Tourist Destinations in West India
Ajanta Ellora Travel Guide |
  
AJANTA CAVES
About 107 kms. from the city of Aurangabad, the rock-cut
caves of Ajanta nestle in a panoramic gorge, in the form of a gigantic horseshoe.
Among the finest examples of some of the earliest Buddhist architecture,
caves-paintings and sculptures, these caves comprise Chaitya Halls, or shrines,
dedicated to Lord Buddha and Viharas, or monasteries, used by Buddhist monks for
meditation and the study of Buddhist teachings.
The paintings that adorn
the walls and ceilings of the caves depict incidents from the life of the Buddha
and various Buddhist divinities. Among the more interesting paintings are the
Jataka tales, illustrating diverse stories relating to the previous incarnations
of the Buddha as Bodhisattva, a saintly being who is destined to become the Buddha.
Occupied for almost 700 years, the caves of Ajanta seem to have been
abandoned rather abruptly. They remained shrouded in obscurity for over a millennium,
till John Smith, a British army officer, accidentally stumbled upon them while
on a hunting expedition in 1819. The 'View Point' from where John Smith first
glimpsed the caves, provides a magnificent sight of the U-shaped gorge and its
scenic surroundings. Cascading down the cliff is a spectacular waterfall, which
at the bottom feeds a natural pool called the Saptakunda.
Ajanta has
been designated as a World Heritage Site, to be preserved as an artistic legacy
that will continue to inspire and enrich the lives of generations to come.
The caves of Ajanta can be classified into two distinct phases: the earlier
Hinayana phase (1), in which the Buddha was worshipped only in the form of certain
symbols. And the later Mahayana phase (II), in which the Buddha was worshipped
in the physical form.
Ajanta has two kinds of Caves:
Finished Caves: They are Twenty Seven & depict different forms of Buddha.
more >>
Unfinished Caves: They are unfinished & some of them
are accessible. more >>
ELLORA
CAVES
Ellora Caves, Nestled in the crook of the Charanadari hill in Deccan
is a series of ancient temples and monasteries hewn out of the moutainside. Situated
on the ancient north- south trade route or the dakshinapatha, the tiny mountain
village of Verul - mutated today to Ellora -was a well- known stopover for traders,
priests and pilgrims who plied the route to the western ports.
Beginning
sometime in the 7th century, when the Chalukyas (AD 553 - 753) ruled the Deccan,
these wayfarers decided to make their presence permanent. And excavation started
on a number of Buddhist chaityas and viharas. The place found favour with missionaries
of other faiths as well, and over the next five centuries, Hindus and Jains also
built their temples in the rocks there.
Places of Interest in Ellora:
Unlike the caves at Ajanta, the Ellora caves were never 'lost'. Largely because
it lay on a more frequented route, Ellora remained in the public eye. In fact,
Kailasa Temple remained a practising shrine until the 19th century. Several travellers
to India including the 10th century Arab geographer Al Masudi and Niccolao. Manucci
in early 17th century mention the caves in their accounts.
Ellora
Caves Tour
The cave temples and monasteries at Ellora, excavated out of
the vertical face of an escarpment, are 26 kms. north of Aurangabad. Extending
in a linear arrangement, the 34 caves contain Buddhist Chaityas, or halls of worship,
and Viharas, or monasteries, Hindu and Jian temples. more >>
Kailasa
Temple Ellora
The other Buddhist caves as well as the first few Hindu
caves are fairly unremarkable and do not prepare you for the magnificence of Kailasa
Temple or Cave 16. Believed to have been started by the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna
I, Its excavation must rank as an architectural wonder.
The temple is
dedicated to Shiva and named for his mountain home in the Himalayas, the snow-
peak Kailasa. The main shrine and the Nandi mandapa are built on a plinth, over
7.8 metres high, with its entire vertical surface carved with mythical animals
and gargoyles.
The Main temple
This is flanked on either side
by two free- standing pillars, soaring some 15.9 metres high. These gracefully
proportioned pillars are believed to have once borne the trishul or trident of
Shiva.
Two storeys of corridors have been carved into the mountain, ringing
the temple on three sides. These corridors are studded with small alcoves, all
containing a wealth of sculpted figures telling the tales of the great Hindu epics,
the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Among the narrative friezes is the descent of
river Ganga, and one of Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa. The architectural style
and intricate sculpture is similar to Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal that had
been completed a decade before.
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