A Chaitya Hall

A Chaitya Hall

Ajanta Caves,Gupta Period,5th Century CE

          Unlike Ellora,  Ajanta is completely devoted to Buddhism. It not only traces the life of Prince Siddharth, from his birth to death, it also depicts his previous births. It is said Lord Buddha could remember all of his previous reincarnations. His previous lives are told in the form of "Jataka" stories.  Many of the stories all of us have heard as children: about King Sebi who sacrificed his pound of flesh in order to protect the pigeon who was chased by a hawk. These were moral stories about love and compassion --the two main planks of Buddhism. 

          These stories not just reveal the Buddhist morality, but most importantly unfold India of its time. The stories about traveller's journeies to far of islands tell us about our seafaring to East Indies; the depiction of the Persian  Ambassador tells us about the world of diplomacy between the Rashtrakuta kings and the outer world. These stories also tell us  about the society of its time: the Prince and the princess, the entourage of the Kings,  the humble villagers, the beggars and the monks. Despite the fact Ajanta was inhabited by the Buddhist monks who were to segregate themselves from the world at large, but the paintings and sculptures have created a virtual reality of the world for them.

          Surprisingly sensuality and early form of eroticism are also portrayed. The monks were aware both about the material world and about their spiritual journey through it. There is neither a overwhelming fanaticism, nor puritanism in these Caves.  It is a world of peace and harmony, of love and compassion,  of serenity and spirituality.