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UNESCO World Heritage Site : 1983
Ajanta (India)
| | | | The Ajanta caves, numbered in an arbitrary sequence, are laid out in a great arc cut by the curving course of the Waghora river. | | Ajanta Caves : Virtual tour |  | 20 sections and 82 items |
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Ajanta Caves : Guide (1)
|  | Guide, map and satelllite view of Ajanta
The Ajanta Caves are not easily accessible to visitors but, of course, that was the point. The drive from the nearest major town, Aurangabad, takes between 2 and 3 hours.
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|  | Cave 1 (8)
The most popular of the monastery caves at Ajanta. Every inch of the cave was originally painted, though much has worn away over the centuries.
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|  | Cave 2 (3)
approx. between 460 and 470
Cave 2 was started just before Cave 1, in the mid-460s, but work on it broke off in the "Recession" caused by the local king's fear of an attack by the aggressive Asmakas.
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|  | Cave 4 (5)
approx. between 460 and 469
Cave 4, the largest vihara at the site, was sponsored by the rich but much-afflicted Mathura, one of the numerous inaugurators of Ajanta's renaissance in the early 460s'.
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|  | Cave 5
approx. between 460 and 470
Cave 5 and the two storied Cave 6, like most of the Vakataka caves, were begun in the early 460s and were still underway when time ran out a decade and a half later.
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|  | Cave 6 (9)
approx. between 460 and 480
Cave Lower 6, earlier than the upper story, was the only cave at the site ever finished, while the ambitious Cave Upper 6 is still in a very rough condition, even though the patron was able to rush its fine image to an expedient completion immediately after Harisena's death.
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|  | Cave 7 (4)
Cave 7, with its expensive facade, was intended to be one of the grandest excavations at the site, when it was begun at the start of the Vakataka renaissance.
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|  | Cave 8
The very broken Cave 8 unfortunately long served as the site's engine room. Long considered a Hinayana excavation, it is quite possibly the earliest excavated Mahayana vihara in the whole of India, for its location and its plan suggest that it was undertaken at the very start of Ajanta's new Vakataka phase.
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|  | Cave 9 (2)
The façade of this Mahayana monastery cave shows the kings of Naga and their entourage. Inside, a glorious mandala dominates the ceiling, held by demons and decorated with birds, flowers, fruits and abstract designs. The ceiling gives the effect of a cloth canopy, right down to the sag in the middle.
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|  | Cave 10 (6)
The austere Cave 10, clearly a community undertaking, as we know from its donative inscriptions, was apparently excavated a century earlier, although (unlike the productions of the Vakataka phase) Hinayana undertakings cannot be precisely dated.
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|  | Cave 12
The ancient Cave 12, its pillar-less hall surrounded by carefully cut cells, each with two stone beds, must have housed no less than twenty-four monks.
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|  | Cave 13
Passing another particularly simple Hinayana vihara, Cave 13, we can see a large Vakataka undertaking, Cave 14, located directly above the older cave at a higher level, where space was still available late in the site's development.
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|  | Cave 16 (6)
approx. between 462 and 478
Just beyond the recently discovered and ill-repaired Hinayana Cave 15A, we come to the Vakataka prime minister's impressive Elephant Gate.
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|  | Cave 17 (13)
A Mahayana monastery covered with many well-preserved wall paintings. Maidens and celestial musicians are on the ceiling, and Buddhas, celestial guardians, goddesses, lotus petals and scroll work adorn the doorway.
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|  | Cave 19 (5)
A spacious courtyard introduces King Upendragupta's sumptuous Caitya Cave 19 - his "perfumed hall".
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|  | Cave 20 (5)
approx. between 460 and 475
Upendragupta's richly colonnaded Cave 20, with its surprisingly elaborate female brackets, lies just to the west of the king's related caitya hall.
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|  | Cave 22 (5)
approx. between 477 and 480
The tiny Cave 22, started up above Caves 21 and 23 in 477, and high enough not to break into the porch cells of the lager caves below, was still very incomplete when Harisena died.
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|  | Cave 23 (2)
approx. between 700 and 720
Caves 22 and 23 are both unfinished viharas (monasteries) that date to the early 7th century. The small Cave 22 is of lesser interest. It was carved a little higher up and is reach via a few steps. The larger Cave 23, on the other hand, contains a noteworthy portal and beautifully carved decorations in its interior, despite being unfinished.
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|  | Cave 24 (2)
approx. between 475 and 477
Cave 24 provides a remarkable example of an excavation in progress, following the precedents of Caves 21 and 23.
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|  | Cave 26 (7)
approx. between 477 and 480
A Mahayana prayer hall (chaitya). The highlight is a large carved statue of the reclining Buddha, representing his moment of death. Below him, his followers mourn his passing; above, celestial beings rejoice. The cave also contains a stupa with an image of the Buddha in a pavilion.
