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AJANTA CAVES,AURANGABAD

AJANTA CAVES

The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650 CE. The caves include paintings and sculptures described by the government Archaeological Survey of India as "the finest surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting", which are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with figures of the Buddha and depictions of the Jataka tales. The caves were built in two phases starting around the 2nd century BCE, with the second group of caves built around 400–650 CE according to older accounts, or all in a brief period of 460 to 480 according to the recent proposals of Walter M. Spink. The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India,and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.With the Ellora Caves, Ajanta is the major tourist attraction of the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. About 59 kilometres  from Jalgaon railway station on the Delhi – Mumbai line and Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of the Central Railway zone, and 104 kilometres  from the city of Aurangabad. They are 100 kilometres  from the Ellora Caves, which contain Hindu and Jain temples as well as Buddhist caves, the last dating from a period similar to Ajanta. The Ajanta caves are cut into the side of a cliff that is on the south side of a U-shaped gorge on the small river Waghur, and although they are

AJANTA CAVES

now along and above a modern pathway running across the cliff they were originally reached by individual stairs or ladders from the side of the river 10–35 m  below.The area was previously heavily forested, and after the site ceased to be used the caves were covered by jungle until accidentally rediscovered in 1819 by a British officer on a hunting party. They are Buddhist monastic buildings, apparently representing a number of distinct "monasteries" or colleges. The caves are numbered 1 to 28 according to their place along the path, beginning at the entrance. Several are unfinished and some barely begun and others are small shrines, included in the traditional numbering as e.g. "9A"; "Cave 15A" was still hidden under rubble when the numbering was done. Further round the gorge are a number of waterfalls, which when the river is high are audible from outside the caves.The caves form the largest corpus of early Indian wall-painting; other survivals from the area of modern India are very few, though they are related to 5th-century paintings at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. The elaborate architectural carving in many caves is also very rare, and the style of the many figure sculptures is highly local, found only at a few nearby contemporary sites, although the Ajanta tradition can be related to the later Hindu Ellora Caves and other sites.Like the other ancient Buddhist monasteries, Ajanta had a large emphasis on teaching, and was divided into several different caves for living, education and worship, under a central direction.

AJANTA CAVES

Monks were probably assigned to specific caves for living. The layout reflects this organizational structure, with most of the caves only connected through the exterior. The 7th-century travelling Chinese scholar Xuanzanginforms us that Dignaga, a celebrated Buddhist philosopher and controversialist, author of well-known books on logic, lived at Ajanta in the 5th century. In its prime the settlement would have accommodated several hundred teachers and pupils. Many monks who had finished their first training may have returned to Ajanta during the monsoon season from an itinerant lifestyle.

The caves are generally agreed to have been made in two distinct periods, separated by several centuries.The earliest group of caves consists of caves 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15A. According to Walter Spink, they were made during the period 100 BCE to 100 CE, probably under the patronage of the Satavahana dynasty who ruled the region. Other datings prefer the period 300 BCE to 100 BCE, though the grouping of the earlier caves is generally agreed.^[15] More early caves may have vanished through later excavations. Of these, caves 9 and 10 are stupa halls of chaitya-griha form, and caves 12, 13, and 15A are vihāras. The first phase is still often called the Hinayāna phase, as it originated when, using traditional terminology, the Hinayāna or Lesser Vehicle tradition of Buddhism was dominant, when the Buddha was revered symbolically.^[16] However the use of the term Hinayana for this period of Buddhism is now deprecated by historians; equally the caves of the second period are now mostly dated too early to be properly called Mahayana, and do not yet show the full expanded cast of supernatural beings characteristic of that phase of Buddhist art. The first Satavahana period caves lacked figurative sculpture, emphasizing the stupa instead, and in the caves of the second period the overwhelming majority of images represent the Buddha alone, or narrative scenes of his lives.

AJANTA CAVES

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TAJ MAHAL, AGRA

TAJ MAHAL

The Taj Mahal Persian for "Crown of Palaces", pronounced is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan , to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 42-acre complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellatedwall.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees . The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". Described by the Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, as "the tear-drop on the cheek of time", it is regarded by

TAJ MAHAL

many as the best example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts 7–8 million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New7Wonders of the World initiative.In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his favorite of three wives and beloved companion, Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess, died during the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal.  The principal mausoleum was completed in 1643 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished about five years later.The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a large, white marble structure standing on a square plinth and consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan  topped by a large dome and finial. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Persian in origin.

TAJ MAHAL

The base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming an unequal eight-sided structure that is approximately 55 metres  on each of the four long sides. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge pishtaq or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level.The most spectacular feature is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The dome is nearly 35 metres high which is close in measurement to the length of the base, and accentuated by the cylindrical "drum" it sits on which is approximately 7 metres high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome or amrud. The top is decorated with a lotus design which also serves to accentuate its height. The shape of the dome is emphasized by four smaller domed chattris placed at its corners, which replicate the onion shape of the main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb and provide light to the interior. Tall decorative spires  extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial which mixes traditional Persian and Hindustani decorative elements.

