Ancient site · Temple
Ajanta Caves (early caves)
About thirty Buddhist halls and monasteries cut into a horseshoe-shaped cliff in Maharashtra. The first group, including the prayer halls (chaityas) Caves 9 and 10, was carved in the 2nd–1st centuries BCE and still holds some of the oldest surviving Indian paintings.
After centuries of quiet, a burst of work in about 460–480 CE under the Vakataka king Harishena added the famous painted caves. Forgotten for centuries, they were found by a British tiger-hunting party in 1819.
- Dates
- early caves c. 2nd century BCE–1st century CE; second phase c. 460–480 CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 20.55° N, 75.70° E
How we know
Donor inscriptions in the caves, some naming Vakataka rulers, help date the two phases.
Nearby sites
- Karla Caves 2nd century BCE–5th century CE
- Bhimbetka rock shelters paintings c. 10,000 BCE (Mesolithic) to medieval times; occupation far older
- Sanchi 3rd century BCE–12th century CE
- Lothal c. 2300–1900 BCE
- Junagadh rock inscriptions (Girnar) Ashoka c. 250 BCE; Rudradaman c. 150 CE; Skandagupta c. 456 CE
- Hire Benakal c. 800–200 BCE