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Maharashtra
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Cave 1 The Vihara Dating to the fifth century AD, this is one of the finest viharas at Ajanta and comprises a verandah and a hall bordered with cells. Above the left porch are friezes depicting the three Ominous Signs that changed the Buddha's life: a sick man, an old man and a corpse. Pillars Inside, twenty pillars with heavily decorated bracket- capitals support the hall ceiling. Every inch of this cave was originally painted, and in spite of the havoc caused by time and man to it, this remains one of the world's most treasured possessions of art. The sanctum The sanctum to the rear has a colossal image of the Buddha in the dharamachakra pravartana mudra or the preaching pose. What is amazing is the sculptor's skill conveys different moods of the Buddha - solemn and contemplative when seen from your left, joyful from the right and tranquil when viewed from the front. This cave contains some of the best known paintings of Ajanta, with the masterpieces flanking the entrance to the shrine chamber. On the left is Padmapani, the compassionate Boddhisattva with a lotus in his brilliantly bejewelled headgear, is the Bodhhisattava Vajrapani. The side walls The side-walls antechamber are painted with murals showing two important episodes from the Buddha's life: the left wall narrates the story of Gautama being tempted by Mara just before he became the Buddha. The right wall depicts the miracle of Sravasti, where in order to confound heretics and disbelievers, the Buddha multiplied himself into thousand images. The walls of the main hall are painted with representations of a large number of Jatakas, the stories of the previous births of Gautama Buddha. |
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