Bodhisattva Padmapani - This painting is seen in Cave 1, that elaborates the life of Gautam Buddha - former existence. Bodhisattva Padmapani, which literally means the one holding the Padma or a lotus flower in his hand. The eye catching details of this painting are full and sensuous lower lip, neat bow shaped eyebrows and a chiseled nose and an ekavali or a single pearl string around the neck with a blue sapphire in the middle. In totality, this painting is sensuous and divine, materialistic and spiritual. When we mean materialistic, the focus is on tiara, jewelry and fine clothing. His half close eyes are full of Karuna or compassion, though not deeply meditative. This paradox is the beauty of this famous painting of Padmapani.
This rock cut cave temple is located in Aurangabad, in the Indhyadri range of Western Ghats. These caves were discovered accidentally by a British officer, John Smith while hunting.
There are total 30 caves, out of which 20 caves were built during the Vakataka dynasty, when Harisena ruled the kingdom. When his reign ended, these caves were abandoned. Five caves are the Chaitya or prayer halls and the rest are viharas or monastries.
The first set of caves were built during 1st and 2nd century BCE. The second set of caves were built in the 5th century during the Gupta period. We were really lucky to capture these images because on account of covid, the tourists were very few and we could enjoy the marvel of the magnificent sculptures and paintings depicting Buddhist ideologies and beliefs. We stayed at MTDC guest house, which is close to the caves. Shuttle bus starts at 9.30 am to drop tourists to the cave and back till 6p.m.
We stayed here overnight after our visit to Ajanta caves. People here were generous, kind and served the tourists with kindness and love.
Cool morning breeze, smell of fresh greens, moist soil and the birds' song makes your day. It makes you forget all the noise around you.
This is the pathway through the market place to reach the bus that will lead you to world's most famous heritage site.
The paintings on the ceilings and walls of the cave no 1, narrate the stories of Jataka Tales, which is related to the previous lives of Buddha - in both human and animal form. Each birth story is called a Jataka, which is a folk tale. They are a total of 547 in number. They really make interesting reading just like the counterparts in Panchatantra. Jataka tales are written in Pali language and Panchatantra is written in Sanskrit.
The repairs or cleaning and conservation of the forests are carried out in a scientific manner to give a fresh lease of life for century.
These paintings teach the values of self-sacrifice, honesty, morality and other ethical values to a common person. On one of the walls, the paintings of a Hare or Rabbit's sacrifice is also depicted, where the hare becomes food for the beggar, Bodhisattva was in the form of a hare, and after sacrificing himself - Sakka, the king of gods rewarded him for being selfless. Other stories of animal forms are 'The Monkey and the Crocodile' and The Crab and the Crane' and so on.
On the right wall of Cave 17 is painted the Kapi Jataka, in which the Buddha is born as a Bodhisattva monkey. He saves the life of a hunter who had fallen into a pit. Later, as the monkey sleeps, the man tries to kill it for he is hungry. The Bodhisattva monkey wakes up in time and scolds the man for being so selfish as to want to kill the very creature who saved his life.
'The ceilings were painted with a 3D effect that comprised of the king - or Persian ambassador, the courtiers, flowers, animals, birds and intrinsic designs.
The person is depicted in the white skin while most native people have dark skin. The curtains, the long cloak like clothing, the headgear and the cup he is holding in his hand are all in Persian style indicating not only the trade but also a piece of good knowledge about their culture.
The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries and worship-halls of different Buddhist traditions carved into a 75-metre (246 ft) wall of rock.
On the ceilings of the caves is the depiction of the teeming life of the world, its flowers and fruit, the animals of the world and mythical creatures. Nature has a functional purpose and it is shown through animals like deer or mounds and rocks.
These stories throw light on the common life of the people, their economic conditions, social manners and customs.
This Gandhara Style paintings and sculptures has naturalism in body form, drapery, and pictorial scale. The male figures are shown with musculature, drapery with sharp flowing folds, wavy curled hair and sharp features. Observe the print of clothes worn by the figures in paintings. You can clearly see the Ikkat prints in stripes and Polka dots that were called Pulakbandh (based on the goosebumps that we get when we are happy). There is a depiction of zardozi or brocaded textiles as well.
