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Ajanta and Ellora Caves
(northwest of Mumbai)
January 2009
(Click on an image to enlarge it. Use your "back" button to return to your place on the page.)
| The 30 Ajanta Caves were carved from about 200 BC to 600 AD, and are all Buddhist in nature. The caves are actually temples, monestaries, places of worship and shrines, carved into solid mountain rock at a bend above a river, using simple hand tools, and presumably, lots and lots and lots of labor.
 The series of temples were undiscovered for centuries; a British hunting party chanced upon them in the early 1800s.
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 The front of "Cave 26", a chaitya. Note the mountain rock above, and the carvings on the facade. |
 Columns both inside and outside the temples were carved from the original rock along with everything else; they were not added later. Buddha waits inside... |
 Many of the caves contain statues, again carved in place from the rock. These days the plaster and paint is mostly gone, leaving the original spectacular appearance to the imagination. |
 A row of statues in cave 26, mostly of Buddha in various poses, along with several smaller attendants. |
 A stupa in cave 19. A stupa is often a mound, often very large, and a focal point of worship. They are often said to contain relics. |
 Much of the original painting is still visible, although most of it has been damaged by time and the elements. |
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The 34 Ellora Caves, a couple of hours away from Ajanta, were carved both from the top down and into the sides of a 2 kilometer mountain escarpment. They are believed to have been carved by monks over a 500 year period (600-1000 AD) and represent Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions existing harmoniously side by side.
 Kailasa Temple, one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It represents the god Shiva's home in the Himalayas, Mount Kailasa, and is all carved from a single piece of stone in the mountainside. Around 200,000 tones of stone were removed during the 8th Century by 7,000 workers under King Krishna I and others, over many decades.
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 Closer to the temple, "Cave 16" locally, with a better view of its carvings. It is said to be the world's largest monolithic sculpture (the Jain Monolith of Gommateshwara claims to be the tallest). |
 A reverse angle of the previous photo, looking up and out of the temple. |
 No telling how many tons of rock is overhanging here, but it's not the kind of place you feel comfortable standing, although it has managed to hang out over 1,000 years. |
 Some statues get rubbed for luck, some parts more than others. Please note that a fascination with big hooters is not a new western trend. |
 Lord Shiva, his wife, and lots of attendants. |
 Imagine carving for dozens of years, then coming across a vein of bad rock in th back. Really bad news, but amazingly rare in the caves. |
 Plenty of school groups tour the caves. Remember, if you shake hands with one, you have to shake hands with all. |
 One of the earlier temples. Note the schoolchildren again, who love to wave to visitors, especially if they see a camera. |
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