The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step

Showing posts with label Ellora Caves. Show all posts

Aurangabad Caves in Aurangabad

Sunday, May 25, 2014

We got ourselves a rickshaw to visit Aurangabad Caves and Sunheri Mahal; both are located on the outskirts of the city.

Aurangabad Caves Eastern side from a distance

The rickshaw cost was included on our package tour including the Darwazas of Aurangabad.

Sculptures in the Caves

We headed to see the Caves first. In a matter of minutes we were out of the city premises and on to the hills, we were climbing up and down hills to reach the caves.

Caves

The land around the caves was barren; we could hardly see any greenery around. The heat was getting unbearable here but that didn’t dampen our spirits and we continued on our quest.

Eastern side of the Caves

Aurangabad Caves are divided into two halves. The Eastern and Western side. Caves 1 to 5 are on the Western side and the others on the Eastern side. These caves were cut between the 6^th and 8^th century in the Siyachal ranges.

Cavings inside the cave premises

I am not sure which side we landed first but we headed to get ourselves a ticket. There was no one at the ticket counter. It was locked. But there was no gate to see the Caves. The price of ticket was Rs.5.

Sleeping Buddha

There are few caves here in comparison to Ajanta and Ellora Caves. The caves are almost identical to Ajanta and Ellora Caves so I am of the understanding that they might have been built in the same era.

More carvings

Again these caves appeared to me as if they are being maintained. I won’t be surprised if the Japanese are looking after its wellbeing. Like Ajanta Caves.

They have nicely constructed steps to view each of the caves, nets are put up all over the caves so that Bats don’t make them their homes and the caves are nice and clean.

Carvings

Again these caves have beautifully carved pillars and mythological figures carved on the walls as Ajanta Caves. The carvings were repetitive.

Though the heat was killing us when we were approaching the caves, the weather here was quite pleasant. God alone knows how. As we are on the hilltop.

Western side of Aurangabad Caves

As we were exiting we saw the ticket counter open and we got ourselves tickets. The person vending tickets also told us that the ticket is the same for all the caves. So we kept the tickets safely.

Not a soul other than Namrata and Me here.

Sculptures carved in the rock

We then boarded the rickshaw and went over to the other side to see the other part of the caves.

A series of constructed steps leads to the top. These steps were constructed by the ASI as they are looking after the wellbeing of the Caves.

Stupa

There was no one here to check the tickets. Lol.

Climbing up the stairs can put pressure up on your knees so climb slowly. As we were climbing a few people noticed peacocks atop the hill, sadly we didn’t notice them.

Doors to the Caves

Finally we reached the top. Again the walls were beautifully carved with mythological figures and so were the pillars. Each of the caves had a sculpture of Buddha in them. I also noticed that some of the caves had been painted in beige color which had started to peel off.

More Caves

Not sure why they were painted. Most were the way there were meant to be.

Carvings on the walls of the Caves

The Caves offers a wonderful view of Bibi ka Maqbara and Sunheri Mahal in a distance and also the city of Aurangabad.

Next pitstop Sunheri Mahal.

Ajanta Caves in Ajanta near Aurangabad

Monday, May 19, 2014

When it comes to Caves, the first thing that comes to our minds is Ajanta and Ellora Caves. Though I had never been to these before, I decided to take this trip to explore these caves.

Ajanta Caves

As I was fascinated with Ellora Caves, I decided to visit Ajanta Caves located on the outskirts of the city.

Ajanta Caves are situated in Ajanta at a distance of 105 km from Aurangabad. So I am guessing that it would take around three hours to reach it. So three hours to go, three to comeback and two to see it. That means an entire day is gone is viewing the caves. That did not stop us from visiting the caves.

Painting in the Cave premises

We asked a day before at the City Bus Stand regarding the bus to board and the timing, so that we can plan the day accordingly. The person sitting at the “May I Help You” board replied that we can board any bus going to Jalgaon and alight at Ajanta to view the caves and those buses ply every 30 minutes.

So the next morning at 630 hours we were at the Bus Stand, we were lucky to get a place in the bus. The bus started off at 645 hours, we got ourselves tickets at the cost of Rs.91 per head, Namrata told the bus conductor to intimate us when we reach. We had also told the passengers nearby to intimate us in case the bus conductor forgot.

Beautifully carved Pillars

At 845 hours we were alighted on the road that leads to Ajanta Caves, and our bus moved on to Jalgaon. From there we took a ticket at a cost of Rs.10 per head to enter the market area.

The market area was full of small shops that cater to food requirements and souvenir shops selling stones and ornaments.

Finally we landed at the bus stop to take us to the entrance of the fort. Non AC buses charge Rs.7 and AC buses charge Rs.12 for the 20 minute journey to the hills. Note that no private vehicles are allowed here. Private vehicles need to be parked near the market area. These buses are run by the State Govt. of Maharashtra.

At the entrance we were greeted by cheap jacks selling precious stones as they claimed and CD’s on Ajanta and Ellora Caves. Some of them even had CD’s on the Khajuraho Temple. Wonder how he can make a sale of those CD’s here in Ajanta.

Beautifully Carved Caves

We got ourselves a ticket at a cost of Rs.10 per head plus another ticket at a cost of Rs.5 for both to see the paintings within the cave. The caves are open from 900 hours to 1730 hours. They are closed on Mondays but open on National Holidays.

We started our climb up the stairs to reach the cave. The stairs pressurize your knees till to reach the top, meaning the climb is difficult.

There are chair cars available at a cost of Rs.600 to see the caves. We decided to take the services of our legs to see them.

Stupa

The caves can all be seen from the start point. Meaning the caves are built in a circular formation. Inner circle. There are 29 caves in all. Out of which the last three are inaccessible to public. Some of these caves were built in the 2^nd century BC. These were built by the Buddhist monks for prayers and as monasteries.