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| | Ajanta Caves : Hours | |
Open daily excepted monday
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| | Ajanta Caves : Visit Guide | |
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View Larger Map
The Ajanta Caves are not easily accessible to visitors but, of course, that was the point. The drive from the nearest major town, Aurangabad, takes between 2 and 3 hours.
By Air (to Aurangabad): According to Frommer's, "the quickest, most sensible way" to get to Aurangabad is to fly Jet Airways (about 45 minutes and about $75) from Mumbai to Aurangabad's airport.
By Rail: The nearest train station is Jalgaon, which connects to many cities in India. An even more major station is Bhusaval, 28km from Jalgaon. From Jalgaon, you can take a taxi to Ajanta.
By Road (to Aurangabad and Ajanta): Taxis and auto-rickshaws are widely available at Aurangabad airport and Jalgaon train station. A taxi from the airport into the city should cost about Rs 100. In the airport's arrivals area is the MTDC Holiday Resort, which provides brochures and tour bookings for the caves. Also located there is Classic Travel Related Services, which will arrange any kind of transport for Aurangabad and surrounding areas, including the Ajanta and Ellora caves. A full day with car and driver costs about Rs 1,200 ($26).
The drive from Aurangabad to Ajanta takes 2 to 3 hours, so start early to beat the midday heat. Most visitors are dropped off in the Ajanta caves' parking lot, where you'll find plenty of tacky souvenirs for sale and eco-friendly buses waiting to take you the short way up to the Ajanta Caves ticket office.
Alternatively, you can be dropped off at the viewpoint across the river, reached via a turnoff slightly before the parking lot. If you're in good shape and steady on your feet, this option is worth the trouble. From the viewing platform, make your way down the difficult footpath and across the footbridge spanning the Waghora River. Arrange to have your driver pick you up at the parking lot when you're done. | | Ajanta Caves : Description | |
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Because the light is best at the distant Cave 26 complex early in the day, you should proceed there without delay. Go over the first large bridge and continue some distance along the path on the far side of the river until you reach the old red bridge. Before crossing the latter, which leads through the garden area, you can take a "diversion" to the left, to see the spectacular view of the gorge and waterfall from below. After going through the garden, walk up the ramp to the "Elephant Gate" leading via a tunneled staircase to the imperial Prime Minister's Cave 16. You will soon pass three fine caves (17, 19, 20) dedicated by the local king, before you continue directly on to the last accessible complex, Cave 26 and its four wings. After reaching that western extremity of the site, you can return at a leisurely pace back toward Cave l (where it will now be uncrowded), and go directly from there down to the area where the busses wait.
A small light will be useful, and many people will prefer their own water to that still available, after so many centuries, from the old cisterns at Caves 4 and 16. Most people will benefit from the services of the official guides, for the complex narrative scenes in some of the major caves are better explicated "live" than from a guidebook. if you have difficult walking or climbing do not hesitate to hire a dholi (carried by four men) to take you up the steep hill and to help in other spots.
One of the most spectacular sites in India, in fact just around the corner from the farthest of the western caves (but inaccessible from that area), is the so-called dhabdhaba - the series of waterfalls that form the source of the Waghora River, which has cut the ravine in flout of the caves. These are easily accessible, and will provide an unforgettable experience. Because of the manner in which they have worn away tic rock over millions of years, they are as beautiful in the dry season as in the wet. Hardly any visitors to the site ever learn about this area, which so 13r has never been publicized.
There are two ways to approach to this remarkable area. About half way along the river path described above, there are well-constructed steps that lead upward to tie little pavilion with a pointed roof overlooking the caves. This is quite a climb, but provides a great view of the head of the ravine and the seven falls (and the pools they have formed). However, you have seen nothing yet; you should walk along the edge of the ravine for about fifteen minutes, until you come to the very top of the falls from there, no matter what the season - whether wet or dry-you will see the most remarkable configuration of the cared! layers of rock, cut over millions of years into sculptural forms which are like Henry Moore sculptures turned inside out. Then you can return by the way you came; or except when the water is (dangerously) rushing down into the rocky ravine during the monsoon, you can simply step across the dry bed of the river and walk in the other direction along the rim of the cliff in which the caves are cut. This will eventually lead you down close to Cave 1.
Tradition claims that the Viewpoint was where the cavalry officer, John Smith first "discovered" the caves, at least for the western world. Going down into the ravine in which the elves were cut, he scratched his inscription (John Smith, 28th Cavalry, 28th April, 1819) across the innocent chest of a painted Buddha image on the thirteenth pillar on the right in Cave 10; his record is well above eye level, for he was standing on five feet of long-accumulated debris at the time.
