Ajanta
caves are thirty in all, out of which several are unfinished. Five
of these caves are chaitya-grihas (meaning inner sanctums) while the
rest are sangharamas or viharas (meaning monasteries). They were
declared as world heritage site in 1983. In 1819, they were
re-discovered by the modern world. Its structures belong to two
distinct phases. The caves of the first phase were built between 2nd
century BC to 2nd century AD while caves of the second phase belong
to the period of Vakatakas and Guptas. The inscriptions in the cave
reveal that Varahadeva, the minister of the Vakataka king, dedicated
Cave 16 to the Buddhists while Cave 17 was the gift of the prince.
Abhayanandi from Mathura had his name inscribed here by gifting the
image of Buddha in Cave 4.
The themes of the cave paintings are focused on Buddha and his life
events, Bodhisattvas and the Jatakas. 104 km from Aurangabad, these
caves have been cut from the volcanic rocks of the Deccan. British
Captain John Smith discovered them while on a hunting trip in 1819
and was touched by its unique architecture, sculpture and paintings.
The first phase of cave construction speaks of the Hinayana Phase
that is depicted in two Chaitya Halls and 4 Viharas while the rest
of the caves that belong to latter phase speak of the Mahayana
Phase. Mahayana caves exhibit formal religious imagery while
Hinayana caves are almost devoid of any carvings or ornamentations.
The finest of all monasteries with the most beautiful paintings in
Ajanta caves is Cave l, where the Bodhisattvas named Padmapani and
Vajrapani are shown with elaborate headdresses at the antechamber
doorway.
