Ajanta in Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India — भारत (South Asia)

Cave No. 1
⎯⎯⎯
गुफा क़. 1

Cave No. 1 Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Shaw Zavoshy, January 14, 2020

1. Cave No. 1 Marker

Inscription. This is one of the finest monasteries (35.7 X 27.6 m) of its kind and no other monastery at Ajanta has been so handsomely ornamented. The Mahayana monastery consists of an open courtyard, verandah, a hypostylar hall, sanctum with an antechamber and cells. The sanctum houses Lord Buddha in preaching posture with Bodhisattvas on either side and five disciples and a wheel flanked by deers at the base of the pedestal suggests symbolically Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath.

The doorframe and pillars were beautifully carved. Every inch of this cave was originally painted, even the pillars and the sculptures being no exceptions. The ceiling painted with geometrical, floral and faunal depictions, creats an impression of a decorative shamiyana held above. The walls painted mostly with the Jataka tales and scenes related to Lord Buddha's life. The cave contains some of the masterpieces of the world of painting namely Padmapani and Vajrapani.

(Hindi text not transcribed)

Erected by Archaeological Survey of India, Aurangabad Circle.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music

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• Natural Features • Religion & Religious Structures.

Location. 20° 33.148′ N, 75° 42.134′ E. Marker is in Ajanta, Maharashtra, in Aurangabad District. It is on Caves Trail, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ajanta, Maharashtra 43111-7, India. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Asia,

specifically in South Asia,

in the Indian Subcontinent,

on the Arabian Sea,

on the Bay of Bengal,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Mughal Empire,

Portuguese colonies,

and a British colony.

More about this marker. The marker is located at the entrance to the first cave north of the visitor center for the Ajanta Caves.

Also see . . . Ajanta Caves (Wikipedia). "The Ajanta Caves are 30 (approximately) rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly

Cave No. 1 / गुफा क़ 1 Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Shaw Zavoshy, January 14, 2020

2. Cave No. 1 / गुफा क़ 1 Marker - wide view

expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form.... According to UNESCO, these are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art that influenced the Indian art that followed. The caves were built in two phases, the first phase starting around the 2nd century BCE, while the second phase was built around 400–650 CE, according to older accounts, or in a brief period of 460–480 CE according to later scholarship. 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." (Submitted on January 14, 2020.)

General overview of Ajanta Caves - looking northeast image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Shaw Zavoshy, January 14, 2020

3. General overview of Ajanta Caves - looking northeast

Cave No. 1 is at the very rightmost of the photo.

Cave No. 1 interior image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Photo Dharma (via Wikimedia Commons under CC 2.0 license), March 8, 2017

4. Cave No. 1 interior

Credits. This page was last revised on April 14, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 14, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 318 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 14, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.

Cave No. 1⎯⎯⎯गुफा क़. 1

Cave No. 1
⎯⎯⎯
गुफा क़. 1