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In a far-flung river valley, about 105 kilometre northeast of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, the ancient cave temples of Ajanta are carved into the steep rock face of a horseshoe-shaped gorge along the Waghur river. Much older than the Ellora Caves, the chain of 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments that form the Ajanta Cave network came up between 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD. Brilliant in their detailing, the Ajanta Caves are among the greatest surviving examples of ancient Indian cave art. A UNESCO World Heritage Site today, the caves fell to disuse soon after the Ellora, about 103 kilometres from Ajanta, rose to prominence, home to Hindu, Jain and Buddhist rock-cut caves.

The desolation of Ajanta for nearly a millennium with the Deccan forest coming into their own and choking the sculptures, further expedited its downfall. It wasn’t until 1819 when an officer from British India, Captain John Smith, stumbled upon it by accident on a tiger-hunting party that the excellence of Buddhist religious art, and that of Indian rock-cut architecture came to the fore. The construction of the caves, also the earliest monastic institutions in the country, came up in two phases; the first one around 2nd century BCE and the second around 400-650 CE. Today the site is protected under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Of the 30 caves hewn into a 250-foot rock face, five constitute the Chaityas (a Buddhist prayer hall with a stupa on one end), while the remaining are Viharas (Buddhist monastery).

You can explore the majority of the caves with a particularly keen eye for caves 1, 2, 16 and 17 for being the finest surviving example of ancient Indian wall-painting. Alternatively in vivid and warm colours, the murals in these caves portray Buddha’s past lives and rebirths along with rock-cut sculptures of Buddhist deities and illustrations from Jatakamala by Aryasura.

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