6.1.1 Ajanta Caves

It is located in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state. Ajanta has twenty nine caves. It has four chaitya caves datable to earlier phase, i.e. second and first century BCE and the later phase i.e. the fifth century. It has large chaitya-viharas and is decorated with sculptures and paintings. Ajanta is the only surviving example of the paintings of the first century BCE and the fifth century CE.

These caves are carved on a perpendicular cliff. As they are on

Ajanta Caves

perpendicular side, there are no courtyards. All the three forms of Art are combined in these caves : Architecture, Sculpture, Paintings.

Flying Apsara

Mural Paintings of Ajanta

Padampani