Ajanta, Ellora
It is difficult to know exactly what to marvel at the most when visiting Ajanta and Ellora, two large, old, ambitious rock-cut cave temples / monasteries.
| www.flickr.com |
There are many such cave temple / monastery clusters across the Deccan plateau in India dating from roughly the 3rd-2nd centuries BC to the 7th-9th centuries AD. Some, like at Ajanta or Elephanta (near Bombay) are exclusively Buddhist or Hindu; others, like at Ellora or Badami, further south, have Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples in the same cluster. The carvings and representations of deities – Buddha, Shiva, Vishnu, Mahavira – in these clusters are superb windows into the way these faiths have co-evolved, commingled and debated over the centuries, in theology, mythology and in daily social and cultural practice.
The frescoes at Ajanta, although badly damaged over the centuries, have held their colours remarkably well, are the main attraction at Ajanta. But the stone sculptures at both places and the stunning, quiet landscape, not to mention just thinking of the monks and artisans who created these structures, took my breath away.
Wow. The pictures are breathtaking.
What an amazing-looking place!
Hey, you don’t really seem to be complaining! And don’t think that my sightseeing is all me being get up and going. I have at various point wished that I’d just decided to go straight back home rather than travel–and, after all, I sat in my B&B room in Antwerp making a blog post rather than going out and doing something (though in my defense, Sundays seem pretty low key here).
The pictures are amazing, and the landscape in the last post is also intriguing and lovely. I also totally understand about the not doing touristy things near home. I am determined to go see the new spitting fountains in Chicago while I’m there later this week!
The photos are beautiful. The temples are all carved out of the stone that exists as a monolith? That is absolutely fascinating. Thanks for the flickr album, too.
Love your story about your family knitting circle…and great photos!