The main finial was originally made of gold but was replaced by a copy made of gilded bronze in the early 19th century. This feature provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.  The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif whose horns point heavenward.

The minarets, which are each more than 40 metres  tall, display the designer's penchant for symmetry. They were designed as working minarets—a traditional element of mosques, used by the muezzin to call the Islamic faithful to prayer. Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower. At the top of the tower is a final balcony surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the design of those on the tomb. The chattris all share the same decorative elements of a lotus design topped by a gilded finial. The minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that in the event of collapse, a typical occurrence with many tall constructions of the period, the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.

TAJ MAHAL

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MAHABODHI TAMPLE

Mahabodhi Tample

The Mahabodhi Temple a United Nations agency World Heritage website, may be a Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, marking the situation wherever the Buddha religious mystic, the Buddha, is claimed to own earned enlightenment. is found regarding ninety six kilometre (60 mi) from Patna, province state, India.The advanced was primarily a Mahayana website. pictures of the location embrace Padmapani, Avalokiteśvara, Vajrapani, Khasarpana, Tara, Marichi, Yamantaka, Jambhala and Vajravārāhī. pictures of Hindu deity, Mahadeva, Hindu deity and different religious writing deities also are related to the location.Traditional accounts say that, around 530 before Christ, the Buddha religious mystic, a young aristocrat World Health Organization saw the suffering of the planet and wished to finish it, reached the wooded banks of the Phalgu stream, close to town of Gaya, India. There he weekday in meditation below a pipal tree tree (Ficus religiosa or Sacred Fig) that later became referred to as the Bodhi tree. per Buddhist scriptures, when 3 days and 3 nights, Siddharta earned enlightenment and also the answers that he had wanted. in this location, Mahabodhi Temple was engineered by Emperor Ashoka in around 260 before Christ.The Buddha then spent the succeeding seven weeks at seven completely different spots within the neighbourhood meditating and considering his expertise. many specific places at the present Mahabodhi Temple relate to the traditions encompassing these seven weeks The first week was spent below the Bodhi tree.

Mahabodhi Tample

During the second week, Buddha remained standing and stared, uninterrupted, at the Bodhi tree. This spot is marked by the Animeshlocha Stupa, that is, the unblinking stupa or shrine, that is found on the north-east of the Mahabodhi Temple advanced. There stands a sculpture of Buddha together with his eyes mounted towards the Bodhi tree.The Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya is directly connected to the lifetime of the historical Buddha, the Buddha religious mystic, World Health Organization earned enlightenment or excellent insight once he was meditating thereunder. The temple was build on to the east of the Bodhi tree that is meant to be a right away descendant of the initial Bodhi Tree.According to Buddhist mythology, if no Bodhi tree grows at the location, the bottom round the Bodhi tree is void of all plants for a distance of 1 royal karīsa. Through the bottom round the Bodhi tree no being, not even AN elephant, can travel.According to the Jatakas, the navel of the planet lies at this spot, and no different place will support the load of the Buddha's attainment. Another Buddhist tradition claims that once the planet is destroyed at the top of a kalpa, the Bodhimanda is that the last spot to disappear, and can be the

Mahabodhi Tample

primary to seem once the planet emerges into existence once more. Tradition conjointly claims that a lotus can bloom there, and if a Buddha is born throughout that the new kalpa, the lotus flowers in accordance with the quantity of Buddhas expected to arise.Per legend, within the case of Siddhartha, a Bodhi tree sprang au fait the day he was born.In about 250 BCE, regarding two hundred years when Buddha earned Enlightenment, Buddhist 

Emperor Asoka visited Bodh Gaya so as to ascertain a cloister and shrine on the holy website. The new Mahabodhi temple enclosed a diamond throne (called the Vajrasana) to mark the precise spot of the Buddha's enlightenment. whereas Asoka is taken into account the Mahabodhi temple's founder, the present structure dates from the 5th–6th century. One scholar, however, considers the building "largely a nineteenth-century British archeologic Survey of Republic of India reconstruction supported what's typically believed to be AN about fifth-century structure."[citation needed] before that, there looks to own been a pointed structure maybe inbuilt regarding the second century (Kuṣāṇa period). information of it comes solely from atiny low, circa fourth century terracotta plaque found at trendy Patna. it's vital that this version doesn't have the higher terrace with the little temples within the four corners. These tiny temples, though not used per se these days, most likely mirrored bound mysterious traditions in Buddhism that were rising additional and additional into less mysterious contexts by the late fourth and early fifth century. The pointed temple most likely replaced AN open collapsible shelter that had been created round the tree and also the Asokan platform. Representations of this early temple arc found at Sanci, on the toraṇas of Stūpa I, geological dating from around twenty five before Christ, and on a relief carving from the stupa railing at Bhārhut (Fig.20), from the first Shunga amount (c. 185-c. 73 BC).Mahabodhi is one in every of the earliest Buddhist temples engineered entirely in brick that's still standing in Republic of India, from the late Gupta amount.

Mahabodhi Tample
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