Ajanta Caves ~ World Heritage Site

I have the fanciful ambition to visit all of the nearly 900 World Heritage Sites. Nominated sites designated by UNESCO receive funding for restoration and conservation. Having visited more than 400 sites around the world, my expectations for Ajanta and Ellora were high. I and the rest of the team were astounded by the over-the-top richness of architecture, sculpture and paintings found in these ancient temples and monastaries, hewn from living rock with hammer and chisel. Pictures cannot do the sites justice.

The caves at Ajanta date from the 2nd century BC to about the 6th Century AD. The caves, located in a remote horseshoe rock gorge, were forgotten and overgrown by the jungle until they were rediscovered by a British Army captain hunting tiger in 1819. While the reason for the sudden abandonment of the Ajanta site is a topic of speculation among archaeologists, it is also likely the reason that the caves remain in astonishingly good condition today. Dr. Walter Spink, an American expert on the caves, has written that the later group of caves in the Mahayana group were completed in fewer than 20 years, rather than over centuries as previously thought. Standing in the temples in Cave 16, 17 and 19, it seems impossible that so much rock could have been chipped by hand and hauled away, and that the elaborate sculpture, friezes and colorful and intricately detailed paintings on every wall, pillar and ceiling could have been completed in such a short period of time. Spink speculates that the sudden death of Vakataka emperor Harisena in 477 ADand the ensuing downfall of his empire led to the sudden abandonment of the site for the Hindu temples later constructed at Ellora 135 km to the SW. The caves at Ajanta, all Budhist temples and monastaries, were carved from front to back. If I've piqued your curiosity, google Ajanta. My photos simply do no justice this amazing place.

In contrast, the truly jaw-dropping Hindu Kailasa Temple at Ellora was carved from the top down. Built in AD 760 by King Krishna I, this massive temple required removal of an estimated 200,000 tons of rock, all chipped out with a hammer and chisel. If the sheer magnitude of the project were not amazing enough, the engineering required to hew a 3 story building, with dozens of rooms, bridges, stairs, larger than life-sized animals such as elephants and lions, and sculpture and friezes on every surface, boggles the imagination. A minute attention to detail and finish that is often lacking in modern Indian construction is ever-present at Ellora. For perspective, consider that Kailasa covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and is 1.5 times higher. My camera batteries were dead after a frenzy of picture taking at Ajanta, so I must rely on Sarah's great eye and photography skills for photos at Ellora.



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