Ajanta located about 105 km form Aurangabad and 390 km from Mumbai is world famous for its amazing rock cut Buddhist caves which depict the story of Buddhism from 200 BC to about 650 AD. Discovered incidentally by a British officer on a hunting expedition in 1819, these Caves are regarded as one of the finest Buddhist architecture with amazing cave paintings and sculptures all depicting incidents from the life of the Buddha and the various Buddhist divinities. Most interesting among them are the Jataka tales, which describes stories relating to the previous incarnations of the Buddha as Bodhisattava. The paintings of an elephant scattering the lotus, charging bull, the black princess and the row of dancers with musicians mesmerize tourists from all over the world.
Numbering about 30 these wonderful caves with impressive paintings and figures, were carved out by Buddhist monks using simple tools like hammer and chisel. Monks for performing rituals and meditations used these caves as a secluded place. Some of the engravings worth seeing are the flying apsara in cave 17, the preaching Buddha in cave 16 and the sculptured Nagaraja in a sitting posture with his consort and a female attendant.
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