Ajanta Ellora Caves

John Smith, a British officer, never knew that he was going to discover a wonderful piece of history when he embarked on a hunting expedition in the year 1819. These ancient groups of caves, that represent different faiths, opened a new chapter in the architectural history of India. The Ajanta Caves, 30 in number, testify the brilliance of the Buddhist architecture while the Ellora, adding up to 34, epitomise three systems of beliefs - Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. The Ajanta and Ellora caves are located at 101 km and 30 km from Aurangabad (Maharashtra) respectively.


Glimpses From The Past
Historical records say that the work on these ancient caves started sometime during the 3rd century. During the period, the whole area around the caves had major Buddhist influence. Ajanta was the first to be worked upon; labourers and artists, belonging to the Hinayana sect of Buddhism were employed to carve out the caves of Ajanta.

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Later around 100 AD, when the Mahayana sect of Buddhism took hold, life-size carvings of Buddha came into being. In 319 AD when Chandragupta II held sovereignty, works began in full swing at Ajanta and then at Ellora. As the Gupta Period came to fall, the Late Hindu Period affected the architecture at Ellora much.


Attractions Within
» Ajanta Caves : The rock-cut caves at Ajanta can be divided into chaityas or prayer halls and the viharas or monasteries. There are 30 caves in all including 5 prayer halls and 25 monasteries. The sculptures and paintings inside the caves were carved during the Mahayana and the Hinayana phases of Buddhism. Cave 10 is a fine example of a Buddhist prayer hall in the western India. Cave 14, 15 and 16, falling into the categories of viharas, belong to the Mahayana Phase. Being the most impressive monastery at Ajanta, Cave 16 is a must visit for all. Cave 17, a vihara, bears eight imposing images of Buddha. The paintings and carvings inside the caves depict various scenes from the Jataka Tales.

» Ellora Caves : The 34 caves of Ellora interpret the gradual fall of Buddhism. 12 of the caves here represent the Buddhist system of beliefs. Since these caves belong to the Mahayana Period, they boast some of finest images of Buddha. Murals on the walls depict numerous scenes from the life of Lord Buddha. Cave 10 or Viswakarma, a prayer hall, is a must see for all. The Tin Tala or the cave with three storeys is a big attraction for visitors. Another major attraction here is the Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) which took a hundred years to build. Numerous incidents from the Puranas are depicted inside the temple. Cave 29 (Dhumar Lena), Cave 30 (Chhota Kailasa), Cave 32 (Indra Sabha) are the other worthy attractions.

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Reaching There
Aurangabad in Maharashtra is easily accessible both by air and rail routes. The airport has regular flights of Air Deccan, Indian Airlines and Jet Airways connecting to Mumbai and Delhi. The railhead at Aurangabad is also well connected. By road routes, the city has links with places like Pune, Ahmedabad, Jalgaon, Shirdi, Dhule and Nasik.