Amazing Ajanta - a photo on Flickriver

Amazing Ajanta

            This is the inside of cave number 26 in Ajanta.This is a Chaityagriha or Prayer Hall belonging to the Mahayana school of Buddhism and dating back to the 5th century A.D.The chaityagriha consists of a huge hall,side aisles and a rock cut stupa with an image of the Budhha seated on a  throne.The whole chaitya is adorned with exquisite carvings.The most striking sculpture is a huge reclining statue of the Budhha ,representing his moment of death.Below him his followers mourn his passing while celestial beings rejoice.

The Ajanta Caves are approximately 30 rock cut Buddhist caves in Aurangabad district of the state of Maharashtra in Western India.They were built in 2 phases from the 2nd century B.C to around 480 A.D.The caves are carved into a  246 feet wall of rock in an U-shaped gorge of the River Waghur some 100 kms from the city of Aurangabad.
The Ajanta caves consist of Viharas (monasteries ) and Chaityas ( Prayer halls) of different Buddhist sects.Many of the caves contain beautiful mural paintings depicting stories from the Jatakas( the previous lives and rebirths of the Buddha) as well as rock cut sculptures of the Buddha and other Buddhist deities.The paintings made from natural colours on "dry fresco" on the walls,ceilings and pillars are very intricate and of exceptional artistic quality.They are regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art.
Textual records suggest that these caves served as Monsoon retreats for Buddhist monks as well as resting places for travelling merchants and pilgrims.They were probably abandoned after the decline of Budhhism in India and  lack of royal patronage.The area got covered by thick forests and was discovered "accidentally" in 1819 by a British soldier Captain John Smith during a tiger hunting expedition.
These caves were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1983.

Taken on: January 13, 2023

Tags:

archiecture

sculpture

Buddhism

religion

Ajanta

Maharashtra

India « less

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