They were later abandoned. Later in the 18^th century they were rediscovered by the British who had come hunting there for a Lion who took shelter in these caves. The British intimated the Nizam about the same, as this area was under his rule and so started the exploration of the caves. As told to us by the guide.

All the caves are numbered from the east to the west.

Paintings on the Cave Ceiling

All the caves are beautifully carved out of the rock. Some had beautifully carved pillars in them along with carvings of Buddha on the walls and a huge Buddha sculpture carved in the middle. This was the phenomenon in all caves.

Some caves had paintings on the walls and the ceilings too. Imagine in that time they painted the walls and the ceilings and the paint has survived for centuries. Look at the paint which we paint our houses from the inside and outside, it needs to be changed every 5 years as it is spoilt by the heat and water leakages. Maybe the paint manufactures should go back in time and take tips from the monks who had painted these caves.

Caves

I like Cave.26 the most has it has a huge reclining statue of Buddha carved on the walls along with other poses of Buddha. It also has a stupa and many beautifully carved pillars in its premises.

Some of the caves were so dark and so poorly lit that it was difficult to take photos in it without using the flash, as flash was banned in the caves. Flash spoils the paintings on the wall hence no usage.

The good news is that drinking water is available on the cave premises and so are toilets available. These are usually missing all over the historic sites in Maharashtra.

Beautifully carved Stupa

Our guide told us that the Japanese Govt is investing in the up keeping of these caves. To this I was ”What, Why”, is it that our Govt has no money in the bank that they need to take the help of the Japanese to upkeep the caves. This is ridiculous as Maharashtra is the richest amongst all the other states and we still begging for help. That is ridiculous.

Carvings

I guess we are more interested in making money that the moment we found someone ready to invest we could not resist the offer. Any which ways it’s good that the caves are being looked after. Though we are late but still we can protect what remains.

The wooden bridge on the river Waghora, offers an amazing view of the Caves. If you have a camera with a 14mm wide angle then you can get the caves in a single shoot instead of sewing images together on a normal camera.

Carvings

A big thank you to the Japanese for investing in the up keeping of the caves. Though I didn’t like the nets that are placed at the openings in the caves. I guess the nets are placed to keep bats away from the caves that stay there and have droppings all over the caves. The caves are home to them, so I guess they should be kept the way they are.

I personally don’t like the new net covering for the caves. The same is spotted even at Ellora Caves located in Aurangabad.

It took us around two hours to see the caves.

Ajanta Caves

Again we boarded the Non AC bus to reach us to Ajanta Car Park from there we landed on the highway to board a ST bus to take us to Aurangabad.

Finally after travelling in the bus for three hours at 1600 hours we were at the City Bus Stand. Tired. Phew.

Bhadra Hanuman Temple near Ellora Caves

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Sleeping Hanuman. Have you ever heard of it, if no then pay a visit to Bhadra Hanuman Temple situated very close to Ellora Caves.

There are two places in India where you find Hanuman in sleeping position, one is here and the other is in Allahabad, stated our rickshaw driver.

Bhadra Maruti Temple aka Bhadra Hanuman Temple is located in Khuldabad and is thronged by devotees all year round.

Bhadra Hanuman Temple

Mythology states that on Hanuman return journey from Sri Lanka, to bring a Sanjivani herb for Laxman, rested here, A statue of Hanuman is found in sleeping position here and worshipped.

The temple is remodeled and is beautifully carved with small carvings of Hanuman all over it.

As we were wearing shorts we didn’t visit the temple premises but only saw it from the outside.

This place is a must for all Hanuman Bhakts aka followers.

Ellora Caves

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

As we entered Ellora Caves we took a ticket at Rs.10 per head and Rs.10 for rickshaw parking and then headed off to see the caves.

Our driver called out to us and said to us, Checkout cave no. 1 first and then come here to cave no. 16 to which we readily agreed.

Ellora Caves is also known as Kllooru is located 29 km away from Aurangabad. These caves were built by the Kannadiga Rashtrakuta Dynasty.

There are not only Buddhist Caves here but also Hindu and Jain Caves all of which were built in between the 5^th century and 10^th century.

When Namrata first told me about Jain Caves, I couldn’t believe it as I had never heard of Jain Caves before and so thought that she was pulling a prank on me.

Caves 1 to 12 are Buddhist Caves.

Caves 13 to 29 are Hindu Caves

Caves 30 to 34 are Jain Caves

The Buddhist Caves were built first followed by the Hindu Caves and later the Jain Caves.

Most of the caves are identical in nature. They had small doors cut out in the rock that I guess served as rooms to stay. Some had carvings at the entrance of the caves. Buddha in various meditation poses.

There were many caves which had huge beautifully carved pillars in them and in the centre there was a rock cut door in which there was a huge carving of Buddha accompanied by other carvings. The walls of these caves were carved with both small and huge life size images of Buddha.

Cave no. 10 features Buddha sitting near a Stupa. There are beautifully carved pillars around the Stupa. The ceiling too is beautifully carved with carvings near it. This is the first stupa I have come across that has a Carving of Buddha near it.

Cave no.11 is like a two storey cave carved in the rocks. The walls of which were carved depicting Buddha in various poses. There were rooms carved on each of the storeys.

The Hindu Caves had carvings on them depicting various Hindu mythological figures.

Cave no. 15 The Dashavatara, is a beautifully carved temple in front of a one storey excavated temple carved in the rock. Again it features carvings of Hindu mythological.

Cave no. 16 is the best find of them all. I took me to another world altogether. It’s called the Kaliasanatha. This entire temple is carved out of one single rock. This temple is beautifully carved.