Ajanta caves are a series of caves, 30 in number, carved out of a solid monolithic mountain

body. These rocks are hard stone known as the basalt rock. These are located around or along
the river valley of Waghora, in Maharashtra. Today a remote tourist destination the Ajanta
caves were a shelter for the Buddhist monks who lived, preached and worshiped inside the
caves.

Besides the locals, the Waghora was a navigable river establishing this location as a trade route
inviting merchants, people from many places like central Asia, Persia, North India, eastern and
southern India. And this impression is exuded by the imagery and figures housed in the Ajanta
caves.

The art housed in the Ajanta caves is a combination of architecture, sculpture and painting.
Therefore, the work inside these caves lasted for several centuries. The earliest cave
architectural evidences at Ajanta are probably marked from second century and first century
BC. And the later examples of paintings, sculptures and architecture from Ajanta come
from 5th, 6th and perhaps the beginning of the 7th century AD. Therefore, there was a big gap
in the work as patronage stopped.

Although, the Ajanta Caves appear like a sheet of rock from the outside, the inside lands the
visitor into another realm. Gorgeous interior with beautiful pillars, elaborately decorated with
impeccable designs and ornamentations carved out with only chisel and hammer.

Though all the caves may not contain the rich combination of painting and sculpture, cave
number 1, 2, 16 and 17 are replete with Buddhist artistry. All together there are 6 caves which
have the maximum amount of paintings on their walls.

The Ajanta caves can be divided into two groups: Viharas and Chaityas.
Vihars are bereft of sculpture or painting or any other kind of embellishment, as these were
dormitories for the monks.
Chaityas are the halls where the monks and the Buddhist devotees would sit to pray or worship.
These structures in fact, have maximum number of sculptures, architectural embellishment and
painting. And all the 3 formats form a glorious amalgam of beauty and grace.

Replete with paintings the interiors are contrast of the outside space. Here you see paintings
almost everywhere except the floor. You see paintings on the ceilings, walls and the pillars.
There are relief sculptures on the pillars, inside the niches and straight at the center deep inside
the cave: The statue of Lord Buddha is the central and prominent image right in the centre.

In various corners of the Ajanta caves, you see miniature images of the Buddha, some floral and
decorative images on the ceiling, which appears to be a prototype or a copy of the wooden
ceiling.

The pillars here sport iconic images of the Buddha or the Bodhisatvas amongst floral
decorations.
The large wall panels are another arresting feature of the Ajanta caves. The panel of narrative
paintings is an intelligent, joint decision, taken up by the sculptures, painters and architects.
Hence, the pillars and the ceilings display Buddhist religious symbols and various kind of iconic
images.
On the other hand on the side walls, on the panel paintings you get to see elaborate narrative
stories about the life of Buddha and fables from the Jataka Tales.

Though the Ajanta caves are globally reckoned as a hub of classical dian paintings, one should
not ignore its architectural value. In fact, it is the architectural design of the Ajanta caves that
accommodated the paintings and sculptures in this space. With reference to the integral
relationship between architecture and painting very often we find traces of painting on the
body of sculptures.

In fact, many of the indoor sculptures at Ajanta were painted on the surface of the stones, but
there are also outdoor sculptures and a few indoor relief sculptures as well which were never
painted. The stone surface and the porous textural quality added to the aesthetic quality of
the images.

The Classical Factor: During the 5th and 6th century Ajanta paintings at cave
number 1, 2 and 16, 17; coincides with the famous classical Gupta period in India.
So, it is quite natural for us to expect some classical elements in Ajanta paintings which were
painted in this later phase. The postures, the movement of the body, the curvatures of their
anatomy, all qualify as classical features.

And finally, the we come to the famous Bodhisattva Padmapani, which is the supreme example
of classical art in Ajanta. Now, this particular figure has all the essential features of classical art,
beginning with the Bhanga or the Bhangima which is a kind of a body posture which evokes a
graceful quality, the half closed eyes, the entire rhythm that has been kind of discovered with
in this very perfect anatomical feature of this person and certain kind of spiritual quality.
All this things in combination create what we understand as a classical style, but in order to
achieve this style the painters must have gone through enormous practice, must have gone
through a rigorous kind of training to understand conceptually, what is classical art and to
achieve that physically in their paintings and sculptures.

Now, apart from the very typical Buddhist iconic images of Lord Buddha and Bodhisattvas,
Ajanta is also full of images depicting the royal life as well as that of the commoners. Also the
natural and the vegetal world and strange mythical animals are equally into grated in the Ajanta
album.

Hence even within the decorative schema these images of flowers, plants, birds and animals
they evoke the sense of the real. They look very soft, they look very tender they do not look like
a pattern yet they are used for a decorative purpose.
Yet another example is this elephant. This elephant is not a part of any religious connotation or
symbolism. In fact, we can admire the tenderness, softness and the anatomical naturalness.

So, Ajanta paintings in spite of its stylistic framework have also been able to explore the
possibilities of bringing in naturalism into their images.

Now, we can conclude that the visual world of Ajanta is thus all encompassing, from religious
to social, from lovely natural elements to religious symbolism, from human follies to religious
righteousness. Everything can be seen present within one given project called Ajanta.

That is why Ajanta paintings, stylistically speaking, is not very typical or bonded to any one
particular kind of representation.

Finally let us focus on the humanitarian or the humanistic nuances in the art of Ajanta. Two
examples, one from a painting and the other from a sculpture can be taken here to derive this
aspect. These are a couple of touching moments from the life of Buddha or the Jataka Tales.
This painting depicts a very touching moment in the life of Buddha where he is shown on a
large scale to signify his spiritual power and significance. This is that moment when Buddha is
meeting his wife Yashodhara and son Rahul after a long time. This is the juncture when
Yashodhara with their son Rahul, declare their renunciation of the palatial life and become a
monk. This particular moment was a very crucial moment for Buddha as he didn’t know how to
respond to Yashodhara wishes. No answer is given here, but that moment has been depicted
with a very touching gesture and with a very touching composition.

The significant sculpture in the Ajanta caves is the Buddha in Mahaparinirvana. The
Mahaparinirvana is the last phase of his earthly life. He is depicted as an body in the eternal
place, who has been able to ultimately free himself from all the mortal and earthly bonding of
life. He will be free from the cycle of birth and rebirth.
He will be finally emancipated and liberated once and for all.
Mahaparinirvana signifies that moment.