The state of Maharashtra is home to the enchanting Ajanta and Ellora group of caves. The cave shrines were all cut out of rock, by hand, and rank amongst some of the most outstanding specimens of ancient Indian architectural heritage. The 34 caves at Ellora and the 29 caves at Ajanta, were hidden from the public eye, till they were accidentally rediscovered in the 19th century.

These caves are a treasure of India which hold the wealth and display the rich Indian heritage.

Ajanta

The 30 Buddhist caves of Ajanta, 60 miles (100 km) from Aurangabad, not only contain sculptures but remarkably preserved frescos as well. The Ajanta caves are secluded and were discovered accidentally only in the 19th century. This probably explains why the monuments escaped the depredations of invading armies.

Buddhism was a religion of denial. That's how Gautama Buddha saw it; he was against the worshipping of idols and forbade his followers from making images of himself. He did not even favour the wearing of colourful clothing or any ornamentation which might excite desire.

After the Buddha's death, as Buddhism spread wider, its preachers felt the need for giving a representational form to its teachings. Buddhist monks began to tell stories of Buddha's earlier incarnations, paintings and sculptures of these stories began to proliferate. Thus began the process of Buddhism acquiring some of the sensuousness of Hinduism.

The frescos and sculptures of Ajanta are from that heady period and the westerner, used to the idea of religion being essentially a negation of the senses, will be startled by the voluptuousness of much of the imagery. The most important caves are 1, 2, 9, 10, 16, 17, 19, 21 and 26.

Ellora

Carved during 350 A.D. to 700 A.D. these structures represent the three faiths of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. These caves 34 in number are located 30 kms from Aurangabad. They are fascinating and the finest example of cave temple architecture housing elaborate facades and exquisite interiors. The 12 caves to the south are Buddhist, the 17 in the centre dedicated to Hinduism, and the 5 caves to the north are Jain.

The nobility, grace and serenity inherent in Buddha is reflected in the sculptures of these caves. Caves 6 and 10 house images from the Buddhist and Hindu faith, under the same roof, the latter dedicated to Vishwakarma, the patron saint of Indian craftsmen. The Vishvakarma cave is both a Chaitya and a Vihara, with a seated Buddha placed in the stupa. Its two - storeyed structure sports a colourful pageant of dwarfs, dancing and making music.

The Kailasa temple in Cave 16 is an architecture. The entire structure was a exquisite piece carved out of a monolith, the process taking over a century to finish. This mountain - abode of Lord Shiva, is in all probability, the world's largest monolith, the gateway, pavilion, assembly hall, sanctum and tower, all hewn out of a single rock. The most striking feature about this structure is that unlike other temple structures that are built base onwards, the sculptures or architects of this majestic and fantastic sculptures started carving from the very top and the sides. The gigantic yet delicate and intricate piece of ancient work is the most amazing structure here. The Dumar Lena cave, dedicated to Lord Shiva, resembles the famous cave temple of Elephanta.

The Jain caves are about a mile away from the Kailasa temple, amongst which Cave 32, houses a beautiful shrine adorned with fine carvings of a lotus flower on the roof, and a yakshi on a lion under a mango - tree, while Caves 32 and 34 contain grand statues of Parasnath. The other Jain caves sport the images of Tirthankaras, and one of them, also, has a seated figure of Mahavira.

Festivals

Every year in the third week of March, M T D C organises the Ellora Festival of Classical Dance and Music at the caves.

How to get there?

By Air: Aurangabad, (99 km from Ajanta and 30 km from Ellora), is the ideal base to visit Ajanta and ellora, is directly linked to Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur and Mumbai.
By Rail: Aurangabad is directly linked to Mumbai and Pune. Jalgaon, a railhead on the Central Railways line, is 59 km from Ajanta.
By Road: State buses run from Mumbai, Pune, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Shirdi, Nasik, Dhule, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Indore and Bijapur to Aurangabad, and from Jalgaon to Ajanta. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (M T D C) operates conducted tours from Mumbai to Aurangabad.

Accommodation

Hotels are available to suit all budgets at Mumbai, Pune, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Shirdi Nasik, Dhule, Aurangabad etc. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Holiday Resort near Aurangabad railway station, the Ajanta Travelers Lodge at the caves and the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Holiday Resort at Fardapur (about 1.5 km from Ajanta) provide clean and comfortable accommodation.

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