HISTORY– INTERNAL

1)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajanta_Caves#Cave_26_(5th_century_CE)
2)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_caves_in_India
This know-how seems to have disappeared again after the Maurya
period, none of the later caves such as the Ajanta caves having this
characteristic of polished surfaces
The earliest cave temples include the Bhaja Caves, the Karla Caves,
the Bedse Caves, the Kanheri Caves, and some of the Ajanta Caves.
However, the polishing of cave walls was abandoned, never to be
revived. Such grandiose caves as Karla Caves (1st century CE) or
the Ajanta Caves (5th century CE) do not have any polishing either.
The Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, a World Heritage Site, are 30 rock-cut
cave Buddhist temples carved into the sheer vertical side of a gorge near
a waterfall-fed pool located in the hills of the Sahyadri mountains. Like
all the locations of Buddhist caves, this one is located near main trade
routes and spans six centuries beginning in the 2nd or 1st century B.C.
[47]
A period of intense building activity at this site occurred under
the Vakataka king Harisena between 460 and 478 A profuse variety of
decorative sculpture, intricately carved columns and carved reliefs are
found, including exquisitely carved cornices and pilaster.[48] Skilled
artisans crafted living rock to imitate timbered wood (such as lintels) in
construction and grain and intricate decorative carving, although such
architectural elements were ornamental and not functional in the
classical sense.[
3)
https://www.frommers.com/destinations/aurangabad/attractions/the-
buddhist-caves-of-ajanta
During the 2nd century B.C., a long, curving swath of rock at a sharp
hairpin bend in the Waghora River was chosen as the site for one of the
most significant chapters in the creative history of Buddhism. Buddhist
monks spent the next 700 years carving out prayer halls for
worship (chaitya grihas) and monasteries (viharas) using little more
than simple hand-held tools, natural pigments, and oil lamps and natural
light reflected off bits of metal or pools of water. They decorated the
caves with sculptures and magnificent murals that depict the life of the
Buddha as well as everyday life.

The caves were abandoned rather abruptly after almost 9 centuries of

activity and were only rediscovered in 1819 (by a British cavalryman out
terrorizing wild boars). Time has taken its toll on many of the murals,
and modern-day restoration projects have even contributed to the near-
ruin of some of the work. Despite this, the paintings continue to enthrall,
and it's hard to imagine the patience and profound sense of spiritual duty
and devotion that led to the creation of this, arguably the best Buddhist
site in India.
It takes some time to explore all 29 caves (which are numbered from
east to west), and the sensory overload can prove exhausting; try at least
to see the eight described below. It's a good idea to make your way to
the last cave, then view the caves in reverse numerical order -- in this
way you won't be running with the masses, and you won't have a long
walk back to the exit when you're done.
Richly decorated with carved Buddha figures, Cave 26 is a chaitya hall
featuring a stupa (dome-shaped shrine) on which an image of the Master
seated in a pavilion appears. In the left-hand wall is a huge carved figure
of the reclining Buddha -- a depiction of the Mahaparinirvana, his final
salvation from the cycle of life and death. Beneath him, his disciples
mourn his passing; above, celestial beings rejoice. Featuring the greatest
profusion of well-preserved paintings is Cave 17, where maidens float
overhead, accompanied by celestial musicians, and the doorway is
adorned with Buddhas, female guardians, river goddesses, lotus petals,
and scrollwork. One celebrated mural here depicts Prince Simhala's
encounter with the man-eating ogresses of Ceylon, where he'd been
shipwrecked.

Cave 16 has a lovely painting of Princess Sundari fainting upon hearing

that her husband -- the Buddha's half-brother, Nanda -- has decided to
become a monk. Cave 10 is thought to be the oldest Ajanta temple,
dating from around the 2nd century B.C. Dating from the 1st century
B.C., Cave 9 is one of the earliest chaitya grihas, and is renowned for
the elegant arched windows carved into the facade that allow soft
diffused light into the atmospheric prayer hall. A large stupa is found at
the back of the prayer hall.

Cave 4 is incomplete, but its grandiose design makes it the largest of the
Ajanta monasteries. Take a quick look, then head for Cave 2. The facade
features images of Naga kings and their entourage. Inside the sanctum, a
glorious mandala dominates the ceiling amid a profusion of beautiful
floral designs, concentric circles, and abstract geometric designs with
fantastic arrangements of flying figures, beasts, birds, flowers, and
fruits. On the walls, well-preserved panels relate the birth of the Buddha.

Cave 1 is one of the finest and most popular of the viharas at Ajanta,
especially renowned for the fantastic murals of two bodhisattvas (saintly
beings destined to become the Buddha) that flank the doorway of the
antechamber. To the right, holding a thunderbolt, is Avalokitesvara (or
Vajrapani), the most significant bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. To
the left is bejeweled Padmapani, his eyes cast humbly downward, a
water lily in his hand. Within the antechamber is a huge seated Buddha
with the Wheel of Dharma (or life) beneath his throne -- his hands are in
the Dharmachakra pravartana mudra, the gesture that initiates the
motion of the wheel. On the wall to the right of the Buddha is an image
of the dark princess being offered lotuses by another damsel.
Last but not least, for a magnificent view of the entire Ajanta site and an
idea of just why this particular spot was chosen, visit the viewing
platforms on the opposite side of the river; the natural beauty of this
horseshoe-shaped cliff is the perfect setting for a project so singularly
inspired by spiritual fervor. It may even be the ideal starting point for
your exploration.
4)
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/242/
Maharashtra State, Aurangabad District , Soyagon Taluka, Lenapur
Village
The first Buddhist cave monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st
centuries B.C. During the Gupta period (5th and 6th centuries A.D.),
many more richly decorated caves were added to the original group. The
paintings and sculptures of Ajanta, considered masterpieces of Buddhist
religious art, have had a considerable artistic influence.
5)
https://web.archive.org/web/20070404010619/http://
www.tourismofindia.com/hiwhh/ajantacaves.htm
Ajanta Caves

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.

6)

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ajanta_Caves

7)

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/south-asia/
x97ec695a:gupta-period/a/the-caves-of-ajanta

8)

https://www.ancient.eu/Ajanta/

9)

https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/
destinations/aurangabad/ajanta-caves.html

Ajanta is located 107 kilometers from Aurangabad and 60 kilometers

from Jalgaon. A cluster of 32 Buddhist caves not far from a medieval
village of the same name, the site is a protected monument in the care
of the Archaeological Survey of India. Moreover, since 1983, the
Ajanta Caves have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The
thirty rock-hewn caves at Ajanta, cut into the scarp of a cliff are either
Chaityas (chapels) or Viharas (monasteries). On the walls of the caves
are paintings, many still glowing with their original colours. The outer
walls are covered with brilliantly executed sculpture. The Buddhist
theme of the Ajanta paintings recounts the life of Lord Buddha and
tales of his previous earthly

10)

https://www.holidify.com/pages/ajanta-caves-history-1819.html