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Ajanta & Ellora Caves by Prashant Panjiar
In 1819 a British army officer John Smith accidently stumbled upon the caves after they had remained in obscurity for over a millenium. The Viewpoint was from where he first glimpsed the caves. About 107 kms from the city of Aurangabad the rock-cut caves of Ajanta nestling in a panoramic horseshoe shaped gorge are the finest examples of some of the earliest Buddhist architecture cave paintings and sculptures. The caves of Ajanta belong to 2 distinct phases of Buddhism the earlier Hinayana phase excavated between the 2nd century BC and 1st century BC and the later Mahayana phase between 5th cetury AD and 6th century AD. A designated World Heritage Site the Ajanta caves have got a new lease of life due to recent conservation efforts by the Archaelogical Survey of India and the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation aided by a Japanese grant.
