Editing Ajanta Caves (section)

== Cave 1 ==
[[File:AjantaHoehle1VerandaPanorama.jpg|thumb|400px|Front of Cave 1]]
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Cave 1 was built on the eastern end of the horseshoe-shaped scarp and is now the first cave the visitor encounters. This cave, when first made, would have been in a less prominent position, right at the end of the row. According to Spink, it is one of the last caves to have been excavated, when the best sites had been taken, and was never fully inaugurated for worship by the dedication of the Buddha image in the central shrine. This is shown by the absence of sooty deposits from butter lamps on the base of the shrine image, and the lack of damage to the paintings that would have happened if the garland-hooks around the shrine had been in use for any period of time. Spink states that the Vākāṭaka Emperor [[Harishena]] was the benefactor of the work, and this is reflected in the emphasis on imagery of royalty in the cave, with those Jataka tales being selected that tell of those previous lives of the Buddha in which he was royal.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp= 17, 31}}

The cliff has a steeper slope here than at other caves, so to achieve a tall grand facade it was necessary to cut far back into the slope, giving a large courtyard in front of the facade. There was originally a columned portico in front of the present facade, which can be seen "half-intact in the 1880s" in pictures of the site, but this fell down completely and the remains, despite containing fine carvings, were carelessly thrown down the slope into the river and lost.{{sfn|Spink|2007|p=17}}<ref>[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/g/019pho0001000s4u00462000.html 1869 photo by Robert Gill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323194744/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/g/019pho0001000s4u00462000.html |date=23 March 2014 }} at the [[British Library]], showing the porch already rather less than "half-intact"</ref>

[[File:008 Cave 1, In the Forest (34239644366).jpg|thumb|The frieze over the frontage of Cave 1 front shows elephants, horses, bulls, lions, apsaras and meditating monks.]]
This cave (35.7 m × 27.6 m)<ref name=asicave1to29/> has one of the most elaborate carved facades, with relief sculptures on entablature and ridges, and most surfaces embellished with decorative carving. There are scenes carved from the life of the Buddha as well as a number of decorative motifs. A two-pillared portico, visible in the 19th-century photographs, has since perished. The cave has a forecourt with cells fronted by pillared vestibules on either side. These have a high plinth level. The cave has a porch with simple cells at both ends. The absence of pillared vestibules on the ends suggests that the porch was not excavated in the latest phase of Ajanta when pillared vestibules had become customary. Most areas of the porch were once covered with murals, of which many fragments remain, especially on the ceiling. There are three doorways: a central doorway and two side doorways. Two square windows were carved between the doorways to brighten the interiors.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp= 17–21}}

Each wall of the hall inside is nearly {{convert|40|ft|m}} long and {{convert|20|ft|m}} high. Twelve pillars make a square colonnade inside, supporting the ceiling and creating spacious aisles along the walls. There is a shrine carved on the rear wall to house an impressive seated image of the Buddha, his hands being in the ''dharmachakrapravartana [[mudra]].'' There are four cells on each of the left, rear, and the right walls, though due to rock fault there are none at the ends of the rear aisle.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp= 20–23}}

[[:Commons:Category:Cave 1, Ajanta|The paintings of Cave 1]] cover the walls and the ceilings. They are in a fair state of preservation, although the full scheme was never completed. The scenes depicted are mostly didactic, devotional, and ornamental, with scenes from the [[Jataka]] stories of the Buddha's former lives as a [[bodhisattva]], the life of the [[Gautama Buddha]], and those of his veneration. The two most famous individual painted images at Ajanta are the two over-lifesize figures of the protective bodhisattvas [[Padmapani]] and [[Vajrapani]] on either side of the entrance to the Buddha shrine on the wall of the rear aisle (see illustrations above).{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp= 29–31}}{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=359–361}} Other significant frescoes in Cave 1 include the Sibi, Sankhapala, Mahajanaka, Mahaummagga, and Champeyya Jataka tales. The cave-paintings also show the Temptation of Mara, the miracle of Sravasti where the Buddha simultaneously manifests in many forms, the story of Nanda, and the story of Siddhartha and Yasodhara.{{sfn|Upadhya|1994|pp=9–14, 68–84}}{{sfn|Spink|2009|pp=78, 132–135}}

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File:Meister des Mahâjanaka Jâtaka 001.jpg|One of four frescoes for the Mahajanaka Jataka tale: the king announces his abdication to become an [[asceticism|ascetic]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Mahajanaka Jataka: Ajanta Cave 1|url=http://dcl.elevator.umn.edu/asset/viewAsset/56d1729c7d58aed50a8c4a98#56d1729d7d58aed50a8c4a9c|website=University of Minnesota}}</ref>
File:Ajanta Cave 1 Mahajanaka Jataka mural detail.jpg|Sibi Jataka: the king undergoes the traditional rituals for renunciants. He receives a ceremonial bath.<ref name=behlpaint>Benoy Behl (2004), [http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2120/stories/20041008000106400.htm Ajanta, the fountainhead] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123135903/https://frontline.thehindu.com/ |date=23 November 2022 }}, Frontline, Volume 21, Issue 20</ref>{{sfn|Gupte|Mahajan|1962|pp=32–33, Plate XI}}
File:Bodhisattva Padmapani, cave 1, Ajanta, India.jpg|The [[Bodhisattva]] of compassion [[Padmapani]] with lotus<ref name=behlpaint/>{{sfn|Gupte|Mahajan|1962|pp=8–9, Plate IV}}
File:023 Cave 1, Vajrapani (33896242100).jpg|The [[Vajrapani]]<ref name=behlpaint/>{{Sfn|Spink|2009|pp=138–140}}
File:Kinnara with kachchapa veena, part of the Bodhisattva Padmapani, Cave 1, Ajanta, India.jpg|[[Kinnara]] with kachchapa veena, part of Bodhisattva Padmapani painting in Cave 1.<ref>{{cite web |author= Subramanian Swaminathan |title= Paintings |website= saigan.com|url= https://www.saigan.com/heritage/painting/ajanta/ajanta15.html|quote= Kinnara playing Kachchapa Vina, Padmapani Panel, Cave 1 }}</ref>
File:Ajanta_foreigner_2.jpg|Ajanta Cave 1 Group of foreigners on the ceiling
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