Ajanta Cave 21: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings

Summary: The 200th anniversary year of Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures in central-west India associates Ajanta cave 21 with abundant area and animal art.

pillars and pilasters of chapel in left aisle of Ajanta Cave 21; Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, central-west India; Friday, March 10, 2017, 05:30: Photo Dharma from Sadao, Thailand (Anandajoti Bhikkhu [Anandajoti]), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

The 200th anniversary year of Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures, European-accessed since April 28, 1819, in India approaches animal-associated artistry and approximate area of Ajanta cave 21 to Ajanta cave 23.

Ajanta cave 21 belongs among the 1,300- to 1,600-year-old second-phase monastery caves from the fifth through sixth, seventh or eighth centuries C.E. in north-central Maharashtra state. It communicates commodious characteristics not common to first-phase, 2,000- to 2,300-year-old monastery caves 8, 12, 13 and 15A/30 constructed between the third and first centuries B.C.E. It, like Ajanta cave 23, displays Hindu mythological animals that derive from the devotional, instructional, meditational Buddhism directed by Vakataka dynasty emperors to their Ajanta subkings.

The 200th anniversary year of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures encounters embellished doorways and pillars in Ajanta cave 21 and in Ajanta cave 23.

Ajanta cave 21 figures as second-largest monastery cavern of six second-phase monastery caves between two second-phase chaitya (from Sanskrit चैत्य, "funereal mound, pedestal, pile") prayer halls.

Its 96.13- by 96.13-foot (29.3- by 29.3-meter) dimensions give Ajanta cave 24 the grandest ground area of six monastery caves between chaitya caves 19 and 26. Their respective 93.70- by 91.96-foot (28.6- by 28.03-meter) and 92.91- by 73.88-foot (28.32- by 22.52-meter) dimensions herald Ajanta caves 21 and 23 as second- and third-largest. Ajanta cave 21 includes stone-carved pillars for four dormitory porches and for one veranda and 12 square-based pillars in the entry hall to 12 dormitory cells.

Tourists in the 200th anniversary year of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures journey around Ajanta caves 21 and 23 judicious door and pillar decorations.

Ajanta cave 21 and Ajanta cave 23 kindled different stone-carved pillar decorations and distinct stone-sculpted serpentine doorkeepers from Ajanta (from Sanskrit अजित, "invincible") artisans and monks.

Ajanta cave 21 looks more like Ajanta cave 23 than the other four monasteries between chaitya prayer halls 19 and 26 because of sculptures and size. The Sangha (from Sanskrit संघ, "multitude") lay and monastic community mixed devotional, instructional, meditational Buddhism and Hindu mythology in Ajanta cave 21 and Ajanta cave 23. Sangha communal itinerant artisans and monks nestled naga (from Sanskrit नाग, "serpent") guardians into the framed, sculpted doors of Ajanta cave 21 and Ajanta cave 23.

Ajanta cave 21 offers the 200th anniversary year of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures Hindu mythological serpent offspring of Khadru and the sage Kasyapa.

The Great Bear constellation personifies Kasyapa, grandson of the Hindu god of wisdom Brahma, and the other great sages Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Jamadagne, Vasishta and Visvamitra.

Kasyapa's and Khadru's son, the serpent king Shesha, qualifies as supporter of the heavenly world over the middle and lower worlds and as symbol of eternity. His five- and seven-headed, jewel-hooded cobras (Naja naja) rally around enlightenment-seeking Siddhartha Gautama (from Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ, "successful" and गोतम, "light [dispels] darkness") and jewel-rich Patala netherworlds. The Ajanta cave 21 sanctum sanctōrum (from Latin, from Hebrew קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים, "holy of holies") sculpture shows Gautama Buddha (from Sanskrit बुद्ध, "awakened") after serpent-sheltered enlightenment.

Hindu mythology's best door- and jewel-keepers turn up as Ajanta cave 21 door sculptures in the 200th anniversary year of Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures.

pillars and pilasters of chapel in left aisle of Ajanta Cave 21, drawn by Scottish archaeologist James Burgess (Aug. 14, 1832-Oct. 3, 1916); plate photo-lithography by William Griggs (Oct. 4, 1832-Dec. 7, 1911); J. Fergusson and J. Burgess, The Cave Temples of India (1880), Plate XLIX: via Internet Archive

