Ellora Caves- Part III

A single blog post to describe the grandeur of Ellora caves in Aurangabad doesn't do justice. Keeping this thought in mind, I had classified the posts into three different categories- the Hindu, the Buddhist and the Jain cave temples. This is the third and last part of the series that talks about Jain Caves.

Read about Part 1 and Part 2 in my previous posts. 

Cave No. 30- 34 in Ellora are dedicated to Jainism specifically to Digambara sect. These cluster of caves are located away from the bustle of other Hindu and Buddhist caves. Though they are smaller in size and grandeur compared to Hindu and Buddhist caves, their beauty is still equally blinding as that of other caves. These caves were excavated between 9th and 10th century. They share architectural and design similarities with that of some Hindu caves with the exception that these are dedicated to twenty- four Jinas (spiritual conquerors who have attained Moksha) of Jainism. These temples also depict carvings of gods and goddesses, yaksha (male nature deity) and yakshi (female nature deity) and other human devotees from Jain mythology.  

Path that leads to Cave No. 32-34

View from outside the caves

Earliest of the Jain caves is Cave No. 30 or what is referred to as Chota Kailash due to its resemblance to Kailash temple in Cave no. 16. Built in the Dravidian style, it has a monolithic shrine as well as a gopura just like cave no. 16 but it does not have a 'nandimandapa'. It gives the impression of an 'unfinished temple' yet the interiors of the temple are well carved and complete. It houses two larger-than-life-size reliefs of dancing Indra that resembles a dancing Shiva (as Nataraja) usually depicted in Hindu temples.

Chota Kailash

Cave 32 and 33 are called as Indra Sabha (mainly called so because of its assembly hall) and Jagannata Sabha respectively. An idol of Vardhamana Mahavira Swami resides in Indrasabha with a yaksha and yakshi idols guarding outside. This elaborately decorated cave has beautiful pillars, large sculptural ceilings and panels. 

Most of these caves are architecturally very fine with decorative pillars, exquisite paintings and ceilings. Eye- catching among the ceilings is the lotus sculpture on the ceiling in Indra Sabha. 

A panel outside Cave no. 32

Lord Mahavira with Yaksha and Yakshi

Lord Bahubali

Lord Mahavira

The lotus relief on the ceiling and square pillars inside Indra Sabha

Sculpture of Matanga Yaksha in cave no. 33

Carvings on pillars

We did not visit Cave no. 34 as the walk across the vast area had both exhausted and famished us. Exploration of these caves means mental endurance and resilience as well as physical stamina. And, we were quite happy that we had missed only one/ two caves and rest all had been tick marked from the list. 

P.S: While in Aurangabad, do not miss the jalebi and rabdi that is served in Green Leaf restaurant that is absolutely delectable. 

Allure of Ajanta Caves

Our visit to Ajanta caves was a part of trip to Aurangabad. Find the blog posts about Ellora cave temples here. Though Ajanta caves are in no way comparable to vastness and size of Ellora caves, they are more tourist friendly and totally worth the visit. The reflectors that are placed inside the caves is admirable which is completely missing in Ellora caves. And, the caves in Ajanta are not scattered unlike Ellora that makes it less exhausting.

Ajanta is about 100 kms away from the city of Aurangabad that consists of approximately 30 caves housing rock-cut monuments and paintings. The Indhyadri range of Western Ghats that lead to Ajanta from Aurangabad is very picturesque during the monsoons. The Chaityas and Viharas overlooking the Waghora (Tiger) river are cut in a horse-shoe pattern which gives a panoramic view of all the 30 caves to the visitors. Each cave has a unique Buddha sculpture, mural paintings and motifs. Some of the oldest caves date back to 2nd century B.C.E. and were accidentally discovered in 1819 by a British Officer Cpt. John Smith.

The view that leads to Ajanta Caves

Panoramic view of the caves

Cave No. 1
Ascending a good number of steps, when we reached the first cave an array of pillars with reflectors placed at various corners welcomed us. It takes a while to get adjusted to the lighting within the caves. This is the cave that holds maximum mural paintings that explains the stories of Bodhisathva (on the path of becoming a Buddha), Jataka Tales. One such stories include the Sibi Jataka: the story goes that a pigeon chased by a hawk sought protection of King Sibi who was a Bodhisathva. The hawk followed and demanded the king its' lawful prey. King Sibi struck a bargain to save the little bird's life by offering a measure of his own flesh equal to bird's weight. These paintings are depicted in cave number 1.

The cave paintings also show the Temptation of Mara: Buddha was tempted by the demon Mara during his course of meditations. When Buddha had left his palace and taken to the ascetic's life, Mara had been at his heels. "Turn back", Mara had told Buddha, "the jewel wheel of empire will be yours". Since Gautam scorned the prospect, Mara had made the threat,"Whenever you have a bad thought I shall know". For seven years Mara had followed Gautam like a shadow, he even sent his daughters to seduce him but after all this Buddha attains Enlightenment.

Read a very detailed blog post about all the paintings of Cave No.1 in Inditales. I love reading Anuradha Goyal's posts, they portray an in depth knowledge about the subjects she studies.

