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Be a time traveler
Sounds like a Science fiction, well it’s not. In India, you have many monuments and heritage buildings that take you back to the days of Britishers, Mughals, Cholas and even earlier times. Ellora and Ajanta caves in Maharashtra are some of the must visit caves that take you to the ancient world almost instantly.

The Ellora caves transport us to the three different periods at one go-Hindu, Jain and Buddhist period. The jewel in the crown is the Kailasa temple, a massive structure carved out of a single stone. This cave temple depicts the Hindu era of around 8th century. As you enter the temple, the enormity of the structure shows the engineering skills of that epoch, the sculptures around the temple and the simple lingam of Shiva in the Sanctorum lets you think that the theory of Yin and Yang was prevalent in this country too. The brilliance of the sculptors could be seen in the pillars, on the temple Gopuram and in the huge rock cut elephants on temple walls. The magnanimity of the structure and the meticulous motifs around the temple equally inspire artists, scholars, photographers, and even commoners.

The Jain Caves
These caves are relatively smaller in size than other caves but the detailed work in the caves make them awe inspiring and built during the 9th century. The dimension of the caves reveals the strict asceticism of the Digambara sect. The Chota Kailash, Indra Sabha and the Jagannath Sabha attract every visitor’s attention due to its finest carvings.

The Buddhist Caves
These caves were built during the 5th and 6th Century probably for the monks to lead their monastic life. The caves have the quarters for monks, kitchens, granary, and places for prayers. The show stopper of the Buddhist Monastery caves is the Chaitya Hall (Chandrashala) or popularly known as a Carpenter’s cave. This cathedral- like Stupa gives the impression of wooden beams carved out of stones. At the heart of the cave, a huge statue of Buddha is seated in a preaching pose. This multi-storied monastery is significantly ornate from outside.  
The ancient caves of Ellora are contemporary in more ways than one. Apart from its architectural and aesthetic ingenuity, these caves are a hallmark of religious tolerance. Even those days, all the three sects cohabitated and coexisted peacefully.                

 The Ajanta Caves
The Ajanta Caves are located within a distance of a hundred kilometer from Aurangabad city. These Buddhist caves take you back to the 2nd century BCE (Before Christ Era). These caves are the art house of the finest masterpieces of Indian paintings and fabulous sculptures narrating the life of Buddha and the tales of Jatakas.   
The caves are cut into the side of a cliff that is on the south side of a ‘U’ shaped gorge on a rivulet called the Waghur. It took a few centuries to complete all the 30 rock cut caves.

The first few caves have the some of the most talked about Ajanta paintings. Be jeweled Padmapani holding a lotus in his hand standing in three-bent posture make everyone speechless. The subtle beauty of the painting makes it iconic in the world.  

The bright natural colours, the liveliness of every painting, dedication and devotion of the painters could be felt in every cave. In the caves of Ajanta, nature seems to be the biggest art lover that’s why for centuries, these paintings were protected from rains, extreme heat, and termite and other insect attacks.
The vivid description of the paintings brings out the world before the birth of Christ gives a complete picture of that period so accurately to its audience. The fashion, the style and the aura of yester years outwit the modern world completely.

While walking a little further, there are double storied caves and some of them have grand façade. It seems the double storied monastery, ground floors were used as  prayer rooms and the upper floors were residential quarters of the monks. Just take those massive staircases to climb up, almost instantly you are walking on the steps of those monks who used to live there, centuries back.  Surely, you are traveling time in every nook and cranny of these caves.  
  
The last cave depicts the final journey of the lord Buddha in a most eloquent way.  A massive statue of  Buddha lying prostrate and his devotees are sitting next to him. The enormity of the structure reflects the depth of the Buddhist teachings. The final exit is as beautiful as the birth of the lord Buddha. The paintings and sculptures of the Ajanta caves have simplified the complex spiritual thoughts for the masses.

While you admire the sculptures and paintings of Ajanta and Ellora caves, you may hear the hammer and the chisel making sound while the chants of those artist monks vibrate in the empty halls...
Budham saranam gachami, dhammam saranam gachami, sangham saranam gachami...

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