The Caves at Ajanta
India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of mature mind, understanding spirit and a unifying, pacifying love for all human beings. – Will Durant
The Ajanta caves are a 104 Km from Aurangabad and about 100 Km from Ellora. Some of the earlier caves are said to have been carved in 200BC and others have been dated to the 5th and 6th century AD. All of the caves have paintings and carvings representing the life of Buddha and/or his previous incarnations. At some point these caves were abandoned though not much is known why and many of the craftspeople migrated to Ellora to continue the carvings in the Buddhist caves there.
As Buddhism began to decline in India, the caves at Ajanta fell into desolation and ruin. For a thousand years the jungle hid these caves until a British army officer stumbled upon the valley by accident. He actually carved his name and rank on the walls of Cave 9. It still exists as do others who came subsequently and left their mark before the caves were painted over with a clear film which prevented carving on the face.
The “lack of conservation efforts, poor restoration, and the ravages of time have ensured that only a small part of the 30-odd caves and its beautifully expressive paintings can be admired.” Currently visitors need to remove their shoes to enter most of the caves, flash photography and video are forbidden, and I understand that there is some movement towards conservation and restoration efforts to restore the beautiful paintings on the walls.
There are approximately 30 rock-cut hewn caves set up in a horseshoe pattern on the hillside. The caves are serially numbered and access to the first cave is via a steep staircase of stone cut stairs. The government has made some effort to create a steep curving path sans stairs though it is not wheelchair accessible.
For elderly or disabled folks, you can hire a chair that is carried on the shoulders of 4 people to make your way up to the caves. Even so some caves are not accessible given the steep and narrow staircase necessary to ascend to these caves.
Most of the caves are large consisting of both paintings and carvings depicting folk tales and the lives of the Buddha. This particular painting of the princely Buddha is likened to the Mona Lisa whose eyes follow you as you move around the cave.
The statues of the Buddha are depicted in three different poses. Hands raised in blessing, Meditative pose and the final pose where he sent out his disciples to roam the world spreading his message.
The blue color was made from Lapis Lazuli and is the one color to have survived well through the ages.
The doorways and entrances are carved with mythical creatures as well as gods and goddesses from the Hindu pantheon.
The majority of the caves are monastery caves used for gatherings with rooms built around the rim for people to stay in them.
Carvings of the Buddha along the wall surrounding the central niche.
Some of the caves contain Stupas with the Buddha’s carved in them. These caves are supposed to be positioned such that the sun hits the central image or stupa during a solstice.
On the side in this cave is an area cut out like a palette where the artisans supposedly mixed their colors and dyes that they used to paint their stories.
What I found fascinating here at Ajanta different from Ellora is the different architectural construct of these caves.
Verandah caves with elaborate carved pillars an impressive Buddha statue and paintings covering the walls.
The walls tell stories from Buddha’s life or Hindu mythology.
Fortunately, I did not have to climb down all those stairs to go down. Instead, there was a shorter staircase halfway through which led to a bridge across the river and on the outskirts of the nearby jungle.
When my guide was showing me the path I asked if this would take me back to the parking lot. Oh no! this only took me back to the shops and the shuttle stop that took me to the lower shuttle stop where I had to walk through a barrage of shops and vendors to exit and find my car.
This trip brought home to me the diversity and range of all that is to be found in India. It is an incredible destination and I have just scratched the surface.