Question

Explain about Ajanta and Ellora caves

Best and well explained answer will be marked as brainliest

Answer 1

Ajanta Caves :-

• Ajanta (near Aurangabad, Maharashtra) has 29 entirely Buddhist caves. They were excavated in the horseshoe curve of a hillside.

• The earliest caves date from 2nd century B.C. while others are of as late as 7th century A.D.

• The Ajanta caves can be divided into 2 phases i.e. Saatavahana phase and Vakataka Phase.

• In the first phase, Chaityas and Viharas were carved out in the second century BC, under the patronage of Saatavahana Kings and this phase is often known as the Hinayana phase, as a symbolic representation of Buddha was done. In this phase more, the focus was given on stupa and figurative sculpture was neglected. The construction under the second phase was done during Gupta and Post Gupta periods (in 5th and 6th century AD) under the rule of the Vaktaka Kings. Since in this phase Buddha was depicted as a human thus it was also known as Mahayana Phase.

• The caves include both paintings as well as rock-cut sculptures. The mural paintings, in particular, are extremely expressive and depict various emotions through forms, poses and gestures. They are based on Jataka tales narrating the lives of Buddha.

• Mural paintings of Ajanta use fresco technique. In fresco technique, the surface wall is coated with a thin layer of lime plaster on which the paintings are drawn with watercolor when the surface is still wet.

• The painting of Bodhisattva Padmapani from cave 1 is a renown masterpiece.

• In 1983 Ajanta cave was declared as the UNESCO World Heritage Site and according to UNESCO, these caves are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art and further influenced Indian art that followed.

Ellora Caves :-

• Ellora caves are situated near Aurangabad is a group of 34 caves constructed in between 5th to the 8th centuries A.D during the rule of the Kalachuri, Chalukya and Rashtrakuta dynasties.

• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cave temples. The 17 Hindu (caves 13–29, Caves No. 14 and 15 are famous and are known as ‘Ravan Ki Khai’ and ‘Dasavatar caves’ respectively), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34, Jaina caves include ‘Indra Sabha’ and ‘Jagannath Sabha’) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.

• Kailasa Temple – Cave 16 in Ellora is the largest single monolithic excavation in the world.

Answer 2

Answer:

About 107 km from the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, are the rock-out caves of Ajanta nestled in a panoramic gorge, in the form of a gigantic horseshoe. A set of 29 caves, Ajanta is among the finest examples of some of the earliest Buddhist architecture, cave paintings and sculptures.