The famous Ajanta caves
are situated about 99-kms away from
Aurangabad district in the state of
Maharashtra. These caves are regarded as
a world heritage site and were carved
out from the 2nd century BC to 6th
century AD. They are placed in a
horseshoe shape about 3.5 m away from
the village. The river Wagura, a
mountain stream flows along the bottom
of the ravine. This river falls from a
height of 200 ft, thus making a series
of waterfalls. The sound of the
waterfalls can be heard in the caves
also.
The
intriguing Ajanta Caves are carved out
of large rocks and are 30 in number.
These caves are dedicated to Lord
Buddha. The followers and students of
Buddhism resided here to study this
religion. They have decorated these
caves with the help of their excellent
architectural skills and artistic
paintings.
The carvings and the paintings in the
caves depict the life stories of Lord
Buddha. Along with this, several types
of human and animal figures are also
carved out of the rocks.
¤ Depiction of
Contemporary Society
The carvings and the murals in the
Ajanta depicted the contemporary society
of that period. These artistic pieces
showed all kinds of people from kings to
slaves, women, men and children
interwoven with flowers, plants, fruits,
birds and beasts. There are also figures
related to the people of that time, some
of them are 'Yakshas', 'Kinneras' (half
human and half bird) 'Gandharvas'
(divine musicians) and 'Apsaras'
(heavenly dancers).
Discovery The enchanting Ajanta caves
were discovered accidentally by a
company of British soldiers in the 19th
century. Before the excavation of these
caves they were hidden under the thick
vegetation for a long time.
¤ The Caves
The incredible caves of Ajanta are
dedicated exclusively to Buddhism. There
are around 30 caves here and are divided
into 'Chaitya-Grihas' (stupa halls) and
'Viharas' (dwelling halls). Around five
of these caves (9, 10, 19, 26 and 29)
are 'Chaitya-Grihas'. The rest of the
caves are 'Sangharamas' or Viharas
(monasteries). The caves 1, 2, 16 and 17
are important from the art point of
view. They are great pieces of art
compared to the contemporary art world.
These caves have exotic paintings
illustrating the life and incarnations
of Buddha. The carvings and the
paintings of the Ajanta caves tell us
about the imagination and creativity of
the artist. The murals on the walls of
these caves are still in a good
condition, maintaining the freshness of
the color and spreading vibrancy in the
atmosphere. Visitors will definitely
enjoy watching these great historical
pieces of art.
¤ The Viharas
The Ajanta caves were divided into
several viharas (dwelling halls) and
chaitya-grihas (stupa halls), scooped
out of the sloping rocks in the fifth
century CE. The viharas consisted of a
broad verandah. The roof of this
verandah was supported by pillars and
giving towards the interior on to a hall
averaging in size about 35 ft. by 20 ft.
Also there are dormitories to the left,
right and back , opening on to this
hall. The number of dormitories varied
according to the size of the hall, and
in the larger ones pillars supported the
roof on all three sides, forming a sort
of religious residence running round the
hall.
There is also a shrine of lord Buddha in
a niche facing the entrance and
sometimes facing the subsidiary shrines
to the right or left of the entrance.
With the help of carvings, the facades
of the viharas were decorated and the
paintings adorned the walls and
ceilings.
¤ The Chaityas
The chaitya-grihas are greater than the
viharas. The largest chaitya-grihas
being 94 1/2 ft. from the verandah to
the back and 41 1/4 ft. across,
including the cloister. Earlier, the
chaitya-grihas at Ajanta had stupas, but
later they had a standing or seated
image of the Buddha in front of them.
One of the signs of changing patterns of
worship is the bodhisattva cult that was
practiced at Ajanta. The Bodhisattvas
are heavenly beings on the brink to
Buddhahood. It is said that they chose
to remain in the world to help others
towards salvation. The figures off these
bodhisattvas are carved at the entrance
of a vihara or chaitya-griha or are
painted on walls.
¤ The
Wall-Paintings
The Ajanta caves are divided into three
groups. The oldest group is believed to
belong to the period between 200 BCE to
CE 200, the second group is believed to
belong to the sixth and the third group
to the seventh century. Almost all the
interior walls and ceilings of the caves
are covered with murals.
At the time of discovery (1817), these
paintings were in a better condition
than now. But fortunately, the school of
art in Bombay has the copied versions of
the paintings which have now disappeared
from the caves. These copies are the
major evidence of pictorial art in India
before the rise of Hinduism. Thus, they
are valuable and need preservation.
¤ Reach Ajanta
By Air :
The nearest airport from Ajanta caves is
the Aurangabad domestic airport (99
kms). Aurangabad is directly linked to
Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur, and Mumbai.
By Rail :
Aurangabad is directly linked to Mumbai
and Pune by rail. Jalgaon, a railhead on
the Central Railways line, is 59
kilometres from Ajanta. Two trains
Tapovan Express and Devgiri Express
depart daily from Mumbai to Aurangabad.
By Road :
Ajanta Caves are connected to a network
of excellent roadways with Mumbai, Pune,
Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Shirdi, Nasik,
Dhule, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore,
Bijapur, and Aurangabad. One can easily
get a bus ply for Ajanta from
Aurangabad.