Notable thing to observe when one visits the caves is, the Viharas/ the monastery halls have  symmetrical square plans while the Chaityas/ the prayer halls have symmetrical rectangular plans.
Cave No. 1 contains the much famed paintings of Bodhisattva Padmapani (one who holds the lotus) and Vajrapani.

In contrast to this, the paintings on ceilings mainly contain motifs and other decorative designs unlike the paintings on walls that depict life scenes from Buddha's life and other Bodhisathvas,

The exterior of Cave No.1

Bodhisathva Padmapani at Cave No.1

Another painting from Cave No. 1

Cave No. 4
This is one of the largest monasteries planned that has a colossal image of Lord Buddha in the sanctum flanked by Bodhisathvas. The hall has 28 magnificent pillars. The ceiling of this cave has unique feature of lava flow called as 'Ropy'.

Pillars of Cave No.4

Cave No.9
This is one of the oldest Chaitya halls dating back to 1st century B.C. The hall is very simplistic with a stupa in the center with 23 pillars on both the sides that have intricate paintings which has faded. The walls have paintings of Jataka tales again.

Cave No.16 and 17
Records show that this cave was a gift from Varahadeva, a minister belonging Vakataka dynasty. The architectural beauty of these cave temples are striking. The paintings portray the various episodes from Buddha's life such as Maya's dream and Sujata's offering. Queen Maya, Gautama's mother, has a strange dream in her sleep- a white elephant with 6 tusks enters her body. When the Brahmanas in the royal court hear this, they interpret its' meaning. They say the queen is about to bear a son with all the auspicious marks of greatness. If he accepts the princely role, he will be a monarch of monarchs but if he renounces it would become a Buddha.

The portico of Cave No. 17 has the famous "Wheel of Life" depicted on it which is a living symbol in Tibetan monasteries.

Buddha relief inside Cave No.17

Flower motifs on the ceilings of Cave No.17

Cave No. 19
The entrance and the facade of this cave is richly decorated. The two life-size yakshas, statues of standing Buddha, sitting Buddha and flying Apsaras are very prominent here. Inside, there are 15 pillars dividing the hall into two aisles.  The ceiling has columns with paintings which adds beauty to the standing Buddha statue. It is a chaitya hall that depicts minute details from Mahayana period. Because of its' large number of stone figures it has been called 'the sculptor's treasure chest'.

Entrance of Cave No.19

Interiors of Cave No.19

Cave No.26
This cave which very similar to cave number 19 is one of my favourite! It is much bigger than cave 19, the sculptures around the aisle of this Chaitya hall is breathtakingly beautiful and intricate. There is a colossal reclining Buddha on one side of the wall. This cave is famous for its' Mahaparinirvana (demise) of Buddha.

On the way to Cave No.26

Entrance of Cave No.26

Stupa inside Cave No.26

Reclining Buddha...

Sculptures on the aisle 

The beauty of reclining Buddha through the huge pillars...

There are view points on the opposite side of these caves which can be accesses through a flight of stairs on the hillock. The water streams of Waghora river can also be seen in this area. But we could reach the view points as we were too tired after an exhausting walk through all the caves. On our way back, we stopped at the tourism department canteen that serves some amazing thalis. 

P.S: Once in Aurangabad, don't forget to devour the delicious 'Jalebi-Rabdi' dessert served at Green Leaf restaurant. 

Ellora Caves: Part II

Ellora caves are probably one of the largest rock-cut cave temples in the world dating from 600-1000 CE period. This post is exclusively dedicated to the 12 Buddhist caves found in Ellora. Read about the 17 Hindu Cave Temples in my earlier post here.

Moving from the magnanimous Kailasa temple, we had reached the Buddhist caves: Cave No. 12 being our first Buddhist cave to be visited thus. Cave No. 12 gave the impression of a three- storied (known as Teen Tal) dormitory with square-cut pillars on each floor. Unless one enters and peers into all the corners, it is difficult to find the way to get to the next floor. The Buddhist caves were simpler than the Hindu temples. They consisted of both Chaityas and Viharas. Chaitya was a rectangular prayer hall with a 'stupa' placed at the center. Viharas were the residences of monks. Cave 11 and 12 were the last ones to be built among the Buddhist caves; they depict Bodhisattva related iconography.

Cave No. 12

View form the third floor...

Cave no. 10 is one of the most important caves among the Buddhiat caves. Known as the Visvakarma Cave (one who accomplishes all) , this cave has one of the largest (15 foot) seated figures of Buddha. It is a chaitya hall which is also known as 'Carpenter's Cave' as the rock has been given a finishing of wooden beams. These give the impression of ribs of a creature. I made all efforts to click the most cliched images of the Buddha statue that I had come across whenever I had read about it. The hall has octagonal columns at the end of which is Buddha sitting in Vyakhyana Mudra (teaching pose).

Cave No. 10

Buddha in Vyakhyana Mudra

A playful squirrel kept us busy for a while outside Cave 10. having tasted ground nuts given by us, it kept following us and insisted for more.

A Vihara...

As we moved further, we were more awestruck by the backdrop against which these caves stood: the monsoon green hillocks through which little glistening waterfalls fell right in front of the caves. It added another dimension to the way we peered at the statues.

After completing the crucial caves of the Buddhist era, we had headed towards the main entrance where we would be taken in a bus to visit the Jain temples.