Editing Ajanta Caves (section)

== Sites and monasteries ==

=== Sites ===
[[File:Ajanta Caves 130.jpg|thumb|Cave 24; the Ajanta Caves were carved into a massive rock on the Deccan plateau.]]
The caves are carved out of flood basalt and granite rock of a cliff, part of the [[Deccan Traps]] formed by successive volcanic eruptions at the end of the [[Cretaceous]] geological period. The rock is layered horizontally, and somewhat variable in quality.<ref>"horizontally bedded alternate flows of massive and [[Amygdule|amygdular]] lava" is a technical description quoted by {{harvp|Cohen|2006a|p=37}}</ref> This variation within the rock layers required the artists to amend their carving methods and plans in places. The inhomogeneity in the rock has also led to cracks and collapses in the centuries that followed, as with the lost portico to cave 1. Excavation began by cutting a narrow tunnel at roof level, which was expanded downwards and outwards; as evidenced by some of the incomplete caves such as the partially-built ''vihara'' caves 21 through 24 and the abandoned incomplete cave 28.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp=13–14}}

The sculpture artists likely worked at both excavating the rocks and making the intricate carvings of pillars, roof, and idols; further, the sculpture and painting work inside a cave were integrated parallel tasks.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|p= 28}} A grand gateway to the site was carved, at the apex of the gorge's horseshoe between caves 15 and 16, as approached from the river, and it is decorated with elephants on either side and a [[nāga]], or protective Naga (snake) deity.{{sfn|Spink|2009|p=10}}{{sfn|Michell|2009|p=340}} Similar methods and application of artist talent is observed in other cave temples of India, such as those from Hinduism and Jainism. These include the Ellora Caves, Ghototkacha Caves, [[Elephanta Caves]], [[Bagh Caves]], [[Badami Caves]], [[Aurangabad Caves]]{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp=21–24, 38, 74–76, 115, 151–153, 280}} and [[Shivleni Caves]].

The caves from the first period seem to have been paid for by a number of different patrons to gain [[Merit (Buddhism)|merit]], with several inscriptions recording the donation of particular portions of a single cave. The later caves were each commissioned as a complete unit by a single patron from the local rulers or their court elites, again for merit in Buddhist [[Saṃsāra (Buddhism)|afterlife beliefs]] as evidenced by inscriptions such as those in Cave 17.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp=5, 15, 32–33, 80, 249}} After the death of Harisena, smaller donors motivated by getting merit added small "shrinelets" between the caves or add statues to existing caves, and some two hundred of these "intrusive" additions were made in sculpture, with a further number of intrusive paintings, up to three hundred in cave 10 alone.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp=5, 15, 32–33, 80, 126–130, 249–259}}

=== Monasteries ===
[[File:061 Cave 4, Side View (34280359075).jpg|thumb|Cave 4: a monastery, or [[vihara]], with its square hall surrounded by monks' cells]]
The majority of the caves are ''[[vihara]]'' halls with symmetrical square plans. To each vihara hall are attached smaller square dormitory cells cut into the walls.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp=73–85, 100–104, 182}} A vast majority of the caves were carved in the second period, wherein a shrine or sanctuary is appended at the rear of the cave, centred on a large statue of the Buddha, along with exuberantly detailed reliefs and deities near him as well as on the pillars and walls, all carved out of the natural rock.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp=18, 37, 45–46}} This change reflects the shift from Hinayana to Mahāyāna Buddhism. These caves are often called monasteries.

The central square space of the interior of the viharas is defined by square columns forming a more-or-less square open area. Outside this are long rectangular aisles on each side, forming a kind of [[cloister]]. Along the side and rear walls are a number of small cells entered by a narrow doorway; these are roughly square, and have small niches on their back walls. Originally they had wooden doors.{{sfn|Spink|2007|p=148}} The centre of the rear wall has a larger shrine-room behind, containing a large Buddha statue.

The viharas of the earlier period are much simpler, and lack shrines.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=118–122}}{{sfn|Michell|2009|pp=335–343}} Spink places the change to a design with a shrine to the middle of the second period, with many caves being adapted to add a shrine in mid-excavation, or after the original phase.{{sfn|Spink|2007|p=142}}

The plan of Cave 1 shows one of the largest viharas, but is fairly typical of the later group. Many others, such as Cave 16, lack the vestibule to the shrine, which leads straight off the main hall. Cave 6 is two viharas, one above the other, connected by internal stairs, with sanctuaries on both levels.{{sfn|Michell|2009|p=338}}

<gallery widths="125px" heights="125px">
File:Ajanta Cave 12 plan to scale.jpg|Cave 12 plan: an early type of vihara (1st century BCE) without internal shrine
File:GrundrissAjantaHoehle1.jpg|Cave 1 plan, a monastery known for its paintings<ref>{{cite book|first=Fred S. |last=Kleiner|title=Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Concise Global History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UX9TCwAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Cengage|isbn=978-1-305-57780-0|pages=467–468}}</ref>
File:Ajanta Cave 6 plan.jpg|Cave 6: a two-storey monastery with "Miracle of Sravasti" and "Temptation of Mara" painted{{sfn|Upadhya|1994|pp=7–8, 10}}
File:Ajanta Cave 16 plan.jpg|Cave 16: a monastery featuring two side aisles{{sfn|Upadhya|1994|pp=7–8, 10}}
</gallery>

