• Ajanta Caves Road, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 431001, India.

Ajanta Caves, Ajanta and Ellora Caves Overview

Located around 99 km from the town of Aurangabad, lie the Ajanta Caves now included in the list of UNESCO World heritage Sites. Ajanta caves depict the Buddhist culture and their stories through various sculptures and paintings. It also takes you to the world of Jatakas.

The Ajanta caves is a set of 3rock-cutut Buddhist caves that date back to the period between 2nd century BC and 650 CE. The Ajanta caves are considered one of the most prestigious monuments of India as they house many beautiful paintings and sculptures depicting the rich cultural heritage of India. Naturally used as a retreat by the Buddhist monks, the cave depicts the serenity of Buddhism through its simple yet breathtaking sculpture. The basic designs of the caves are called ‘Chaityagrihas’ & ‘viharas’. Figurines of Lord Buddha and scenes from the traditional Jataka tales are the mainstays of this place. The area used to be heavily forested and the caves fell out of social conscience before being rediscovered by a British hunting officer in 1819.

History of Ajanta caves

Ajanta caves are essentially Buddhist monasteries of the bygone era. It is a place where Buddhist monks lived, studied and prayed. The Ajanta caves were first found by a few British soldiers in the 19th century when they were out hunting and one of them happened to lay his eyes on a cave covered with bushes, leaves and stones. The soldiers made their way into the cave and found many caves with such history in them. They informed the Government and ever since Ajanta caves are being excavated and studied to this day. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983. The caves have been built in two phases: Satvahana followed by Vakataka period named so after the ruling dynasty. The first phase lasted from 100B CE to 100 CE, when the sanctuaries were built in the canyons of the Waghora river and called Chaitya-griha. Caves 9, 10, 12, 15A are from this period. During the second phase, around 20 cave temples were built which resemble modern day monasteries with a sanctum in the rear end of the cave.