Ajanta and Ellora

From Jalgaon we visited the fabulous caves of Ajanta and Ellora.
These two places were ostensibly monasteries.

The Ajanta area was a Buddhist University devoted to meditation and refinement of Buddhist philosophies, while Ellora became a cave complex which served to uplift at least three major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

Also, many other ancient religions seem to be referenced by the imagery: goddess worship, for instance. Keep in mind too that these places were cloisters for men. This may explain why the female form was always very busty; a rather adolescent depiction for monks who, at least occasionally, were probably forcibly stuck in kind of permanent adolescence.
Ellora is especially fascinating because it seems to display an artistic arms race between these religions in their attempt to outdo one another’s ability in sculpture, painting, and cave design.
All had their specialties. The Buddhists clearly prided themselves on precision. The Jains enjoyed connecting their caves so that dwellers there did not have to leave one to enter the next. And the Hindus utilized great imagination and sculptural skill to create fantastic (and massive) mythological beasts.
For the ancients who lived near the caves, these carved temples must have been one of the more extraordinary sights they were likely to see in their lifetimes. The equivalent for the average westerner would be a film trilogy like The Lord of the Rings. This comparison is not meant to diminish these marvelous caves. The truth is they are at least as remarkable as the Egyptian pyramids. However, we now have such a plentitude of incredible things to see through television and film media that a visitor today to Ellora would be forgiven for wondering why it hasn’t yet been used as a film set.

NB