Ajanta Sub Circle (Ajanta Caves)

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Ajanta Caves (20º33’12.30”N; 75º42’1.70” E), the finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting are named after a village of that name nearby Ajintha. These caves were excavated in horse-shoe shaped bend of rock scarp nearly 76 m in height overlooking a narrow stream known as Waghora. In all 30 caves were hewn out of the living rock in different periods according to the necessity. Out of these, five (Cave Nos. 9,10,19,26 and 29) are chaityagrihas and the rest are viharas. Chronologically and style wise these caves can be divided into two broad groups. Out of the 30 caves 6 caves belong to the earliest phase of Buddhism i.e. Hinayana. Cave Nos. 9 and 10 (chaityagrihas) and 8, 12, 13 and 30 (viharas) belong to this phase. These caves are datable to the pre-Christian era, the earliest among them being Cave No. 10 dating from the 2ndcentury BCE. These caves are imitation of contemporary wooden architecture to the extent of fixing of wooden rafters and beams to the ceiling even though they are non-functional. These early caves were painted but nothing substantial has survived. Cave 9 and 10 clearly show some vestiges of paintings. The headgear and ornaments of the images in these painting resemble to the bas-relief sculptures of Sanchi,BharhutandBhaja. Majority of the caves were excavated during the period of Vakatakas – thecontemporaries of the Imperial Guptas and also by their feudatories owing allegiance to the Vakatakas. Varahadeva, the minister of Vakataka king Harishena (475-500 CE), dedicated Cave No. 16 to the Buddhist sangha while Cave No. 17 was the gift of a prince Upendragupta, a feudatory of the same king. A flurry of activity at Ajanta was between mid-5th century CE to mid-6th century CE. Xuan Zhang, the famous Chinese traveller who visited India during the first half of 7th century CE has left a vivid and graphic description of the flourishing Buddhist establishment here, even though he never visited the caves. A solitary Rashtrakuta inscription in Cave No. 26indicates its use during 8th - 9th centuries CE. All these caves are once painted but now the best examples of these classic paintings of Vakataka period could be noticed in Cave Nos. 1, 2, 16 and 17. The main themes of the paintings are the depiction of various jataka stories, different incidents associated with the life of Buddha, and the contemporary social life. The ceiling decoration invariably consists of vivid decorative patterns which include geometrical as well as floral and faunal designs. Apart from painted representation, sculptural panels also adorn the beauty of the caves. Ajanta paintings are the best example of tempera technique, executed after elaborate preparation of rock surface. After chiselling rock surface, different layers of clay mixed with ferruginous earth, sand, fibrous material of organic origin were applied very carefully. Then the surface was finally finished with a thin coat of lime wash. Over this surface, outlines are drawn boldly, then the spaces are filled with requisite colours in different shades and tones to achieve the three dimensional effect of rounded and plastic volumes. The pigments used for the paintings are kaolin, shell white, lead white, red ochre, yellow ochre, lapis lazuli etc. The group of caves is inscribed by the UNESCO asWorld Heritage Monument in the year 1983.

(1) Fergusson, James & Burgess James, The Cave temple of India,MunshiramManoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Post Box 5715, 54 Rani Zhansi Road, New Delhil 110055 (2000, IIIrd Edition) Page No.: -280-345. (2) Edited by Yazdani G., The early History of the Deccan, Part I-VI., Authority of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, by the Oxford University Press, London, Bombay, New york. (1960), Page No.: -744-777.

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