Ajanta Caves – India’s Buddhist Art and Architecture

The Ajanta Caves are situated in the state of Maharastra in India. The site is near to Bombay. We can reach at the caves from the city of Jalagoan, too. This city is just 25 miles away from the caves. Another city is Aurangabad. We can go to that city and reach Ajanta by traveling by road.

The caves of AJANTA are the world’s greatest monument. This ancient place is recognized as historical monument by UNESCO, too.  In Ajanta, there are several caves. But only 30 caves are in good condition. The caves No. 9, 10, 19, 26 and 29 are known as Chaitya-grihas. The rest are called monasteries.

Though built up during the period running from second century BC to second century AD, these caves were discovered in the year 1819. Apart from the beautiful carvings done on the walls of the caves, the paintings done here are the most attractive thing for the tourists. The travellers coming from all over the world love to see these ancient paintings done in Buddhist Style. Though most of the paintings here can be related to the period of 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD, some of them were done in about the fifth century AD.

It is believed that these cave paintings are done by the Buddhist monks and other artists. Most of the paintings show the influence of religion. The characters painted are mainly Buddha and Bodhisattvas, a Buddhist monk. The artworks depict stories known as Jatakas.

All the materials used in these paintings came from the local area. The artists have done their work on a ground of mud-plaster. The technique used seems to be tempera.

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