Cave temples of Adžanta, built more than two thousand years ago

 Ajanta is a complex of cave temples where prayers were heard more than two thousand years and three hundred years before the birth of Christ. Its construction began during the heyday of Buddhism during the reign of King Ashoka. There are a total of about twelve hundred caves created by man in India, and a thousand of them can be found in the western state of Maharashtra.

In five caves there are temples (vihara), in the other twenty-four there are monastery cells (chaitiji). A typical cave temple consists of a large square hall with tiny cells arranged around it.

Volcanic basalt, from which the caves were carved, was abundant in this area, and there are more than a dozen places where there are a number of cave temples.

Pillars on the sides of the hall separate the lateral passages for religious processions. Cave ceilings are supported by paintings covered or carved columns, which also decorate the entrance to the caves.

What do we know about the history of these temples? Trade routes from Europe to Asia have long passed through the territory of the West Indies. The flat and dry area of ​​Maharashtra with unique massifs of hilly mountains was quite populated in terms of trade and therefore active. The monks, longing for solitude, went to the basalt rocks and settled in the picturesque hills near the rivers and lakes.

Commercial caravans, which could rest and eat in monasteries, provided the means to build temples. The builders also had protectors from the royal ranks (from the Maurji and Gupta dynasties, later Raštrakuta and Čalukta), who played an important role in the construction and decoration of the local temples.

Adagio has become famous for its beautiful paintings. To this day, they have survived due to the isolation and remoteness of the Temple Complex, while other ancient temples have been destroyed by religious fanatics. But another enemy of old paintings became time and climate. As a result, only thirteen caves kept fragments of ancient painting.

The construction of cave temples took about seventeen centuries (the last temple is dated to the 14th century). All this time, monks lived in the caves of Maharashtra. But the Muslim invasions and the domination of the Great Moguls caused the temples to be abandoned and forgotten.

The caves, hidden in the remote reaches of the mountains, prospered better than any other temple. Unique frescoes have been preserved here, although a large part of them was damaged by wild vegetation. They are reminiscent of paintings in Sri Lanka, as they also show the influence of Greece, Rome and Iran.

The decoration of the complex is a unique encyclopedia of Indian life throughout the historical period of the 6th - 7th century. Most of them represent illustrations that are related to Buddhist legends.

The caves, which represent the art of early Buddhism, are located in a picturesque rock massif on the Waghora River. From the village of Ajanta, it is only about fifteen minutes to the beautiful serpentines by special sightseeing buses (new and not shabby, like ordinary regular buses).

The place is specially equipped for tourists. Near the cave is a safe where you can leave things, take a shower and visit the restaurant.

Admission is ten rupees and for foreigners it was recently five dollars. The truth is that you can come for free from the other side of the river, as the locals do.

But Indians are a nation attentive, and the tactics of strangers are hardly concealed before their eyes. As we climbed the hill opposite the caves and then headed back across the river, they wanted tickets again.

But in addition to the strictly canonical depictions of the Buddha and the holy bodhisattvas, there are a number of depictions that are not associated with the canons and that show scenes from the life of ancient India with remarkable liveliness and truthfulness.

This is explained by the fact that the local paintings had a strong influence on the worldly painting, which unfortunately did not survive and which once decorated the palaces of kings and princes.

Cave temples were built for a thousand years, until the 7th century. nl Then they were forgotten for another thousand years. They were rediscovered by accident when an English officer with the most banal name, John Smith, went to the mountains in 1819 to hunt a tiger. Traces of the animal brought him to the caves, which are unique in the beauty of their paintings.

The paintings have been created over the centuries by several generations of masters, which is why many characteristic features, directions and styles of fine art of ancient India have found their expression in them. Their volume is admirable. For example, in only one of the underground halls do they occupy more than a thousand square meters, while not only the walls but also the columns and ceilings are painted. And it was the same in all the twenty-nine caves.

Decryption of inscriptions helped determine the date of their creation and provided information on the subject of frescoes and statues. The creators themselves thought their creations were masterpieces.

They consciously aimed to make the works of their hands survive millennia. The inscription in one of the oldest caves says that one must create monuments comparable in durability to the sun and the moon, because he will enjoy paradise as long as the memory of him lives on Earth.

