As the moon takes its complete form on Buddha Purnima, The Trip decided to explore Maharashtra's most fascinating Buddhist caves, to get a taste of some nirvana
As the moon takes its complete form on Buddha Purnima, The Trip decided to explore Maharashtra's most fascinating Buddhist caves, to get a taste of some nirvana
Meet a 15-feet tall Buddha at Ellora
Ellora, or Verul Leni, as it's locally called, has one of the world's largest rock-hewn monastic temple complexes in the form of the famous Ellora caves. The site is a part of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list.
Hewn from 'Deccan Trap', a volcanic basaltic formation, these ancient caves from the 5 BC are thoroughly inspiring as they stretch up to the northern end of Ellora.
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They mainly comprise of viharas (monasteries) exemplary of India's finest cave architecture, with large, multi-storeyed structures paying homage to Lord Buddha.
Must see: Cave 10's cathedral-like Chaitya Hall, with its 15-feet Buddha statue in
a preaching pose. Also called the 'Carpenter's Cave', its ceiling gives the impression of having wooden beams
across it.
How to reach: Ellora is a 45-minute road trip north of Aurangabad, which in turn is about 7 hours away by train from Mumbai. The site is closed on Tuesdays.
Gasp at Ajanta's world-famous murals
Venerating the Buddha in all his glorious incarnations, the Ajanta Caves boast of breathtaking panoramic paintings and intricate sculpture.
In 1891, a British army officer, John Smith, accidentally discovered 30 caves from as early as the 2 BC. These caves revealed Theravadin Buddhist doctrines in fine art form.
Again, these caves were mainly used as residential and meditational purposes for Buddhist monks.
It took them hammer, chisel and deep devotion to carve the Buddha's images, his forms and the Jataka Tales around the walls.
Must see: Paintings of Buddha subduing the elephant (Cave 17), Nalagiri, the dream of Buddha's mother, Maya and a procession of female devotees for birth of the Buddha.
How to reach: From Jalgaon, the Ajanta Caves are just 90 minutes away. Mumbai to Jalgaon is a 6 hour journey. The site is closed on Mondays.
Lose count of Karla-Bhaja's pillars
These Buddhist cave groups were built in 2 BC by Mauryan rulers. Vaulted interiors and arched entrances, a keen eye would notice, are a shared stylistic feature of Karla-Bhaja.
Karla's Chaitya Hall exudes architectural genius, with its teakwood rooftop and beautiful carved pillars. It is one of these pillars that has the four-lion feature at its top, which is our national emblem.
Bhaja's 18 caves have fine illustrations from the early Theravadin phase of Buddhism, with the Buddha being depicted by means of symbols.
Cave number 12's Chaitya Hall, the largest of all, has a magnificent stilted vault. All the other viharas are masterpieces of religious architecture.
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The sunlight bounces against these massive facades, lending the place a very mystic aura.
Must see: Pictures of a dancing couple and a prince on an elephant (Cave 18, Bhaja), the stone stupa and 37 pillars chiselled with wealthy devotees prostrating before Buddha (Karla).
How to reach: Both sites are very close to Lonavla. Karlau00a0 is 20 kms away while Bhaja is just 12 kms away.u00a0
Karla Caves
Play hide-and-seek atop Kanheri
These dark caves earned its name from their source, the Black Mountain or Kanheri. Atop Borivli's Sanjay Gandhi National Park, at 1,500 feet above the sea, the Kanheri Caves are a popular historical getaway.
Back in 2 BC, the Mauryan and Kushana emperors had built these 109 caves as a resting place for travellers but they soon became Buddhist viharas, the dense forest environ suiting their meditative life.
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The monks started out using the caves in their natural form but gradually started carving halls, temples and images of Buddha and Bodhisattvas from the huge rocks around them.
Though artistic in their own way, the Kanheri caves symbolise the austerity of ancient and early medieval Indian architecture.
Must see: The 34-pillared hall and two 6.5 feet standing Buddha figures (Cave 3), the image of the eleven-headed Avalokiteshwara depicted as a saviour (Cave 67).
How to reach: Kanheri caves are situated in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivli.
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The paintings of cave 10 at Ajanta Caves are the oldest surviving paintings of the historical period in India.
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The headdresses, ornaments and clothes worn by the figures are very similar to those seen in sculptures of this time at Bharhut and Sanchi.
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