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Enduring Creativity that Blows you Away
AJANTA CAVES
Surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting the dark-skinned princess admires her image in the mirror as she puts on her make-up. The torchlight of the guide catches the gleam of jewels and the soft glow of her eyes against the black background of the painting. In another painting, the Buddha is caught eyes lowered and the sheen of pearls adorning his bent neck…
The curiosity of British soldier, Captain John Smith while hunting in a ravine of the Sahyadri Hills, near Aurangabad in Maharashtra in 1819, turned out to be fortuitous for us. The intrepid John Smith on a chance discovered, or rather ‘re-discovered’ the Ajanta caves with their wealth of creative explosions dating from 2nd to the 7th century. John Smith, even left his mark on this unique discovery by carving his name in one of the paintings in Cave 10, the first cave he went into. His name has all but faded today, but you might still find traces of it after all these decades.
The line-up of 30 caves of Ajanta in a half-moon setting near the village of Ajintha in Aurangabad district is a treasure trove of artistic delights for archaeologists and art and history buffs. The Ajanta Caves is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it ‘exemplifies one of the greatest achievements in ancient Buddhist rock-cut architecture. The artistic traditions at Ajanta present an important and rare specimen of art, architecture, painting, and socio-cultural, religious, and political history of contemporary society in India.’
These stunning Buddhist murals and sculptures are one of India’s most precious artistic legacies from the past which millions of visitors have gazed upon in wonder of these masterpieces down the centuries. Experts have even likened the frescoes to those found in Sri Lanka’s Sigiriya fortress ruins. Today westerners who can’t make it to India, while travelling through London can enjoy painted replicas of these masterpieces of Buddhist sacred artt created by John Griffiths, Principal of Bombay’s J.J School of Arts as well as those of Lady Herrigham, with the assistance of the Calcutta School of Arts, in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Everywhere you turn you are confronted by the richness of ornamentation depicted in the form of carved sculptures, pillars, and mural-covered entrances and walls. Ajanta’s celebration of the art forms is believed to have run from the 1st century BC to the 7th century CE.
There were two phases in the development of the cave artworks: the first was from the 2nd century BC coinciding with the rule of the Satavahana dynasty and the second corresponded to the Basim branch of the Vakataka dynasty with their Asmaka and Rishika feudatories in the 5th to 6th centuries CE. Today, Ajanta’s stunning murals are regarded as the classical age of Indian painting.
For the first-timer at the caves, it’s pertinent to know that Ajanta is made up of chaityagrihas and viharas. The vihara caves were the living quarters for the Buddhist monks; the much bigger chaityagriha caves served as prayer halls for meditation and worship. Buddha and his teachings remain the dominant theme, but there are also vignettes depicted from the popular Jataka Tales. You’ll also notice women are depicted quite predominantly from various perspectives as illustrated in the art at Ajanta.
Some of the paintings one should not miss seeing are: The serene Bodhisattva Padmapani in Cave No.1 a seated King Janaka of Videha and his wife in conversation in the palace; the Dying Princess; select paintings of multiple events from the Buddha’s life in Cave. No 6.
It’s a 3-hour ride from Aurangabad to Ajanta. When the bus drops you off at the Eastern end, you can follow the line-up of caves numbered from 1-30. Here’s a quick walk-through of the site which offers you a window to this banquet of artistic delights.
Cave No.9 –dates to the 2nd century BC and the paintings here reflect vignettes from the Hinayana and Mahayana streams of Buddhism.
Cave No.10 – This chaitya or prayer hall is ranked as one of the oldest among these caves. Highlights here are the King’s Procession, Shaddanta Jataka, and Syama Jataka.
Cave No.16 – This 5th-century vihara coincides with the Gupta period. It has the largest number of paintings— the most famous being the “Dying Princess” located on the left wall. As John Griffiths, who worked on the Ajanta site for years shared: “For pathos and sentiment and the unmistakable way of telling its story, this picture, I consider, cannot be surpassed in the history of art’.
Cave No.17 is most remarkable for its wealth of paintings executed probably by the finest artists of the time. They are largely inspired by the Jataka Tales. This is the place to look for the dark-skinned, bejewelled princess at her toilette with her attendants around her.
Cave No.2 – A chaitya covered with paintings from the Jataka Tales. It also contains two sub-shrines. The ceiling here is a riot of colourful imagery. In the main shrine, the Buddha is flanked by the yakshas Sankhanidhi and Padmanidhi on his left, and Hariti with her consort Pancika, on his right.
Cave No. 1 Look for the stunning Mahajanaka mural here. Keep your eyes peeled for the iconic painting of the Bodhisattva Padmapani located on the left wall. He is depicted with a towering crown and pearl necklace and a blooming lotus in his right hand.
ELLORA CAVES
Spread over more than 2 km in the Charanandri Hills, the UNESCO-acclaimed World Heritage Site has 34 caves filled with stunning artworks dating between the 6th and 11th centuries CE. Ellora is 30km northwest of Aurangabad so you should plan to visit it separately to get the full measure of this superb experience here.
The Ellora site features artistic inspirations from Mahayana Buddhism as well as Brahmanical and Jain works. The Buddhist Caves (Nos.1-12), the oldest in the vicinity, are located at the southern end of the site and date back to 500-750 CE. The Hindu Caves (Nos. 13-29) were worked on between 600 and 870 CE. Further north are the 5 Jain caves (Nos.30-34) dated between 800 CE and 10th century CE.
The architectural activities carried out at the site also reflect the harmonious co-existence of devotees of the three of the oldest religions in the world— Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Jainism.
The biggie here is Hindu Cave No. 16 marked for the colossal, free-standing 8th-century Kailasa Temple carved out of a single rock. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, it is reputed to be the largest single monolithic rock found in the world. Unmissable here is a sculpted Ravana trying to lift Mt Kailasa. The other Hindu caves of importance here are Cave No. 15 (Dasavatara, or Cave of Ten Incarnations), Cave No. 21 (Ramesvara), and Cave No. 29 (Dumar Lena).
The Jain caves are noteworthy for their exquisite sculptures, and beautiful paintings dedicated to the Digambara sect.
Important Buddhist Caves are Cave No. 10 (Visvakarma or Sutar-ki-jhopari, the Carpenter’s cave), Cave 11, and Cave 12 (Teen Tal, the largest in this category).
ACCOMMODATION
Aurangabad, your base for both tours, offers an excellent selection of high-end mid-range and budget hotels.
ACCESS
Air: Aurangabad’s Chikal Thana airport is 100km from Ajanta and 28km from Ellora
Rail: Aurangabad railway station is the nearest railhead with good connections
Road: From Aurangabad head for Faradpur via Silod on the Jalgaon road. From the Faradpur T-point get on an MTDC minibus which will drop you to the Ajanta site.
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