Authors: … It is a group of 22 rock-cut caves and depicts a typical early phase of Buddhist architecture marked by deep apsidal hall cut in solid rock, with a row of plain octagonal pillars near the walls. Here we have brief covered all the remaining topics which were left out in the first 2 lessons . The caves were carved out of granite, an extremely hard rock, then finished with a very nice polishing of the inner surface, giving a mirror effect of a great regularity, as well as an echo effect. 1. Both these caves have been accorded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Art and Culture: Summary of Class XI NCERT. Early examples included overhanging rock decorated with rock-cut designs. 2. [33] The earliest of the Kanheri Caves were excavated in the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C., as were those at Ajanta, which were occupied continuously by Buddhist monks from 200 BCE to 650 AD. Architectural elements are borrowed from: The earliest caves employed by humans were natural caves used by local inhabitants for a variety of purposes, such as shrines and shelters. [38], The earliest rock-cut chaityas, similar to free-standing ones, consisted of an inner circular chamber with pillars to create a circular path around the stupa and an outer rectangular hall for the congregation of the devotees. A walk through Sana Caves takes you to exciting viharas, which refers to pillared verandahs containing one or two cells. Cave temples are cavities of various sizes that are chiseled directly out of solid rock, sometimes directly on the face of sheer cliffs. Please mark this answer as brainliest! Earliest known examples of rock-cut architecture belong to Buddhism. These are carved out of a rock of about 80 metres high and about 380 metres long. Cave No.19 at the Nasik Caves has one inscription of king Krishna of the Satavahanas, which is the oldest known Satavahana inscription, dated to 100-70 BCE[36][37]. Facade. There are twenty-nine caves in Ajanta with Chaityas and Viharas as the two dominant types. This is one of a series of caves excavated out of the volcanic rock that extends along a cliff overlooking the Wagora River at Ajanta, about two hours north of the present-day city of Aurangabad, in Maharastra state in western India. The Ajanta caves are considered masterpieces of Buddhist architecture and contain living and sleeping quarters, kitchens, monastic spaces, shrines, and stupas. Each cell has two stone beds. Caves that were enlarged or entirely man-made were felt to hold the same sanctity as natural caves. The construction of the worship halls depicted the architecture of Christian … [24][25], This know-how seems to have disappeared again after the Maurya period, none of the later caves such as the Ajanta caves having this characteristic of polished surfaces. The construction of caves would wane after the 2nd century CE, possibly due to the rise of Mahayana Buddhism and the associated intense architectural and artistic production in Gandhara and Amaravati. Buddhist caves abound in the western ghats. The Jain and Buddhist monks lived in these caves and meditated. Some of the finest sculptures and paintings are in the caves at Ajanta. ~Cave number 6: The unique feature of this cave is the figure of Hindu Goddess of learning, 'Saraswati' whom the Buddhist called, 'Mahamayuri'.We can also find figures of river Goddesses, 'Ganga' and 'Yamuna.' Worship could take place anywhere and at anytime. Magnificent paintings, sculptures inside the walls of the caves leaves you spellbound. 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