Ajanta and Ellora

On a lovely winter morning, after a wonderful drive overlooking the sunrise on the Mumbai-Pune expressway we reached Ellora Caves in the afternoon. The Ellora cave temples contain elaborate carvings of Gods and Goddesses of three faihs- Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Though each system had its individual style of architecture, Ellora presents the varied styles side by side. It was excavated between 5th and 11th Centuary AD and the most notable caves are cave 5, 10, 15, 16, 21, 29 and 32. Cave 16 is considered the best of all Ellora excavation. It is cut from a single rock and took ten generations to complete!!

From the caves we went to the Ghrishneshwar temple which is one of the twelve jyotirlingas in India. Later after late lunch we went to Aurangabad to our hotel, to retire for the day. Our hotel, Taj Residency a luxurious palace-styled hotel was very comfortable and cozy. Our room had a swing in the balcony and faced the beautiful landscaped gardens. It was a peaceful property with a lovely pool.






The next day after a good nights sleep, we went to the Ajanta Caves in the afternoon post lunch. It is an isolated scrap of horse-shoe shaped rock rising over a ravine to a steep height making it an ideal site for the Monastic Sanctuary. They were excavated between 2nd Centuary BC abd 6th Centuary AD. Ajanta was discovered accidently in April 1819 by John Smith, a British Army Officer. They lay buried in the jungle-clad slopes and the shrines fell into desolation and ruins. There are 30 caves, some of which are unfinished. They contain paintings of narrative scenes from Buddha's life and illustrations of Jataka Fables which are painted with organic colours. Most notable caves for the paintings are cave 1, 2, 16, 17, and 19 and for sculptures are cave 1,4, 17, 19, 24, and 26.


Both the caves, Ajanta and Ellora are well maintained and clean. They have gained international renown and are re-designated as World Heritage Sites. Not many of the paintings and sculptures have survived and cannot be recreated. Whatever remains has to be treasured for the world to see.



The next day we visited Bibi-Ka-Maqbara which is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's wife begum Rabia-ud-Durani built by his son, Prince Azam Shah. It is also known as the Taj of the Deccan or Baby Taj. Though it is a poor imitation of the Taj Mahal, yet it has its own splendour and grace. Next we went to Khuldabad where the last great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, after whom Aurangabad was named rests in peace. He had left instructions that his last resting place be of the simplest kind. It is a simple raw grave, covered only with earth like that of a poor man. We also visited Panchakki, a watermill during the Mughal times. It was used for grinding corn for the poor and the military garrison.





From there we went to the Daulatabad Fort. Daulatabad, the city of fortune has seen the rise and fall of many dynasties. Though now in ruins, it is not difficult to visualise the fort during its days of glory. The major parts of the fort are Bharat Mata Temple, Haathi Hauz, Chand Minar, Kalakot, Chini Mahal, Mendha Cannon, Moat and Aandhari. The Aandhari (Subternanean Passage) is an excellent example of wartime defence-mechanism and no enemy could survive it. Thus the fort remained unconquered.

We returned home knowing much more about history and World Heritage sites than we did earlier. Overall it was a great trip and a good learning experience :) I would also like to thank the book A Colourfol guide of World Famous Heritage Ajanta Ellora.