To the right of the entrance to the antechamber is painted the Bodhisattva Vajrapani, the Bearer of the Thunderbolt. Whereas the Padmapani portrays peace, the Vajrapani brings before us the majesty of the spirit. The Bodhisattva wears a glorious crown, reflecting the grandeur of divine grace.
The paintings and sculptures tell stories of the lives of the Buddha before he reached Enlightenment, when, in the process of meditating beneath the Bodhi Tree, the cure for life's suffering was revealed to him. The Buddha statue within has witnessed centuries of change in silence, smiles a gentle-half smile.
The entrance view of one of the caves, a feeling of pride, peace and harmony.
The subjects of the Jataka stories were used in sculptures in the railings of the famous stupas.
In ancient times, the monks meditated by the feet of the Buddha statue, contemplating the mysteries of life, death, and rebirth in these deep dark caves.
The murals in Ajanta caves represent the finest and oldest artistic traditions in India.
These paintings have survived 2000 years and the stories can leaves you without a mesmerizing emotion. On the Vajrapani image, look at the intricate design of his Kirit or Tiara – complex filigree work is depicted with perfection.
The stories are not painted sequentially but they are painted spatially i.e. the scenes that happen in one place are painted together. To understand the story it is important that you know the story otherwise it is very difficult to figure out the sequence.
A closer take of the image above.
These include the story of the Buddha's conversion of his half brother Nanda. One of the great paintings of Ajanta is one in which we see Nanda's wife struck by grief because her husband has left her and gone away.
Cave 17, marks the feudatory of Harisena.
A very powerful painting in Cave 17 shows the Buddha who has come before his wife Yashodhara and son Rahul. She had tutored the child to ask the Buddha for his rightful inheritance, being born the son of a prince. The Buddha is shown putting forward his begging bowl, which is all that he has to offer. Yashodhara is depicted bedecked with all her jewellery, to entice the Buddha to stay back with her.
Several paintings of Buddha on a single wall will leave you thinking the artist's patience and love for the Supreme Soul whose teachings will change your life and make it more meaningful, by making you understand the purpose of life. The artists who painted them did not write their names upon the paintings, because for them, it was a great sense of fulfilment to play their part in the world and contribute their brilliance into that eternal fire of creation.
Around the Bodhisattva are painted playful monkeys and a joyous musician. Yet, amid all this activity, the Bodhisattva responds to a deep harmony: he looks within. There is a great sense of sublime peace that pervades the figures, which is one of the greatest masterpieces of Indian art.
The prayer halls were used by Buddhist monks for meditation and study of Buddhist teachings.
There is a great sense of peace that pervades this places and in the figures and sculptures on the walls. They speak of the relationship between the individual soul and the divine creator and the essential unity of the whole of creation.
He is Ahmed Nasir - our guide who explained the stories of Sandipani, life of Buddha and other historical events of the past era.
In art, we believe rules do not make the painting, where the artist opened the eyes of the painting only at the end. The 'EYES' has to be given a life of its own by the painter. This is a marvellous instance of carrying forward a tradition and yet always calling upon the artist to create a work out of his own vision.
A first period Hinayana style chaitya worship hall with Stupa but no idols in cave 9.
Frescos of Ajanta are classical paintings made on dry plaster surface.
since the caves are very dark, it was not possible to see the paintings without the help of reflectors that have been placed at the entrance of the cave. Our guide also carried some approved lighting that he briefly put on the paintings to show us the details.
Here, with hammer and chisel, with paint and brush, was created one of the greatest bodies of the art of mankind. Its inscriptions proclaim that it was meant to last forever.
These humble painters had a great vision, a vision of humanity and compassion, which moves and enthrals us even today.
In the Indian vision, time and place are a part of Maya, the veil of the illusory world. What has been and what is are only equally real, as each of them can at best present a moment of the reflection of the eternal truth. The past, the present and the future are enacted simultaneously and eternally in the perennial drama of the world.
In the paintings of Ajanta, the painters' knowledge of perspective is obvious in the receding pillars and in examples such as the elliptical depiction of the mouth of vessels. Volume is depicted by the most beautiful shading, which brings out the roundedness of form in a very sophisticated manner for paintings of such an early date.
