Ajanta and Ellora Caves

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Located - At a distance of 99 km away from Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

Striking features - Ajanta caves are declared a World Heritage Site, and Ellora caves possess a blended architecture of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

Total number of caves present – 30 in Ajanta and 34 in Ellora.

Dates back to – 2nd BC to 6th century AD for Ajanta and 5th to 10th century AD for Ellora.

Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra:

At a distance of 99 km from the historically significant city or Aurangabad, there are located the Ajanta caves of Maharashtra. These are the most famous cave structures throughout Maharashtra, India and the world. Hence, the Ajanta caves have been awarded the title of World Heritage Site. These caves had been carved in the period between 2nd century BC and 6th century AD, means they can be traced back to the pre- historic periods. These were basically built for the ancient Buddhist monks to live and pray over here. Hence, the caves can be seen to have a touch of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist architectures. The walls and ceilings of the Ajanta caves portray every aspect of the contemporary world related to every kind of human being – from kings to slaves, man to woman, children to adults, and every other style that is a part of the contemporary world living. 

Also, the Ajanta cave carvings depict different types of human beings like the Yaksha, the Kinneras – meaning partly human and partly birds, Apsaras – dancers of the heavenly courts, Gandharvas – divine mucisians, etc. These carvings and designs came out of imagination, since these things were of importance for people of then. The Ajanta caves were discovered in the 19th century itself. Prior to that they were built and later forgotten, due to the chisel, and were left hidden under the thick blanket of nature’s wild growth. There are as many as 30 astonishing caves, each leaving the visitors with jaw- dropping expressions.

Ellora caves:

These are located at a distance of around 18 miles away from Aurangabad and to its north west, cradled and the round of the Chamadari hills. They extend over a mile and a quarter more in the north – south direction. These set of caves are icons for the experiments carried out on them for over 300 years. An irregular vertical rocky ridge that rises upwards from the Earth – this is what the first impression of the spectators of Ellora is. The array of 34 and more caves in Ellora is an instance of great temple architectures. Looking at the designs and the sculptures on the cave walls, the Ellora caves seem to display, in their architectures, a perfect unification of the Jain, Buddhist and Hindu mythology. The Chalukya – Rashtrakuta rulers of the 7th – 10th century had undertaken the donation for the building of the caves. There are numerous mural paintings in Ellora caves. But, since they are quite ancient, only in one of the 5 caves, in which the paintings were made, they are even preserved now in somewhat decent and visible manner. Not only on walls, but the paintings also decorate the ceilings of these two- storied caves. There is a festival arranged by the MTDC in Ellora caves in which there are competitions of classical music and dancing.

Thus, Ajanta and Ellora serve as the most ancient icons of heritage and richness of the state and thus they preserve the indigenousness of endemic Maharashtra. It is worth visiting once a life time – the Ajanta and Ellora caves of Maharashtra.