Padmapani stands as guardian, offering a vision
of peace to all who enter.
Statues of bodhisattvas greet visitors to the
caves, just as they must have welcomed the
pilgrims, monks, and merchants who passed
through Ajanta during its heyday. On the walls
are intricately composed murals that tell stories,
called Jatakas, from the many past lives of the
Buddha. Other works depict incidents from the
life of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gau-
tama, an Indian prince who lived a thousand
years earlier.
The paintings serve as illustrated classics,
fifth-century style, meant to awaken devotion
and heighten spiritual awareness through the act
of seeing. For most visitors today, the tales are
arcane—and yet the sensation of watching the
images emerge from the dark in all their grace
and beauty links then and now.Preservation Efforts
In modern times, the world has slowly redis-
covered the sublime power of the paintings.
National Geographic photographer Volkmar
Wentzel visited Ajanta and neighboring Ellora
on his 1946-47 journey across India. He wantedenlightenment, and many of their walls were
covered with inspirational paintings.
Only fragments of a majority of the murals
have survived the centuries. Enough remain to
summon the sensual and spiritual atmosphere
that infused these temples. All of known cre-
ation appears to have paraded across their walls.
There are images of the Buddha and of bodhi-
sattvas—other enlightened beings. There are
princes and princesses, merchants, beggars, mu-
sicians, servants, lovers, soldiers, and holy men.
Elephants, monkeys, buffalo, geese, horses, and
even ants join the human throng. Trees bloom,
lotus blossoms open, vines curl and reach.
One of the most enchanting murals depicts
the beatific figure of a bodhisattva who rep-
resents infinite compassion, Padmapani (also
known as Avalokitesvara) holding a lotus. Ap-
pearing near the entrance of one of the shrines,STONE
SLEEPER
Sculpted in the late
fifth or early sixth
century, a reclining
Buddha (above) is one
of the richly detailed
sculptures adorning
Cave 26 in Ajanta.
MMAHAUX PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTYAHAUX PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY
All of known creation appears to have
paraded across their walls. There are
images of the Buddha and of bodhisattvas.88 MAY/JUNE 2022
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