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

pillars and pilasters of chapel in left aisle of Ajanta Cave 21; Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, central-west India; Friday, March 10, 2017, 05:30: Photo Dharma from Sadao, Thailand (Anandajoti Bhikkhu [Anandajoti]), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:050_Cave_21,_Side_Chapel_(34246652201).jpg;
Anandajoti Bhikkhu (Anandajoti), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/anandajoti/34246652201/

pillars and pilasters of chapel in left aisle of Ajanta Cave 21, drawn by Scottish archaeologist James Burgess (Aug. 14, 1832-Oct. 3, 1916); plate photo-lithography by William Griggs (Oct. 4, 1832-Dec. 7, 1911); J. Fergusson and J. Burgess, The Cave Temples of India (1880), Plate XLIX: via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cavetemplesofind00ferguoft/page/n660

For further information:

"Ajanta Cave 21." IndiaNetzone > Art & Culture > Indian Monuments > World Heritage Monuments in India > World Heritage Monuments in West India > Ajanta Caves.
Available @ https://www.indianetzone.com/61/ajanta_cave_21.htm

"Ajanta Caves Vulnerable to Landslides, Says Study." NDTV > India > News > August 6, 2014 15:50 IST.
Available @ https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/ajanta-caves-vulnerable-to-landslides-says-study-616005

Bankar, M.V.; and N.P. Bhosle. November-December 2017. "Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants in Ajanta Region (MS) India." IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences Volume 12, Issue 6 Ver. II: 59-64.
Available @ http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/Vol12-issue6/Version-2/I1206025964.pdf

Barrett, Douglas E.; and Basil Gray. 1963. Painting of India. Geneva, Switzerland: Skira, Treasures of Asia. Distributed in the United States by World Publishing Co., Cleveland OH.

Behl, Benoy K. 2005. The Ajanta Caves: Ancient Paintings of Buddhist India. London UK: Thames & Hudson.

Boyd, Ryan. 14 December 2018. "Sacred Sites: Ajanta Caves." Evolve + Ascend > Ancient Wisdom > Culture > Occult > Sacred Sites.
Available @ http://www.evolveandascend.com/2018/12/14/sacred-sites-ajanta-caves/

Boyle, Alan. 25 November 2013. "Religious Roots of Buddha's Birthplace Traced Back 2,600 Years." NBC News > Science News.
Available @ https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/religious-roots-buddhas-birthplace-traced-back-2-600-years-2D11648772

Burgess, J. (James). 1879. "Notes on the Bauddha Rock-Temples of Ajanta, Their Paintings and Sculptures, and on the Paintings of the Bagh Caves, Modern Bauddha Mythology, &c." Archaeological Society of Western India, no. 9. Bombay, India: Government Central Press.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/archaeologicals01indigoog/

Dalrymple, William. 15 August 2014. "The Ajanta Cave Murals: 'Nothing Less Than the Birth of Indian Art.'" The Guardian > Culture > Art & Design.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/15/mural-ajanta-caves-india-birth-indian-art

Fergusson, James. 1845. Illustrations of the Rock-Cut Temples of India: Text to Accompany the Folio Volume of Plates. London, England.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008483717/

Fergusson, James. 1845. Illustrations of the Rock-Cut Temples of India: Selected From the Best Examples of the Different Series of Caves at Ellora, Ajunta, Cuttack, Salsette, Karli, and Mahavellipore. Drawn on Stone by Mr. T.C. Dibdin, From Sketches Carefully Made on the Spot, With the Assistance of the Camera-Lucida, in the Years 1838-9. London, England: John Weale, M.DCCC.XLV.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008543106/

Fergusson, James; and James Burgess. 1880. The Cave Temples of India. London, England: W.H. Allen & Co.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cavetemplesofind00ferguoft/

Fergusson, James; and Robert Gill. 1864. The Rock-Cut Temples of India; Illustrated by Seventy-Four Photographs Taken on the Spot by Major Gill. Described by James Fergusson. London, England: John Murray.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100206115
Available via Wikisource @ https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rock-cut_Temples_of_India

Gill, Robert. 1850. "Ground Plan of Cave 21, Ajanta." British Library > Online Gallery > Online Exhibitions > Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections.
Available @ http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019wdz000001092u00016000.html

Gill, Robert; and James Fergusson. 1864. One Hundred Stereoscopic Illustrations of Architecture and Natural History in Western India. Photographed by Major Gill and described by James Fergusson. London, England: Cundall, Downes & Co.

Gupte, R.S.; and B.D. Mahajan. 1962. Ajanta, Ellora and Aurangabad Caves. Bombay, India: D.B. Taraporevala Sons and Co.

