Ellora Caves

Ellora Caves

Ellora Caves

Ellora is an archaeological site 29 km northwest of the city of Aurangabad, Maharashtra, built by the Rashtrakuta dynasty. Well known for its monumental caves, Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "caves" – actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills. Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut temples and viharas and mathas were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history. It is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.

Ajanta Caves

Ajanta Caves. 

Ajanta Caves

The ‪‎Ajanta‬ ‎Caves‬ in ‎Aurangabad‬ district of ‪‎Maharashtra‬, India are about 30 rock-cut ‎Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650 CE The caves include paintings and sculptures described by the government Archaeological Survey of India as "the finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting which are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with figures of the Buddha and depictions of the Jataka tales.The caves were built in two phases starting around the 2nd century BCE, with the second group of caves built around 400 - 650 CE according to older accounts, or all in a brief period between 460 to 480 according to the recent proposals of Walter M. Spink. The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a ‪‎UNESCO‬ World Heritage Site. This is the 26th cave of Ajanta and the above photograph shows, carvings depicting various stages in the life of  ‎Buddha‬. ‪