Please Step Inside and Have a Seat

Padmapani Bodhisattva in Cave 1.

A view of the Ajanta Caves
similar to the one Capt. Smith
probably had.

On April 28th, 1819, a group of British officers stationed in the Madras Province of British India set out on a tiger hunting expedition.  One of them, a Capt. John Smith, eventually made his way to a horseshoe-shaped valley, which had been carved out by the flows of the Waghora River over millions of years.  Taking a closer look around the area, he didn't find any tigers but did make out what appeared to be a series man-made caves.  He eventually entered one, finding it filled with finely-detailed sculptures and carvings from an era long past.  Scratching in his name and the date of his visit for posterity, Capt. Smith left the area.  The news of his discovery then proceeded to set the archaeological community on fire.  After more than 1000 years, the cave temples of Ajanta were once again known to the world.

Map of the Ajanta Site.  Original source unknown.

 

The "Viewpoint" overlooking
the Ajanta site.

The Ajanta caves, like their companions at Ellora, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Because of their proximity, Ajanta and Ellora are often grouped together as part of tourist visits to this part of India.  My mother and I followed suit, having visited Ellora the day before.  The two sites share many similarities, the most obvious of which is that they are both rock-cut caves with the same architectural style.  Peering beyond the obvious, however, one sees that there are quite a number of important differences that set Ajanta and Ellora apart.  For starters, the Ajanta caves, the earliest of which date from the 2nd century CE, are much older than their Ellora counterparts.  In fact, the Ajanta caves are the oldest examples of Buddhist rock-cut architecture anywhere.  Ajanta's architectural influence was also felt not only at Ellora but also in places like Sigiriya in Sri Lanka and the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China.  Another distinctive feature of Ajanta is unlike the Hindu/Jain/Buddhist mixture at Ellora, the temples here are exclusively Buddhist.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Ellora and Ajanta is simply the setting.  Ellora is quite close to various towns and villages and has remained a widely known place of pilgrimage since its inception.  The Ajanta site, however, was specifically chosen for its remoteness; the perfect place for contemplation and reflection, where the ebbs and flows of society are replaced by the ebbs and flows of the river flowing through the horseshoe-shaped gorge.

Aside from me nodding off a few times during the almost 1.5 hour car trip there, Ajanta's seclusion became even more apparent when we arrived.  Our driver dropped us off at the parking lot and we then made our way to the nearby bazaar/staging area.  This place, known as the T-Junction, felt like it was in the middle of nowhere because it actually was.  It was almost as if this small tourist hub sprouted up in the middle of the Deccan plateau like a random cactus in a desert.  At any rate, the souvenir vendors here were of the typically Indian selection and ranged from passive aggressive touts hocking suspicious wares to elegant yet expensive shops.  We hung around for a few more minutes before boarding green buses that brought us to the actual entrance of the caves in about 10 minutes.  

Accessibility, Indian style.

We got off the bus, rounded a corner, and made way for an older East Asian women on a palanquin, and then found ourselves at the ticket counter, where I happily paid the "foreigners rate" of $10.  A large, hand-written sign just beyond the gate and next to the UNESCO World Heritage Site plaque explained the history and significance of Ajanta.  These handwritten signs were something I loved about sightseeing in India.  They made whatever was being explained seem so much more personal and approachable compared to their digitally typeset counterparts seen in developed countries.

Hand-written signs abound in India.

The caves as seen from the main entrance.

For all of the wonderfully amazing (and awful!) things I had seen and experienced in India thus far, the anticipation for Ajanta was never far from my thoughts.  It's a bit hard to describe this feeling, which was not so much anticipation as much as it was a kind of calling.  It vaguely resembled knowing you have to be at a certain place at a certain time in the evening all the while going through a busy work day.  You take care of whatever business you have to do but the evening event always pops into mind.  To be sure, there are far worse tasks than visiting the majestic Taj Mahal or lounging on Kerala's verdant shores and I would never, ever say these experiences were "just business to take care of" before Ajanta.  But somehow Ajanta always managed to pop into my mind wherever I was.

The not-so-thundering river.

Watery imprints.

The terrain made the big first impression on me.  The way the caves swerve around the river bend really does make for a dramatic setting.  The river itself, however, didn't.  In early January, India's dry season, the Waghora river was little more than a series of ponds and streams.  Ajanta's famous waterfalls were also not to be seen during this time of the year. 

Entrance to Cave 1.

It didn't take long for me to be blown away and this event occurred about 10 seconds after entering Cave 1.  On the wall to the left of the entrance, under artistically dimmed and ethereal lighting, was the famous painting of Padmamani Bodhisattva, the face of Ajanta.

Padmapani Bodhisattva as
poorly photographed with my
camera.

The Padmapani Bodhisattva
mural as it felt to me; warm
and radiant.

