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.
