Ajantha

Ajantha, commonly spelled Ajanta, is a group of 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments located on the left bank of the Waghur River near the village of Ajanta in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. The caves are carved into a horseshoe-shaped cliff of volcanic basalt and were produced in two major periods dating from the 2nd century BCE to about the 6th century CE. They served as places of meditation and worship for Buddhist monks and reflect a long span of religious and artistic activity.

The complex includes chaitya halls, which functioned as prayer spaces, and numerous monasteries or viharas. The interiors host an outstanding program of sculpture and mural painting. The paintings depict Jataka tales and episodes from the life of the Buddha, as well as bodhisattvas, and are celebrated for their narrative clarity, color, and delicate line work. The sculptures and reliefs show a blend of early Indian stylistic influences with distinctive regional features. Inscriptions in Brahmi script and Prakrit or Sanskrit provide dates and information about local patronage, with later phases associated with regional dynasties such as the Vakatakas.

Rediscovered by a British officer, John Smith, in 1819 during a hunting expedition, the site was subsequently conserved and restored. Ajanta was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 as part of the Group of Monuments at Ajanta. It remains a major scholarly and tourist site, offering insight into ancient Indian religious art, architecture, and painting techniques.