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 September 2019. "Ajanta Cave 15: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/ajanta-cave-15-200th-anniversary-year.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 September 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 7." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 August 2019. "Mandana Wall Paintings: 200th Anniversary of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/mandana-wall-paintings-200th.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 August 2019. "Warli Wall Paintings: 200th Anniversary of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/warli-wall-paintings-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 August 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 11." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 August 2019. "Ajanta Cave 6: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/ajanta-cave-6-200th-anniversary-year-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 August 2019. "200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 18." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_2.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 July 2019. "Ajanta Cave 25: 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/ajanta-cave-25-200th-anniversary-year.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 July 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh Achieved at An Quang the Aims of Ajanta Jataka Tales." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/thich-nhat-hanh-achieved-at-quang-aims.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 July 2019. "Engaged Buddhism of Thich Nhat Hanh Allies With Ajanta Jataka Tales." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/engaged-buddhism-of-thich-nhat-hanh.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 July 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh and Indra's Net at Parallax Press and Ajanta Cave 17.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/thich-nhat-hanh-and-indras-net-at.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 June 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, La Boi and Ajanta Cave 16 Ace Outstanding Inner Peace.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-la-boi-and-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 June 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh and Indra's Net at Van Hanh and Ajanta Cave 1.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-and-indras-net-at-van.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 June 2019. “Indra's Net Affects Thich Nhat Hanh, Phap Van and Ajanta Cave 2.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/indras-net-affects-thich-nhat-hanh-phap.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 June 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Indra's Net at Phuong Boi and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/thich-nhat-hanh-indras-net-at-phuong.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 31 May 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Indra's Net at Bat Nha and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-indras-net-at-bat-nha.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Stream Entering Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-stream-entering.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Thai Plum Village and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-thai-plum-village-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, AIAB Hong Kong and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-aiab-hong-kong-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, EIAB Germany and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/thich-nhat-hanh-eiab-germany-and-ajanta.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Deer Park Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-deer-park-monastery-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Blue Cliff Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-blue-cliff-monastery.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village Tradition and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-plum-village-tradition.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Tu Hieu Temple Walks and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/04/thich-nhat-hanh-tu-hieu-temple-walks.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 March 2019. "Thich Nhat Hanh, Walking Meditations and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/thich-nhat-hanh-walking-meditations-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 13.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_22.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 12.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 8.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_8.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 15A/30.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/03/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_1.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 February 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Pithora Wall Art.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 29.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave_15.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 26 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/ajanta-cave-26-in-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 19 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/ajanta-cave-19-in-200th-anniversary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 25 January 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings in Ajanta Cave 9.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/200th-anniversary-year-of-ajanta-cave.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 January 2019. “Ancient Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings and Inscriptions in Ajanta Cave 10.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/ancient-ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 January 2019. “Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings Ailing at World Heritage Centre Site.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/ajanta-cave-wall-paintings-ailing-at.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 January 2019. “Accurate, Ancient, Artistic Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings to Buddha.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/accurate-ancient-artistic-ajanta-cave.html

Pisani, Ludovico. 6 August 2013. "The Ajanta Cave Paintings." The Global Dispatches > Articles and Culture.
Available @ http://www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/the-ajanta-cave-paintings

Singh, Rajesh. 2012. An Introduction to the Ajanta Caves: With Examples of Six Caves. Vadodara, India: Hari Sena Press Private Limited.

Singh, Rajesh Kumar. 2017. Ajanta Cave No. 1: Documented According to the Ajanta Corpus of Dieter Schlingloff (Photographic Compendium, Ajanta Narrative Painting). Vadodara, India: Hari Sena Press Private Limited.

Somathilake, Mahinda. June 2013. "Painted Jataka Stories of Ancient Sri Lanka." International Journal of Arts and Commerce 2(6): 139-150.
Available @ https://ijac.org.uk/images/frontImages/gallery/Vol._2_No._6/14.pdf

Spink, Walter M. 2018. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 1: The End of the Golden Age. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/1. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2018. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 2: Arguments about Ajanta. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/2. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2005. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 3: The Arrival of the Uninvited. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/3. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2008. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 4: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture - Year by Year. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/4. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M. 2006. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 5: Cave by Cave. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/5. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter. 2017. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 7: Bagh, Dandin, Cells and Cell Doorways. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/7. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Spink, Walter M; and Naomichi Yaguchi. 2014. Ajanta: History and Development. Volume 6: Defining Features. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 2 South Asia, Volume 18/6. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Uno, Tomoko; and Yoshiko Shimazdu. "Thermal Environment in Ajanta Caves." Archi-Cultural Translations through the Silk Road: 2nd International Conference, Mukogawa Women's University, Nishinomiya, Japan, July 14-16, 2012, Proceedings.
Available @ http://www.mukogawa-u.ac.jp/~iasu2012/pdf/iaSU2012_Proceedings_401.pdf

"World Heritage Sites - About Ajanta Caves 01 to 29." Archeological Survey of India > Monuments > World Heritage Site > Ajanta > About Caves.
Available @ https://web.archive.org/web/20120501151253/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_whs_ajanta_caves.asp