The holes drilled in the ground were used to mix colours to paint the figures on the cave walls and ceilings. The artist got his colours from the simple materials that were available in these hills. For his yellow and red he used ochre, for black he used lamp soot, for his white he used lime. Only for his blue he used lapis lazuli, which came from Afghanistan. These simple colours were blended to provide the numerous colours and subtle hues, which are seen in these Ajanta paintings.
The rocks had variations in quality that required artists to change their carving methods and plans in places.
Make a walk in such a way that everyone learns many things from each step.
People without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots and roots of Indian culture is a philosophy and way of life - focused on this world and beyond.
Sculptors worked on excavating the rocks and made intricate carvings on pillars, roof, and painted them parallelly.
The beauty of the paintings and the brilliant use of colours and light in the paintings shows that artists were not tired and the endless journey of story telling in these caves. Many of the paintings have been lost to the ravages of time.
The eyes are the windows to the soul, and the Indian painter concentrated immensely on portraying the feelings of his subjects through their eyes. There are five kinds of eyes to be painted, which are depicted in the Chitrasutra - chapakara or meditative; matsyodara, female or lovelorn; utpalaptrabha, placid or peaceful; padmapatranibha, frightened or weeping; and sankhakriti, angered or deeply pained.
The eyes painted at Ajanta became a tradition that spread far and wide.
Observe the designs of ornaments on these figures. What do they speak?
The caves were carved from massive rocks on the Deccan Plateau.
Life isn't just about darkness or light, rather it's about finding light within the darkness.
The gesture, form and style of Ajanta sculptures is truly a marvel. For someone who has visited the caves would immediately be able to identify with all the paintings mentioned here. someone who has not been there, these pictures and stories would inspire them to make a trip to the world heritage site.
On the walls of the caves, are the shadows of Truth.
The sculpture of mother diety - 7 in a row.
Stupa with Buddha in the middle.
View of the horse shoe shaped cave as we move from one cave to another.
The narrative in the paintings of Ajanta flows sometimes from top to bottom and sometimes from bottom to top. At other times, it proceeds from left to right or from right to left. This is a marvellous visual example of how time is seen in Indian thought.
Stupa with idol - standing position.
This cave wall tells the story of Buddha's joy of leaving the world. After recovering, the Buddha travelled to Kushinagar. On his way, he accepted a meal from a smith named Cunda, which made him sick and led to his death. Once he reached Kushinagar, he encouraged his disciples to continue their activity one last time and he finally passed away. The people in the lower section of the wall are seen lamenting, crying because He was leaving them. While, in the upper section of the wall, the Gods are seen rejoicing because He is joining them.
The message is one of surrender - to the harmony of creation and the recognition of an underlying divinity. The compassionate message of Ajanta is contained in an inscription at the site, which says:
"The joy of giving filled him so much that it left no space for the feeling of pain."
Here, we see 2 women looking out of the window, while few men and women drinking wine and enjoying. King and queen also enjoying the drink spending some beautiful moments together.
A another further glance of the same picture above, we can see men staggering and walking, unable to balance themselves as they are drunk.
It is believed that the ecstasy experienced on seeing something truly beautiful, whether in nature or in art, is akin to Brahmananda or eternal bliss.
This was another large meditating hall used by Monks to meditate and dine. The place where light and the dark begin to touch, is where miracles arise.
In the long ring of caves, the artists tackled the darkness with light that reflected from outside the caves, this enabled the artists to make some of the finest, most intricate paintings in Indian art history.
The material world is seen as mithya, an illusion. They say it is desires and attachments that keep one bound to this ephemeral world. One has to lift the veils of the material world and look beyond to the eternal.
The ornaments worn by the figures in the paintings, depict the fact that we still continue to use those patterns and designs. This is a remarkable observation as this tells us about the longevity and continuity of our traditions.
The magnificent sculptures, perfectly placed layouts and paintings are fraught with Buddhist ideologies and beliefs. The lifestyle of the monks and the detailing of the life of Buddha and Buddhist tales is an integral part of the Ajanta Caves.
A view to the light outside from darkness of the cave.
The Final goal of Buddhism is nirvana - deliverance of the mind. Time and place are a part of Maya. Lord Krishna says "In this world, only TIME belongs to us, no one or nothing else. Because, if TIME is right, everyone and everything belongs to us.
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