Inscription from the 5th century. nl says:

"What you see is an impressive example of art and architecture, built in the most beautiful rocks of the world. May peace and tranquility be given to these mountains, which protect so many cave temples, for a long time. "

Indian masters attempt to bring all the richness and diversity of the outside world into a tight underground world. They richly decorated the walls and ceilings of the cave with pictures of trees, animals and people, striving to fill the paint with every inch of the surface.

And for more than a thousand years, tiny restless monkeys, bright blue peacocks, lions, and fantastic fairy-tale creatures with human torsos, animal tails, and bird's feet have lived their lives on the walls of dark caves, once lit by fire and torches, among bizarre rocks and branched trees. .

The world of humans and the world of heavenly spirits, the world of Buddhist legends and the real world of "distant magic India" are all depicted with admirable mastery on the walls of the temples of this complex.

In addition to scenes from the life of the Buddha, you can also find images with erotic content. This close coexistence of religious and erotic themes is traditional for medieval India and is present in virtually all Buddhist and Hindu temples.

The caves were not carved out of stone in a row. The oldest of them (8th - 13th and 15th) is located in the middle of the massif.

Architecture makes it possible to distinguish the cave temples of the Hindu and Mahayan periods. According to the traditions of art, the hunted, the earliest form of Buddhism (with its "little car", which emphasizes individual perfection), was not acceptable to display the Buddha. It shows only symbols such as dharmačakra, or dharma round.

These caves lack statues. On the other hand, their temples (halls 9 and 10, with rows of octagonal columns, dated 2nd - 1st century BC) have a huge monolithic stupa and the admirable acoustics here are best suited for chanting mantras.

You will want to sing here or go into tiny square cells that stand on the sides of 12. cave. Stay in them on the stone beds and feel the monks live before.

What's more, erotic scenes often serve as illustrations for religious themes from the Buddha's life and teachings. What seems indecent to Europeans has never been perceived in this way in India, as all manifestations of human life, including those taboo elsewhere, were considered legal here.

The later Mahayana caves (the "great chariot", which emphasizes the role of the bodhisattwa, which saves all living beings), located on both sides of the central caves, are characterized by images of buddhas, bodhisattwas and gods. The frescoes and sculptures in the niches provide a very rich material for seeing. Frequent sculptures of Buddhist figures in this complex are the goddess of flourishing Harith with a child and naga, a snake deity with a cobra head. On the ceilings there are carved ornaments of lotuses and frescoes of mandalas.

Researchers pay attention to the realism with which life in Indian palaces, towns and villages is depicted in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. Thanks to him, these murals acquire the character of a historical document. In a scene called The Buddha craves the wild elephant it is possible to see the shop in the streets of the Old Indian city with all the stalls of goods, utensils, carriages and canvas shelters on the bamboo rods that protected the shops from the sun.

The most interesting sculptures are in the 26th cave. One depicts the temptation of the Buddha by the demon Mara, where the meditating Buddha is surrounded by charming women, animals and demons, the other the reclining Buddha with his eyes closed, representing the state of nirvana.

But even in death, the Buddha smiles with the same smile, which is the hallmark of Buddhist sculptures. Carved figures at the ceiling are represented by six Buddha mudders.

The fairy-rich and diverse world of Adagans' cave paintings became world-famous only after 1819, when the long-forgotten temples were completely re-discovered. In 20. In the years of the last century, their paintings were carefully restored and since then they have been equally carefully guarded.

"The paintings of the Ajanta cave temples stand in line with the best monuments of ancient Indian culture and art," wrote OS Prokofiev. “As the pinnacle of fine art of the Gupta period, they had a strong influence on the development of painting almost throughout medieval Asia. They were a real school for many generations of foreign masters. But first and foremost, they formed a solid foundation for the development of the Indian tradition of fine arts. "

Two hundred years ago the cave temples were discovered again by the English. After independence, India became a national property and archaeological monument under UNESCO protection. But that does not prevent Indy from being a sacred place. Before entering any cave temple you have to take off the boots (if you take into account that there are twenty-nine here, then it is easier to walk the balls).

Adžanta cave complex is indeed a treasure of the world format.