Cave
21:
The interior view towards left aisle shows
mature sense of the use of space. The pillars are well carved and the remains
of plaster show that there were paintings on the ceiling. Equally interesting
is the view from the right front corner.
CHAITYA HALL:
This
is also a Chaitya gathering hall of the 5th-6th century A.D. The verandh opens
in to a court. There is a colonnade inside, composed of 26 pillars. This forms
the aisles. One can go round the cylindrical stupa in circumambulation. The walls
have relief carvings. Also, the round stupa is decorated.
BUDDHA IN PARINIRVANA:
On the left wall, by the verandah, is the large statue of dead Buddha. The Buddhist
calls this sleeping figure the Buddha in parinirvana.
TEMPATION OF BUDDHA:
On the same wall, further ahead is a relief sculpture of Temptation of Buddha
by the demon mara.
Cave 24:
PILLAR STYLE:
Unfinished pillars
of the front aisle are worth nothing for the evolution of the pillar style. The
earliest pillars are simple, roughly shaped on four sides. Later the Mahayana
period they were tapered into octagonal form.
PILASTER:
The pilaster
at right end of porch elaborate piece of work, even though the cave 24 remained
unfinished. There are small groups in the medallion.
PORCHED DOORWAY UPPER
RIGHT CORNER:
The splendid T-shaped doorway came very late in the 7th
century. The interior of the cave was left unfinished because patronage at Ajanta
had ceased by that time.
Cave 26:
CHAITYA HORSESHOE ARCH:
The Chaitya Horseshoe arch of this 5th century cave is imposing. There are various
fine images of the Buddha sculpted with rare skill.
SRAVASTI MIRACLE:
The circumambulatory passage is full of them. Mostly they represent the sravasti
miracle. This miracle was based on the legend when the Buddha revealed himself
in all his various forms on the skies above the village of sravasti.
NAGAS,
NANDA, ANUPANANDA:
At the bottom of the relief, the Nagas, nanda, and
anupananda are shown holding the stem of the lotus. This lotus is the cosmic axis
on which the Buddha is seated.
GODDESS:
There is a goddess on the
bracket of the first pillar on left in the interior. She is standing under a fully
blossomed tree. Underneath is a lunette of a family group
BUDDHA HEAD WITH
CURLY HAIR:
There is a vital Buddha head with curly hair and large ear
lobes in this cave.
FAMILY GROUP:
There is a family group with
profuse floral decoration around it, which shows the ideal human family of that
time.
Cave 27:
NAGA DWARPALA:
There is a Naga Dwarpala
on the outer flank of the shrine. This cave follows many elements from cave 20.
For instance, the Naga here is similar to a Naga Dwarpala in cave 20.
In the
late 6th century work, the carving is not as firm as in cave 20.
PORCHED
DOORWAY:
The porched doorway of cave 27also derived from the shrine doorway
of cave 2. the decorations show the new fashion for splendor of the later centuries