About 102 km from Aurangabad, Ajanta Caves are carved on the bank of river Waghur. Ajanta caves are 59 km from Jalgaon railway station and 11 km from Ajanta village. At a distance of 4 km, in order to avoid air pollution, CNG buses have been arranged to reach the caves. An entry fee of Rs 10 each is charged to see the caves. Carved during the Vakataka, Chalukya and Rashtrakut periods from 200 to 650 BC, these caves are world famous for their architecture, sculpture and paintings. There are 30 caves in total and all of them are Buddhist. These caves, which are exemplary of the architecture, murals and sculpture of the time, contain prayer halls dedicated to Lord Buddha, and ashrams used by Buddhist monks for meditation and religious practice. Various scenes from Lord Buddha's life and extensive depictions of Buddhist deities are found in the beautiful paintings on the walls and ceilings of the caves. ... According to archaeological evidence, these caves were built in two different periods. Caves 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15-A may have been carved during the Hinayana period. Caves 9 and 10 of the Hinayana period are chaityagruhas and caves 12, 13 and cave 15-An are viharas. This period began roughly around the second century BC. Apart from this, caves numbered 1 to 29 must have been built approximately 800-900 years later (around 6th and 7th century AD) during the Mahayana period. Caves 19, 26 and 29 of the Mahayana period caves are chaityagruhas and 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27 and 28 number caves are viharas. The murals in caves number 1, 2, 16 and 17 are undamaged and the paintings there seem vivid and lively. The famous Bodhisattva Padmapani in the first cave is a wonderful depiction. A lotus flower is seen in the delicate hands of the beautiful idol here. A golden idol of Avalokiteshvara covered with jewels can be seen in this cave. Its women, princesses, maids are all elegant and their clothes are also artistic. There is also a performance of the dancing Ladies and musician depicted here. It gives a detailed description of the costumes, hairstyles, jewellery, clothes, musical instruments, customs and architecture of that period. Cave no 1, this vihar of was carved by Vakataka king Harishena. The second cave depicts a detailed account of Queen Maya's dream. There are many Buddha statues arranged in a row in this cave. Cave no 16 and 17, these caves contain an inscription engraved by Amatya Varahgupta and Harishena kings. There are decorated pillars in this vihar and on the pillars as well as on the walls there are various scenes from the life of Buddha, elephants, horses etc. Animals are carved. The ceilings and walls may have been painted earlier but only remnants of them are visible today. It has a spacious assembly hall, very beautiful carvings on the pillars, a pleasing statue of Buddha in the front sanctum and painted paintings on all sides of the assembly hall. The paintings on the walls depict incidents from Jatak stories. The story of Shibi Raja, the story of Mahajanaka Jatak, the incident of enemy of Buddha Mar coming to kill the Buddha and images of Padmapani, Vajrapani Bodhisattva etc. are painted in this vihar. In cave number 17, there is a nymph roaming in the sky with delicate craftsmanship on her dress and many jewels on her body. A row of bow-shaped gallery can be seen in the broad façade of cave number 19. There is a complete chaityagruhas with a Buddha statue standing at one end. The statue of a seated Nagraja and his attendant female servant are of special note here. Caves No. 25, 26 have scenes from the life of Buddha carved in the form of sculptures, but the colorful murals in them are incomplete. Viharas are generally square in shape and measure up to 17 meters (52 ft) in length and width. These viharas were mainly for the residence of the monks while the chaityagruhas were used for worship. Over time, idols were also installed in viharas. Many viharas were paved and courtyard and there were stone crafts and paintings. These caves show the form of Buddha familiar to common people. Ajanta Caves, which were in use for about 700 years, later became desiccated due to some reasons. For more than 1000 years the caves remained unknown. When British military officer John Smith came to Ajanta cave’s mountain for hunting on 28th April 1819, he suspected that there was some structure in this mountain. While he was searching with the help of servants, he came across these caves. After much cleaning, they were opened to the public. Their height is 56 meters and they are spread up to about 550 meters. The pictures of the caves was created using fine particles of stones, plant fibers, rice husk, grass, fine sand, etc. Then it was washed with lime water. The coloring method was simple and easy, first the outline is drawn, and then different colors were pasted. No specific color scheme has been used for this. Color changes have been made with time as needed. Hence, this style has maintained its uniqueness in the world.
© Suresh Nimbalkar