Do you know that feeling when you've seen a famous painting or sculpture in a book or on TV and then you go to a museum and see this work in real life and think "Hey I know this!"?  My experience with the Padmapani Bodhisattva mural was nothing like that at all.  For me, this imagine wasn't merely a famous pretty painting on a cave wall.  It was so many things to me, all at once; a welcome home sign, a devotional image, a model for the human potential, a figure of serenity surrounded by hectic activity, an elegant and delicate yet enduring expression of compassion from people in an age long past but so profoundly relevant today.  I'll stop there since going on further would quickly lead me to the realm of speechlessness and inexpressibility.  If you're interested in a more detailed art analysis of this and the many other paintings of Ajanta, I highly recommend this wonderful NatGeo series as well as the the book "The Ajanta Caves", both by the amazing photographer Benoy K. Behl.

Inside Cave 2.

There was a steady stream of visitors at the caves, particularly at those closer to the main entrance.  While the periods of louder noise were a bit jarring, the moments when people were quiet or, even better, when no one else was around, were quite serene.  It wasn't hard to see the genius of Ajanta as a spiritual refuge. The sculptures, paintings, the caves, the lighting, and everything else came together as the perfect place for meditation and contemplation.

A wider shot of Cave 4.

For all of their beauty and elegance, I also felt the caves exuded a no-nonsense approach to the spiritual path.  It was almost as if the rows of buddhas and bodhisattvas on the walls were saying "please step in to my office and have a seat.  We have some business to discuss".  In the Zen tradition, to be a part of a Sangha and to practice is called "taking care of the family business", i.e. the business of enlightened beings.  In keeping with this idea, the prayer beads used in Zen and other East Asian traditions are threaded with a red cord, meant to symbolize the (spiritual) bloodline or lineage.  This recollection has often been a source of much strength and encouragement for me over the years.

Paintings inside of Cave 9, one of Ajanta's
oldest. 

Entrance to Cave 10, the
one spotted and entered
by Capt. John Smith.

It's one thing to stroll into a world-class museum and see some lovely paintings by a Renaissance master but it's quite another to view paintings that are thousands of years old in their original setting.  Although time has clearly taken its toll on some of them, I still think it's a miracle that ANY of paintings managed to survive.  The paintings inside of Cave 10, some of which are pictured, were especially vivid.  Looking into the eyes of the painted figures really made me feel as if I were looking not just at an image but into a portal through time and space. 

A view from about half-way through the site.

A front shot of The Viewpoint,
at the top of the hill.

At first, I found the presence of rowdy kids to be very disturbing but as we slowly made our way to the other end of the site, part of me couldn't help but feel like a kid exploring some new, giant playground.  With the steps leading up, down, and around, not knowing what exactly to expect around the corner, and the anticipation of discovering the contents of a new cave, how could I not feel 12 years old?  My silent annoyance had given way to a child-like lightheartedness.


Rather than give a detailed account of each cave, a task far beyond the scope of this post, I'll instead skip to the last one and my favorite, Cave 26.  The cave numbering is not chronological but goes in the order from the main entrance.  Cave 26, at the western end of the site, is the last publicly accessible one.  It is also the largest and perhaps most elaborately decorated.   

Entrance to Cave 26.

A side view of Cave 26's exterior.

Walking in through a side entrance, one is greeted with a magnificent relief of a reclining buddha on one side and intricately decorated columns on the other.  On the other side of the cave wall are rows of stone buddhas reliefs, effortlessly sitting and standing in utter bliss.

 




















The atmosphere of Cave 26 was very different from all the others.  It was not a dimly lit, cramped retreat space but rather a bright and cavernous grand hall.  And in the center of it all was a large stupa.  This cave served as a chaitya, or place of assembly for the people who lived and studied at Ajanta.  Although I hadn't come with and wasn't waiting on a big group, standing in the middle of this place did make me feel as if I were a part of something.  What did I feel a part of?  I can't say for sure, except that it felt very special.

Stupa in the middle of Cave 26.

At this point, my mother and I had seen all of the caves but there was still one place that remained to be explored, the place where Ajanta's (modern) history began: the Viewpoint.  From Cave 26 we made our way toward a path that led downward to an old bridge spanning the "river".  A clearly marked trail snaked its way up to the top.  Stopping at a middle point offered another interesting perspective on the Ajanta site.

Trail up to the Viewpoint.

From the top.

Underneath the canopy at the top, we found some much needed benches, an Indian fellow who suavely inquired if we were interested in buying "most special mineral crystals from the region", and some pleasant, chatty travelers from Korea.  Relaxing in the shade, looking at the caves, and especially noticing the many people weaving their way from one cave into another was a simultaneously relaxing and bizarre experience.  It felt relaxing because the Viewpoint, with its shade, benches, and view, is just a great place to kick back.  It felt bizarre because seeing the people go in and out of the caves made me feel as if I were watching myself do the same and being aware of me watching myself, like an actor breaking the fourth wall.  Or maybe I just needed some water and to chill out a bit more.

After snapping some panorama shots, we leisurely strolled toward the exit at the main gate.  Although it was mid-afternoon, we had chosen a good time to depart since it seemed that half the population of Maharashtra state decided to visit at this time.  Before leaving, I popped in to Cave 1 for a last look at Padmapani Bodhisattva.  With a reverent sentiment of farewell, I walked out with a smile on my face and the feeling that at some point I will return.  There is, after all, much business to attend to.