Information About Ajanta Caves

Ajanta Caves are one of the best examples of Ancient Indian sculpture, art and architecture. People from different religions worked in the construction of these caves, which could be built over 500 years and in two stages. Built between the 2nd century BC and 480 AD, the Ajanta Caves are located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. When you book your hotel, rental car and flight with Bitbook on your trip to India, you can benefit from an average of 26% cashback.

There are 30 Buddhist caves in the state of Maharashtra. The Ajata Caves also once served as places of worship and monasteries for Buddhists. The Theravadin and Hinayana Buddhists built the caves in the first stage. In these two sects, caves are built simply because Buddha was worshiped symbolically.

Buddhists who followed the Mahayana school built the caves in the second phase. In the second phase, previously built caves were used and more were excavated. At this stage, a lot of attention was paid to architecture and sculpture, and beautiful paintings and decorations were drawn on the walls inside the cave. The construction of 3-4 caves could not be completed.

Featuring some of the most important examples of Indian art, these caves show the emotions of impressive paintings through shape, pose and movement. Paintings dating back to the 1st century BC can be found in these caves. There are also stories from Buddha's life in the caves, where there are also early paintings.

Some paintings like Mahajanaka Jataka, Simhala Avadana and Vidhurpandita Jataka cover the entire wall of the cave. Cave 1 has famous paintings like Padmapani and Varjrapani.

The presence of different skin colors such as yellow, brown and tawny in the pictures indicates that there were other races in the population of that time.

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