Asia is flush with ancient marvels, but nothing matches these caves

Working in the subcontinent, I’ve experienced many of its marvels; from palaces to ashrams, hill stations to sacred rivers, megacities to rustic villages. But nothing matches the caves of Ajanta.

Perched on a cliff face above a jungle ravine about 400 kilometres east of Mumbai, Ajanta’s 30 rock-cut caves house a trove of sculptural and painted masterpieces of Buddhist art dating back more than 2000 years.

The 5th century “Cave 26” at Ajanta near Aurangabad in the Indian state of MaharashtraCredit: iStock

Historian William Dalrymple says that together these monuments amount to “one of the great wonders of the ancient world”.

From Ajanta’s “upper view point” there’s a panoramic outlook over the whole site. It’s then a short walk downhill to the World Heritage-listed network of caves.

I begin at one of Ajanta’s best-known monuments, known as Cave 26. The elaborate facade, chiselled in the late 5th century, features a giant arched opening cut into the rock face, above a small doorway.

After moving through that dark opening, the magnificent interior is revealed; a symmetrical meeting hall with an arched roof and an elegant stupa flanked by pillars.

Then the stunning rock-cut sculptures lining the walls become apparent. One is an exquisite seven-metre reclining Buddha depicting his ultimate release from the cycle of rebirth; nirvana in a cave.

Three monks in saffron robes – visiting Ajanta from Thailand – enter at the same time as me. After taking a few photos with their smartphones, the trio stand before the stupa and begin a devotional chant.

Inside Ajanta caves.Credit: iStock

Another visitor uses FaceTime to show a loved one the inside of the cave. She also sings a hymn to mark her visit.

I had only been to one cave, but already the trip felt worthwhile.

The devotion of these visitors shows a journey to Ajanta is more pilgrimage than tourist stop; these structures date back more than millennia but are alive with culture and meaning today. At one point I watched a Thai monk in saffron robes record a video post about Ajanta for his TikTok feed.

The caves of Ajanta were excavated from the basalt and granite cliff in two phases, the first in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and another in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. The site was abandoned for centuries until a British hunting party stumbled on the caves while in pursuit of a tiger in 1819.

A mural in Ajanta.Credit: iStock

The variety of structures is striking. My first stop at Cave 26 was a worship hall (called a chaitya), but the majority of Ajanta’s structures are austere monasteries (called viharas), with symmetrical square layouts.

Some of these ancient monasteries have numerous stories and wide pillared balconies; one had a dozen monk cells each with two stone beds.

The cultural spectacle of Ajanta is enhanced by its landscape; the forested valley of the Waghora River that runs below the caves is a spectacular backdrop for visitors as they explore.

Near the centre of the Ajanta complex is a prayer hall with a large stupa known as Cave 10; it is one of the three oldest excavations, dating to about 100 BC.

Historians have concluded this cave contains the oldest surviving Buddhist paintings, including images from the life of the Buddha. It is also, perhaps, the world’s earliest known place of congregational worship.

The entrance to the rock carved Kailasha temple at Ellora Caves in IndiaCredit: iStock

A nearby cluster of caves that date from about 600 AD are adorned with vibrant frescos. These mostly narrate stories of the Buddha’s previous incarnations, known as the Jataka tales.

UNESCO’s description of Ajanta caves says its paintings and sculptures have “had a considerable artistic influence”. These early masterpieces foreshadow centuries of Buddhist art now found in many nations across Asia.

In some of the caves, staff wearing masks and white coats undertake preservation work on the paintings. Those with the most extensive murals have canvas shades to reduce sunlight and temperature control systems to help preserve the works inside.

As the sun climbs at Ajanta, the crowds grow. Most visitors have come from across India to experience this remarkable part of their national heritage.

But Ajanta is not an isolated wonder. Only 100 kilometres south-west are the Ellora caves, another impressive complex of 34 ancient monasteries and temples dug side by side into a basalt cliff.

The monuments at Ellora, which are spread over two kilometres, were mostly constructed later than Ajanta’s – between about 600AD and 1000AD – but are the product of three religious traditions of ancient India: Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.

Ellora’s centrepiece is the astonishing Kailasha temple, which was excavated in the 8th century.

Archaeologists believe this enormous structure – over 90 metres long, 53 metres wide and 30 metres high – was sculpted from a single rock and took several generations to complete.

Three huge trenches were bored into the cliff face using hammer and chisel before the temple and its surrounds could be shaped.

Buddha in Ellora caves.Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The complex (also known as Cave 16) has all the elements of a Hindu temple, including a central shrine, a gateway, surrounding cloisters and subsidiary shrines. In the courtyard are life-sized stone elephants and two towering, intricately carved pillars.

The rich decorations include giant deities, amorous couples and panels depicting scenes from Hindu epics.

Near the Kailasha temple is the Teen Tal, a three-storey Buddhist monastery also carved into the rock face in the 8th century. Visitors can climb an internal staircase to its spacious stone verandahs and view impressive sculpture galleries on each level.

Day trips by taxi can be taken to both Ajanta and Ellora from the city of Aurangabad, which has a variety of hotels and good transport connections to major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Delhi.

The details

Visit
Entry to both the Ajanta Caves site and Ellora Caves site costs 600 Indian rupees ($10.90) a person for foreign tourists. Ajanta is closed on Mondays and Ellora is closed on Tuesdays. See indiaculture.gov.in

The writer was previously the India correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Delhi. He travelled at his own expense.