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Way back in1819, a party of British army officers on a tiger hunt in the forest of western Deccan, suddenly spotted their prey, on the far side of a loop in the Waghora river. High up on the horseshoe- shaped cliff, the hunting party saw the tiger, silhouetted against the carved façade of a cave.

On investigating, the officers discovered a series of carved caves, each more dramatic than the other. Hewn painstakingly as monsoon retreats or varshavasas for Buddhist monks, the cave complex was continuously lived in from 200 BC to about AD650. There are thirty caves, including some unfinished ones. Of the Ajanta caves, five are chaityas or prayer halls and the rest are viharas or monasteries.

Hinayana and Mahayana
The Ajanta caves resolve themselves into two phases, separated from each other by a good four hundred years. These architectural phases coincide with the two schools of Buddhist thought, the older Hinayana school where the Buddha was represented only in symbols like the stupa, a set of footprints or a throne, and the later Mahayana sect which did not shy away from giving the Lord a human form.

Hinayana
Among the more prominent Hinayana caves are those numbered 9, 10 (both chaityas), 8, 12, 13 and 15 (all viharas). The sculpted figures in these caves are dressed and coiffed in a manner reminiscent of the stupas at Sanchi and Barhut, indicating that they date back to the first or second century BC.

Mahayana
The Mahayana monasteries include 1, 2, 16 and 17, while the chaityas are in caves 19 and 26. The caves, incidentally, are not numbered chronologically but in terms of access from the entrance. A terrqaced path of modern construction connects the caves, but in ancients times, each cave was accessed from the riverfront by individual staircases.

The sculptures and paintings in the caves detail the Buddha's life as well as the lives of the Buddha in his previous births, as related in the allegorical Jataka tales. You will also find in the caves a sort of illuminated history of the times - court scenes, street scenes, cameos of domestic life and even animal and bird studies come alive on these unlit walls.

The caves including the unfinished ones are thirty in number, of which five (9, 10, 19, 26 and 29) are chaitya-grihas and the rest are sangharamas or viharas (monasteries). After centuries of oblivion, these caves were discovered in AD 1819.

They fall into two distinct phases with a break of nearly four centuries between them. All the caves of the earlier phase date between 2nd century BC-AD.

The caves of the second phase were excavated during the supremacy of the Vakatakas and Guptas. According to inscriptions, Varahadeva, the minister of the Vakataka king, Harishena (c. 475-500 AD), dedicated Cave 16 to the Buddhist sangha while Cave 17 was the gift of the prince, a feudatory.

An inscription records that- Buddha image in Cave 4 was the gift of some Abhayanandi who hailed from Mathura.

A few paintings which survive on the walls of Caves 9 and 10 go back to the 2nd century BC-AD. The second group of the paintings started in about the fifth century AD and continued for the next two centuries as, noticeable in later caves.

The themes are intensely religious in tone and centre round Buddha, Bodhisattvas, incidents from the life of Buddha and the Jatakas. The paintings are executed on a ground of mud-plaster in the tempera technique.

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.

Ajanta has two kinds of Caves:
» Finished Caves
» Unfinished Caves

Finised Caves
Cave 1: This is one of the finest monasteries at Ajanta. Graciously posed Bodhisattvas with elaborate headdresses flank the antechamber doorway. On its either side are two of the best-known murals Bodhisattva Padmapani and Bodhisattva Vajrapani holding a thunderbolt (right) accompanied by attendants, divine musicians and flying figures.

The left wall of the antechamber depicts the assault and temptation by Mara, the god of passion, and on the right wall is the dark princess being offered lotuses by a lady. In the shrine, the Buddha is seen in the teaching position. Under his throne appears the Wheel of Life. The left wall of the hall shows scenes from the Mahajanaka Jataka. To the right of the rear wall are episodes from the Champeyya Jataka.

Cave 2: It is remarkable for the painted ceiling with large medallions, delicate bands of lotus flowers, scrollwork and abstract geometric patterns. Episodes connected with the birth of the Buddha such as the dream of his mother Maya, its interpretation by the priests and the birth of Gautama occupy the left wall. Next of this is a representation of the Miracle of Shravasti when the Buddha manifested himself in thousand forms.

Cave 4: Planned on a grandiose scale, but never completed, this is the largest monastery at Ajanta. It has a central doorway embellished with guardians, flying figures, maidens clutching trees and also images of the Buddha and Ganas, or dwarfs, with garlands. Six gigantic standing figures of the Buddha are carved in the walls of the antechamber.

Cave 6: Excavated on two levels, it has a splendidly carved entrance. The lower hall has 16 octagonal columns. In the shrine is the seated Buddha accompanied by standing Buddhas. The upper hall has only one painting, depicting the gift by a monk.

Cave 7: Unlike the other monasteries, this one contains only two small porticos and does not have a hall. The shrine has a seated Buddha with a halo carved on the back wall.

Cave 9 : Rectangular in plan, with a monolithic hemispherical Stupa in the center. Traces of wall-paintings can be seen above which are figures of the Buddha in various poses.