=== Worship halls ===
 {{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 200
 | footer = Top: Interior of Ajanta chaitya hall, Cave 26, photo by Robert Gill (c. 1868); Bottom: James Fergusson sketch of Cave 19 worship hall.
 | image1 = Interior of Buddhist chaitya hall, Cave XXVI, Ajanta, c.1868.jpg
 | image2 = Ajanta by Fergusson, cave 19.jpg
 }}

The other type of main hall architecture is the narrower rectangular plan with high arched ceiling type ''[[chaitya]]-griha'' – literally, "the house of stupa". This hall is longitudinally divided into a nave and two narrower side aisles separated by a symmetrical row of pillars, with a [[stupa]] in the [[apse]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jain|first1=Rajesh K.|last2=Garg|first2=Rajeev|title=Rock-Cut Congregational Spaces in Ancient India|journal=Architectural Science Review| volume=47|issue=2| year=2004|pages=199–203 |doi=10.1080/00038628.2004.9697044|s2cid=110386714}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Suresh |last=Vasant |date=2000 |title=Tulja Leni and Kondivte Caitya-gṛhas: A Structural Analysis |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=30 |pages=23–32|jstor=4629566 }}</ref> The stupa is surrounded by pillars and concentric walking space for circumambulation. Some of the caves have elaborate carved entrances, some with large windows over the door to admit light. There is often a colonnaded porch or [[verandah]], with another space inside the doors running the width of the cave. The oldest worship halls at Ajanta were built in the 2nd to 1st century BCE, the newest ones in the late 5th century CE, and the architecture of both resembles the [[Architecture of cathedrals and great churches#Architecture|architecture of a Christian church]], but without the crossing or chapel chevette.<ref>{{cite book|first=David |last=Efurd|editor1-first=Vimalin |editor1-last=Rujivacharakul |editor2-first=H. Hazel |editor2-last=Hahn |display-editors=et al |title=Architecturalized Asia: Mapping a Continent through History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCoWAgAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-988-8208-05-0|pages=140–145}}</ref> The Ajanta Caves follow the Cathedral-style architecture found in still older rock-cut cave carvings of ancient India, such as the [[Lomas Rishi Cave]] of the [[Ajivika]]s near Gaya in [[Bihar]] dated to the 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Born|first1=Wolfgang| title=The Origin and the Distribution of the Bulbous Dome |journal=The Journal of the American Society of Architectural Historians| volume=3| issue=4|year=1943|pages=32–48 |doi=10.2307/901122|jstor=901122}}</ref> These chaitya-griha are called worship or prayer halls.{{Sfn|Spink|2007|pp=12, 94, 161–162, 228}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Keith |last=Bellows|title=Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNqDFSxR8-MC&pg=PA125|year=2008|publisher=National Geographic Society|isbn=978-1-4262-0336-7|page=125}}</ref>

The four completed ''chaitya'' halls are caves 9 and 10 from the early period, and caves 19 and 26 from the later period of construction. All follow the typical form found elsewhere, with high ceilings and a central "nave" leading to the stupa, which is near the back, but allows walking behind it, as walking around stupas was (and remains) a common element of Buddhist worship (''[[pradakshina]]''). The later two have high ribbed roofs carved into the rock, which reflect timber forms,<ref>UNESCO, ''Brief description''</ref> and the earlier two are thought to have used actual timber ribs and are now smooth, the original wood presumed to have perished.{{sfn|Michell|2009|p=339}} The two later halls have a rather unusual arrangement (also found in Cave 10 at Ellora) where the stupa is fronted by a large relief sculpture of the Buddha, standing in Cave 19 and seated in Cave 26.{{Sfn|Harle|1994|pp=118–122}}{{sfn|Michell|2009|pp=335–343}} Cave 29 is a late and very incomplete ''chaitya'' hall.{{sfn|Spink|2007|pp=12–13}}

The form of columns in the work of the first period is very plain and un-embellished, with both ''chaitya'' halls using simple octagonal columns, which were later painted with images of the Buddha, people and monks in robes. In the second period columns were far more varied and inventive, often changing profile over their height, and with elaborate carved capitals, often spreading wide. Many columns are carved over all their surface with floral motifs and Mahayana deities, some fluted and others carved with decoration all over, as in cave 1.<ref>{{harvnb|Spink|2007|p=18}}, and in the accounts of individual caves; {{harvnb|Michell|2009|p=336}}.</ref><ref>Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1909), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41338504 "The Buddhist and Hindu Architecture of India"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215174933/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41338504 |date=15 December 2018 }}, ''Journal of the Royal Society of Arts'', Vol. 57, No. 2937 (5 March 1909), pp. 316–329</ref>

<gallery widths="125" heights="125">
File:Ajanta Chaitya 10 plan.jpg|Cave 10: a worship hall with Jataka tales-related art (1st century BCE){{sfn|Upadhya|1994|pp=9–11, 14–15}}
File:Ajanta Chaitya 9 plan.jpg|Cave 9: a worship hall with early paintings and animal friezes (1st century CE){{sfn|Upadhya|1994|pp=9–11, 14–15}}
File:Ajanta cave 19 plan.jpg|Cave 19: known for its figures of the Buddha, Kubera and other arts (5th century CE){{sfn|Upadhya|1994|pp=9–11, 14–15}}
File:Ajanta Cave 19 longitudinal section.jpg|Cave 19: another view (5th century CE)
</gallery>