a city where the Buddha multiplied himself a thousand times in a showdown with his rivals. This monastery consists of an oblong open hall with two small porticos, supported by heavy octagonal pillars and eight cells. A Buddha in preaching attitude is housed inside the inner sanctum. Cave number five was never fully excavated, but the richly carved frame of its T-shaped doorway and female figures on makaras are important. This monastery was left unfinished. An inscription records that the Buddha image in cave number four was a gift of a certain Ahayanandi from Mathura. The colonnaded porch with 28 pillars in cave number four was begun at the same time as those of cave 17, but was left unfinished. Faults in the rock most likely prevented further excavations. This squarish monastery, consisting of a hall, inner sanctum, and pillared veranda, dates to the first half of the 6th century A.D. It is the largest monastery in Ajanta. The ceiling of its hall preserves a unique geological feature of a lava flow. Preserved inside the caves are many masterpieces of Buddhist art. Some reflect the earlier Theravada tradition of depicting the Buddha only in symbolic form, such as a throne Sculptural art in India had discovered its form, style, and dimensions before the excavation of caves at Ajanta was begun. Over two centuries before anonymous sculptors decorated Ajanta's facades and wall spaces with sculptures, magnificent examples such as the stone reliefs of Sanchi had been executed. Six gigantic standing figures of the Buddha are carved into the walls on the antechamber. The sculptures at Ajanta show a conscious attempt to capture grace, sublimity, and spirituality. The doorway to this shrine of cave number two departs from the more conventional doorways of the same cave and of cave one. This lintel surmounts the entrance to the right portico shrine. It portrays a Naga king flanked by his family and yaksha attendants, or spirits of the natural world. This cave is remarkable for its painted ceiling with large medallions, delicate bands of lotus flowers, scroll work, and abstract geometric patterns. Its various murals narrate the birth of Buddha. The porch has cells fronted by pillared vestibules. Paintings decorate all the surfaces of the chamber except its floor. Though many of the paintings are only fragments, they form a depicted narrative of the Jataka tales, or stories from the life of the Buddha. The wall painting technique used in India is different from that of the fresco. A layer of clay mixed with cow dung and powdered rice hunk was first applied to the chipped rock surface. Once dried, a second coat of lime plaster was spread with a trowel on the surface to be painted. The outlines were then drawn in pink, brown, or black. Finally, colors were filled in using big brushes made from the hair of a squirrel's tail. Cave 1, the most beautifully decorated of the Ajanta caves, contains some of its best preserved paintings. The walls of the main hall are painted with representations of scenes from the Jataka tales, which recount the previous births of the Gautama Buddha. Twenty pillars with heavily decorated bracket capitals support the ceiling in the hall. Every inch of this cave was originally painted, and in spite of the damage caused by time and man, it remains one of the world's most treasured possessions of art. The painted ceiling is decorated with murals, as well as geometric and floral patterns. Twelve pillars form a square colonnade supporting the ceiling and create spacious aisles along the walls. The mural scenes depict a number of Jatakas, or events from the life of the Buddha, including the scene of Buddha's mother standing in the garden at Lumbini with the newborn Buddha, or the Gautama taking his first steps with the help of his mother, and the so-called Thousands of Buddhas, a large painting illustrating the miracle when the Buddha multiplied himself in order to confuse a heretic. In April 1819, John Smith, a British Army officer, noticed the huge arch of this cave, a discovery ultimately leading to the excavation of the Ajanta Caves. The façade of this cave, the earliest Chaitya Griha at Ajanta, contains a Brahmi inscription dating to the 2nd century BC, recording the name of one Vasithiputta Katahari. The painting of the Buddha and the One-Eyed Monk shows the devotion of the followers of the Enlightened One. Here, the face and figure of the Buddha, as well as those of the monk, recall the heavy physical forms of Gandhara art from northwest India. Their contours are softened only by the flowing drapery. The tradition of Indian sculpture dates from the Indus Valley civilization of 2500 to 1800 BCE, when small terracotta figurines were produced. This was followed by the great circular stone pillars and carved lions typical of the Maurya period from about 250 BCE, and the mature Indian figurative sculpture of the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, in which Hindu and Buddhist themes were already well established. A wide range of sculptural styles subsequently emerged in different parts of India over the next centuries, but by about 900 CE, Indian sculpture had attained a form that has lasted almost unchanged up to the modern era. Indian sculpture is distinguished not by an attempt at plastic fullness, but rather by its linear character. The figure is conceived from the standpoint of its outline, and typically is graceful and slender, with supple limbs. For many years, expert scholars and other learned people from all over the world have visited the Ajanta Caves, along with millions of pilgrims and tourists. No one has been able to explain why the caves were carved into this particular horseshoe-shaped rock in the middle of the Deccan Plateau. The eminent scholar, the late professor D.D. Kozambi, suggested that all the caves of the Western Ghats, from Shadugar, Kala, Bhaja, Nasik, to Pitakora and Ajanta, were located on the crests of an ancient trade route from the Arabian Sea into the Deccan Plateau. The carving in the Ajanta rock is therefore explained by the nearby mandis, or trade centers, of Deogiri and Jagoan. The second reason why the caves were made in that particular location was evidently the texture of the rock. Formed in layers, it could be easily cut with the instruments available to craftsmen in those days. The third reason is that the Buddhist monks preferred to live in secluded spots. They went to nearby villages or small towns and trade centers to collect alms, but returned to the caves for quiet contemplation and solitude. These are the caves that the followers of Lord Buddha embellished with architectural details, using a skilled command of hammer and chisel, as well as sculpture of the highest craftsmanship, and above all, paintings of infinite charm. The entire course of the evolution of Buddhist architecture can be traced in Ajanta. During this time, images of Buddha interpreting his different life stories, together with various types of human and animal figures, were carved out of rock on site. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta are considered masterpieces of Buddhist art, and have exercised a major influence over the development of art in India. Since 1983, these caves have been classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The painting and sculpture adorning the caves reflect the sophisticated achievements of the apogee of India's so-called Golden Age, generally associated with the Gupta dynasty. The sculptures depict various human and animal forms, so that they come to life, making the cave art at Ajanta one of the high points of artistic creativity.