Ajanta Caves

Ajanta Caves:

Ajanta Caves Nestled in a lush green landscape, the Ajanta Caves are ancient Buddhist grottoes, carved from basalt rock formations. These caves are located on Lenapur village in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. The origin of the Ajanta Caves can be traced to the second century BC, and there is evidence that the caves were used for housing till 650 AD. The Ajanta Caves were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 1983. 

The Ajanta Cave complex contains 29 caves that served as retreats for Buddhist monks traversing long distances to preach Buddhism. The Ajanta Cave temples can be divided into two types depending on their belonging to one of the two schools of Buddhism, Hinayana and Mahayana. The Hinayana caves gives only a symbolic representation of Lord Buddha in the form of stupas, or burial mounds, while Mahayana caves is liberal with his depiction of Buddha in painting and petrochemical glyphs. 

Of the 29 Ajanta Caves are five or chaityas prayer halls and the rest is viharas or monasteries. It chaityas are caves 9, 10 from Hinayana and caves 19, 26 and 29 from Mahayana. All the other 24 caves - caves 1-3, 5-8, 11-18, 20-25 and 27-28 - are viharas. The five Hinayana caves (9, 10, 12, 13 and 15A) came up in 200BC while Mahayana caves were excavated in the 5th century CE (462 to 480 CE). 

The interior of the Ajanta Caves are decorated with the production of paintings showing the various events of Lord Gautama Buddha's life and the popular Jataka stories of Buddha's previous incarnation. 

Ajanta Caves Architecture: 

Rock-cut Ajanta Caves are famous masterpieces for their stunning architecture and the profusion of sculptures and paintings. The walls and ceilings in the Ajanta Caves are chiselled with exquisite carvings and paintings that chronicle life of Lord Buddha. Of the 29 caves, five belong to the Hinayana sect (9, 10, 12, 13 and 15A), while the rest is Mahayana caves. 

Cave 1: 

Located at the eastern end of the horseshoe-shaped hole, this is the first cave visitors are coming across, and hence number 1 first and foremost a vihara, it is beautifully decorated cave in the complex. The inner sanctum of the cave enshrines an impressive image of Buddha in dharamachakra pravartana mudra or preaching entails. The image was created with such sculptural virtuosity that Lord Buddha appears to be in different moods when viewed from different angles. 

Cavity also contains some of the most amazing Ajanta cave paintings inspired by the Jataka stories and lives of Gautam Buddha. The famous painting of the Bodhisattva Padmapani shows the Buddha wearing a magnificent crown and holding an open lotus in

his right hand. 

Cave 2: 

The Cave 2 is remarkable for its beautifully decorated ceiling shows a wealth of decorative motifs. Most of the scenes from the Jataka stories of Buddha's life as told in previous incarnations as Bodhisattva. One of the walls are adorned with magnificent 'Thousand Buddhas' painting, which shows how the Lord Buddha multiplied himself to confuse a heretic. 

Cave 16: 

Apart from being one of the largest viharas or monasteries, the Cave 16 is also known for elegant decorative murals. The piece de resistance here is the famous painting of "Dying Princess' on the left wall. It describes the sad fate of Sundari, the wife of the Buddha's half brother, Nanda, who left his wife to become a monk. 

Ajanta Paintings: 

The Ajanta Caves are tax troves of exquisite paintings depicting scenes from the Jataka stories and the lives of Lord Buddha. Beautiful murals adorn the walls, ceilings and pillars witness versatility old artists. Although many important paintings have faded, many of them have managed to maintain their original grandeur. 

For long there was an incorrect assumption that the Ajanta cave paintings were frescoes. But to make a fresco involves the use of colors to wet lime plaster, while Ajanta paintings were done on dry wall. The plaster made of clay, hay, manure, lime, etc. were used for wall and craftsmen accounted beautiful drawings using vegetable colors. Brush the paint was made of animal hair and twigs of certain plants. 

But the creation of these complex Ajanta cave paintings remain a mystery because of the obvious lack of natural light inside the caves. Only thin stripes of light to permeate the inside, which is hardly enough to implement such a thorough craftsmanship. Historians have believed that the old artists either made use of oil lamps or employed mirrors to reflect and magnify the little natural light inside the cavity.