From the Viewpoint you will get a panoramic view of the whole range of caves, as well as of the winding course of (he river which leads out to the plains beyond, the location of the ancient trade route which leads up through the dramatic pass to the village of Ajanta, after which the caves are named. The descent down to the dhabdhaba (hidden from view by the forest) is rather lengthy but very easy, since excellent steps lead flown to the flatter area below. At this point you should cut to the fern walking across the rocks and grass (not difficult; until you come to the head of the falls described above. After seeing that startlingly impressive work of the great artificer, you can continue on w the little pointed pavilion, and then make a further descent clown to the conveniently located bridge which lends across to the most ancient of the caves consisting of Caves 9 and 10, and a few associated monastic residences. From there, continue to your left, toward the furthest caves, and eventually return via the great Caves 4, 2. and 1; happily by the time you get to than, most of the crowds will have long since left, so you will be able to sec than at your leisure. One can then descend to the bus area either by the steep stairway or the easier ramp. | | Ajanta Caves : History | |
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Ajanta had two distinct periods of patronage. The first was the early "Hinayana Buddhist" phase, which took place between approximately 100 B.C.E. and 100 C.E. The severe Caves 9, l0, 12, 13 and 15A were excavated during that period, the latter being discovered under the fallen rock and soil long after the caves were originally numbered.
After this Hinayana phase, probably developed by and large under Satavahana patronage, the site lay dormant for over three centuries. By then, eclipsing the early Buddhist authority, Hinduism must have gained a stronger hold over the region : the Chinese Buddhist traveler Fa Hien reported shortly after 400 C.E. that pilgrims were still coming here, but that ''the (local) people all have ... erroneous views, and do not know the ... Law of Buddha".
However, the situation dramatically changed after the middle of the filth century. Then a remarkable renaissance took place at Ajanta, under the aegis of the powerful emperor Harisena of the Vakataka Dynasty. Already the lord of extensive domains, including Ajanta. when he came to power in 460, by the time of his unexpected death in 477, he controlled the whole of central India from the western to the eastern sea. During his all-too-brief reign this "moon among princes" was perhaps the most illustrious ruler in the world. It was he alone who held aloft the overflowing vessel of India's Golden Age, during these few final years before, in about 180, the privileged world broke asunder. Miraculously, it is Ajanta itself that uniquely records this cresting of Indian classical culture, before it so harshly mirrors the happy world's sudden decline.
Encouraged by Harisena's interest will energy, a group of powerful patrons - among them the emperor's own prime minister, the pious local king, and ambitious feudatories from the adjacent province - decided to initiate this challenging new undertaking early in the emperor's reign. Now, however, in contrast to the shared donations of Hinayana times, each cave was to be the exclusive offering of a single important donor, with the whole carefully organized development under tight administrative controls.
Starting in 462, activity burgeoned for an exuberant half-decade. However, by 468 a "Recession" afflicted the site, for the neighboring Asmakas - sponsors of the major Cave 26 complex - were threatening the region. Because of the economic problems that this caused, the local feudatory ruler, King Upendragupta, ordered work stopped on every excavation at the site except upon his own Caves 17-20 and upon Cave 1, the sumptuous donation of his overlord, the emperor Harisena. However, by 472, the threat had become so critical that work on these privileged royal caves had to he abandoned too. At this point war must have flared in the region, since for the next few years - the "Hiatus" of 472-474 - there was no patronage activity at the site whatsoever. Then, significantly, when activity started up again in about 475, it was the Asmakas who were the new feudatory lords of the region. At this point Ajanta's craftsmen, who had fled to safely distant sites for work, came back, and work went on even more vigorously than before. As for the now-defeated local king, who had dreamed of "covering the earth with stupas and vihara" he was never heard from again.
Ajanta's new florescence was tragically short-lived, however. In 477, the great emperor Harisena suddenly died, and the site went into deathly convulsions of its own. All ongoing excavation programs were rapidly abandoned during 478, as the worried patrons, except in the Asmaka's Cave 26, rushed to get their main Buddha images completed and dedicated. Their evident anxiety was justified. For no sooner had Harisena's inept son ascended the throne than the aggressive Asmakas boldly asserted their independence from him, and started plotting to take over the whole vast empire for themselves. Although they failed in this, they did in fact destroy the great Vakataka house, and destroyed all further patronage at Ajanta Lou. The life of the site was quickly snuffed out by the demons of war and their voracious attendants.
For a very brief period (mid-478-480), taking advantage of the total disruption of the old authority at the site, the monks still living there, along with a few anxious local devotees, donated a spate of intrusive Buddhas, to get such merit as they could. These appear, helter-skelters, outside and inside most of the dedicated caves. But this eruption of intrusive piety did not last for long. When the funds to sustain such modest offerings started running out, the last remaining artists must finally have moved away. A few monks lived on in a few cells for a few years, but then the reality of the present closed in upon the wonders of the past. After 480, not a single image was ever made again at the site. When the region emerged from the late fifth century's darkness, Hinduism was again at the force. Ajanta, far up in its deep valley, lay largely forgotten, treasuring the very isolation that so remarkably preserved it. | | Ajanta Caves : More pictures | |
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