The caves of Ellora and Ajanta, located close to the city of Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra, a short flight from Mumbai, are rightfully known as the Louvre of India. Indeed, it is an amazing sculptural complex with Jain, Hindu and Buddhist caves, some as old as 5 B.C., others as (comparatively) recent as 11th century A.D. There are also very sophisticated cave paintings, but they are as a rule not as well preserved; the humid climate and monsoons have done plenty of work on them over the centuries.
It is all located in dramatic mountainous settings that are lush by the standards of arid Maharashtra; the caves of Ajanta are especially picturesque as they surround a verdant ravine in a horseshoe shape.
The Hindu and the Jain temples feature a multitude of statues of gods and celestial creatures. A gentle, obedient Parvati leans into her husband, the god Shiva; her supple body expresses her readiness to serve him. A frightful Mara, the god of death in the top picture, appears as a skeleton that is yet fitted out with all the attributes of a beautiful divine creature and in the typical godly pose--right hip and left shoulder out.
The Hindu and the Jain temples feature a multitude of statues of gods and celestial creatures. A gentle, obedient Parvati leans into her husband, the god Shiva; her supple body expresses her readiness to serve him. A frightful Mara, the god of death in the top picture, appears as a skeleton that is yet fitted out with all the attributes of a beautiful divine creature and in the typical godly pose--right hip and left shoulder out.
Yet, the most spiritually affecting, at least for me, were the Buddhist caves, with their peaceful, meditating statues that deliberately dwarf any aperture they are placed into. Unlike in Vietnam or Laos, the Indian Buddha is not an eery, majestic creature, but a handsome man who at the same time appears at peace with himself and the world.
After two days spent wandering the caves for hours in the heat and being ambushed by ever-present crowds of schoolchildren demanding our photos (yes, Angelina Jolie, I know how you feel, poor thing), we finally tumbled to our last cave. When we walked in, we saw the oval-shaped vault and, in the back, a bronze Buddha in meditation, looking kind and welcoming. Some elderly Japanese tourist in a wheelchair was burning incense in front of the statue. There was such serenity in the air--in the shape of the cave, the spiritual embrace of the Buddha, the scent of the incense--that I wanted to stay there with him. It was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences for my irreligious self
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