The Ajanta Caves are 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, the caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form.
The Ajanta Caves
Cave 19, Ajanta 5th-century chaitya hall.
Panoramic view of Ajanta Caves from the nearby hill
Cave 9, a first-period Hinayana-style chaitya worship hall with stupa but no idols
Maharashtra is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, and the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the northwest. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India.
Image: Ajanta Caves, India, Ajanta chaitya (stupa) worship hall, Cave 26
Image: Ellora Caves, India, Religious shrines in Kailash Kailasa Temple
Image: Mahabaleshwar Pratapgad 023
Image: Shivaji Maharaj Raigad 2