What do Ajanta Caves, Roman cathedrals, Sleeping Buddha of Thailand and the UK’s coat of arms have in common?

A reaction to the sight of majestic stone rafters converging upwards in a vaulted roof was interrupted by Abdul Nasir Almohammadi. “This structure inspired the Roman cathedrals,” he declared with a certainty that broached no doubts. The remark of the septuagenarian guide at the Ajanta Caves near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, was loaded with fond sentiments of someone who has been seeing the subterranean wonders every day. The excavated caves, some dating back to 200 BC, are famous worldwide for the Buddhist chaityas (temples), viharas (monasteries) and murals. Stories of Buddha and Boddhisattva are painted on the walls and roofs of the 29 caves. The caves themselves date from the earliest Hinayana cult to the later Mahayana cult, about 2,200 years ago. Thus, the emergence of Buddhist iconography is also clearly visible in spite of the destruction and deterioration.

The chaitya which ‘inspired’ the Roman cathedrals is cave number 26 dating from the Mahayana time. There’s a spacious courtyard and the stupa in the chaitya is ornate with a seated figure of Buddha. The columns are embellished with delicate carvings and the rafters above indeed resemble the ones at the cathedrals in Rome. How did the exchange of information happen centuries ago, one may wonder, but in the mind of Almohammadi, Indian artisans and monks are firmly entrenched as the pioneers. He has been working as a guide for over 40 years and yet, day after day, is indefatigable in explaining the wonders hidden in the caves which were mostly excavated from top to bottom unlike the easier front to back. He has written all about the Ajanta Caves’ history in a book that is still being sold by hawkers at the base of the hill, and interestingly, the book has been reprinted several times over the past 14 years and translated into foreign languages as well.

The vaulted roofs of the Ajanta Caves were cut out into the steep face of a rocky horse-shoe shaped cliff, hewn out by sculptors who would have been belayed from ropes from top of the cliff. (Photo: Jayanthi Madhukar)

The caves of Ajanta are cut out into the steep face of a rocky horse-shoe shaped cliff, hewn out by sculptors who would have been belayed from ropes from top of the cliff. The work would have been going on from 200 BC to 650 AD under the patronage of two dynasties, the Satvahanas and the Vakatakas. The paintings were done predominantly in yellow, red (both extracted from ochre), white (colour Kaolin and gypsum), black (lampblack), and green (from residues of volcanic rocks). The expensive tint of blue, prepared from lapis lazuli, may have been imported and was used sparingly as compared to the other colours. The fragile murals on the walls and the ceilings are replete with decorative art, stories from the Jataka tales and the life of Buddha. All in all, it would take a visitor an hour of guided tour and then one could explore the unfinished caves to understand the sheer grit of gutting the rock, flint by flint, creating intricate pillars, exquisitely proportioned sculptures and later, painters would have painted the walls and ceilings with colourful paintings with the light reflected from water poured in shallow depressions in the floor. One of the viharas has small rooms with bunks all around the cave and lying down on the stone cold bunk is like doing a quick time travel.

There are plenty of vantage points to take in the view of the gorge, forest and the Waghora River flowing below. One of the vantage points overlooks the entire Ajanta caves and it is the spot where Captain John Smith, who was leading a hunting party in the dense forests, had first chanced upon the caves in 1819. The caves had hitherto been hidden by vegetation after the decline of Buddhism in India and by the time the young captain saw the caves, considerable damage was already done by leaky roofs, stray human trespassers and wildlife. There are written accounts of human and animal skeletons found in the caves

Captain John Smith's signature.

Incidentally, John Smith may have been among the first few who vandalised a basalt pillar by signing his name on it. Almohammadi pointed out the visible signature (John Smith, April 1819) in one of the upper chaityas, cave 10, which is also the oldest Hinayana chaitya with an imposing façade (45 feet).

There's a cherub painted in the roof of the Ajanta Caves, like one would find in the later Roman cathedrals. (Photo: Jayanthi Madhukar)

There is a cherub painted on the roof which is very European-like and its eyes follows you no matter where you see it from. There is another painting of two horses rearing up on their hind legs and facing each other. “Isn’t this familiar?” the guide asked. The large group of visitors who had gathered around looked nonplussed. “On the British flag!” he declared. The stance looked identical to the UK coat of arms which actually has a lion and a unicorn, not horses. But Almohammadi was not to be corrected.

The image at the Ajanta Caves which inspired the UK's coat of arms. (Photo: Jayanthi Madhukar)

There is a simple chronological way of doing Ajanta Caves and so, the last stop is at cave 29 which houses the colossal reclining Buddha. The sculpture is 23 ft in length and is at one side of the cave, past the row of pillars. “This is the original and others, like the Sleeping Buddha of Thailand, have copied from this,” Almohammadi said. “This is how Buddha left earth.”

Reclining Buddha at the Ajanta Caves, the Sleeping Buddha of Thailand is inspired from this. (Photo: Jayanthi Madhukar)

Thanks to the UNESCO World Heritage site designation and the efforts of the state government, Ajanta Caves stand entrenched on Earth, inviting visitors to its cavernous caves just like it did when it was along an ancient trade route beckoning to the monks and mendicants to pray and rest in its splendorous quarters.