Cave 10 : Probably the earliest cave excavated at Ajanta. The paintings, though largely obliterated, reveal a royal personage accompanied by soldiers, musicians and dancers, worshipping the Bodhi Tree and the Stupa. Also of interest are the Jataka tales on the right wall.

Cave 11: Believed to be excavated in phase II, it has an entrance with a lion-head at each end of the threshold. The ceiling of the verandah is painted with trees, birds, beast and geometric design. The walls of the hall are adorned with figures of the Buddha.

Cave 12: Among the earliest of monasteries its doorways in the hall are topped with arched Chaitya window motifs. Particularly noteworthy is a Brahmi inscription recording the gift of the rear wall of the cell in the right corner of the hall.

Cave 13: It is a small monastery belonging to the earlier phase of excavation. The hall has seven narrow cells, each with two stone beds. One of the cells has a raised stone pillow in it.

Cave 14: This cave, excavated at a higher level, can be reached by passing through an incomplete cave. It has a central doorway whose top is adorned with attendants and maidens clutching branches.

Cave 15: A two-tiered structure, it has a Stupa with a canopy of serpent hoods in the lower tier. The upper tier has a Chaitya window motif with a pair of beautifully carved pigeons. The rear wall of the hall is carved with an image of the Buddha seated on a throne.

Cave 15A: Reached by a descending flight of steps near Cave 15. the walls of the hall are carved with Chaitya window motifs in relief. Each of the cells in the hall has a door and raised platforms, which served as beds.

Cave 16: It is one of the finest monasteries at Ajanta. It has a donative inscription of Varahadeva a minister of the king Harisena. The ceiling of the front aisle replicates wooden beams, the ends being supported by Ganas, musicians and flying couples. The teaching Buddha is seated on a lion-throne. To his left is the dying Princess (the bride of Buddha's cousin Nanda) on the right wall is the painting of Siddhartha (later the Buddha) using the bow, and the Buddha begging for alms from his wife and son. On the front wall of the hall are two scenes from the Jataka tales in which the Bodhisattva appears as an elephant and as a wise judge, settling a dispute between two women claiming motherhood of the same child.

Cave 17: The greatest number of wall-paintings are preserved in this cave. The doorway shows a row of eight Buddhas surrounded by female guardians, river gooses, and scrollwork and lotus petals. On the left side wall of the verandah is the unusual composition of the Wheel of life displaying all of creation. The painting in the hall illustrates the Jataka tales.

Cave 18: A rectangular excavation, it has two pillars with molded bases and octagonal shafts leading into another cell.

Cave 19: One of the most perfectly executed rock-cut Chaityas with elaborately carved interiors. Seated Budda figures as well as riders, flying figures, hermits and musicians adorn the column capitals. Two rows of richly decorated columns lead up to the standing Buddha. The shrine has a triple stone umbrella above the monolithic Stupa.

Cave 20: A small monastery with delicately carved verandah columns and bracket figures. The hall has no pillars, and some of the cells inside have, above their lintels, a design, which resembles the Shikhara - the top of a temple.

Cave 21: A monastery which, although only partially complete, has many richly ornamented columns. On the left wall is a fragment of a painting showing the Buddha preaching to the congregation. Above the side shrines of the verandah are carved Hariti, the goddess of prosperity, and her attendants to the right, and a court of Naga, the serpent king to the left.

Cave 22: Excavated at a higher level, this small monastery with a narrow verandah has four unfinished cells. On the right wall of the shrine are painted the seven Manushi-Buddhas with Maitreya, under their respective Bodhi Trees.

Cave 26: The interior of this Chaitya Hall is decorated with carved Buddha figures. The focal Stupa has an image of the Master seated in a pavilion. The two narrative scenes on the left wall show the temptation by Mara, the god of passion, and a colossal carved figure of the reclining Buddha, depicting his ultimate salvation from the cycle of rebirth-the Mahaparinirvana. The disciples beneath are shown to be mourning the decease of the master, while celestials are rejoicing in his salvation.

Cave 27: An adjunct cave 26, it has a shrine and an antechamber with its narrow front wall portraying a Naga king, a couple and a female standing gracefully on a Makara, a mythical sea monster, with a bird perched on her right hand. The shrine has an image of the Buddha in teaching attitude.

Unfinised Caves
Cave 3 & 5:These are unfinished monasteries of the second phase of excavation. Cave 5 is notable for its intricately carved doorway with female figures standing on Makaras.

Cave 8: An unfinished monastery excavated in the earlier phase.

Cave 23: It has some delicately sculpted figures of the river goddesses and amorous couples and decorative medallions containing dancing Ganas.

Cave 24: An unfinished cave , its verandah has some of the finest sculptures of Naga guardians and river goddesses.

Cave 25: A small, unfinished monastery, excavated at a higher level, with an enclosed courtyard a pillared verandah and a hall. There is no shrine inside the cave.

Caves 28 & 29: Both the caves are largely inaccessible. Cave 28 is a monastery and cave 29, a Chaitya - griha, or hall of worship.