Ajanta Cave No. 1 .. [2 / 9]
The ceiling of Cave 1, a Buddhist monastery dating to the 5th century CE, at Ajanta, MH.
As the board outside the cave says (mildly edited):
This is one of the finest monasteries (35.7 x 27.6 m) of its kind and no other monastery at Ajanta has been so handsomely ornamented. The Mahayana monastery consists of an open courtyard, verandah, a hypostylar hall, sanctum with an antechamber and cells. The sanctum houses Lord Buddha in a preaching posture, with Bodhisattvas on either side and five disciples and a wheel flanked by deers at the base of the pedestal, which suggests symbolically Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath. The doorframe and pillars were beautifully carved. Every inch of this cave was originally painted, even the pillars and the sculptures being no exceptions. The ceiling painted with geometrical, floral, and faunal depictions, creates an impression of a decorative shamiyana held above. The walls are painted mostly with the Jaataka tales and scenes related to Lord Buddha's life. The cave contains some of the masterpieces of the world of painting, namely Padmapani and Vajrapani.
