"Be islands unto yourselves. 

Take the self as your refuge. 

Take yourself to no external refuge. 

Hold fast to the dharma as an island." 

The sacred places of pilgrimage directly associated with Buddha -- Lumbini, Sarnath, Bodhgaya, Kusinagara -- are all in northern India. But Maharashtra is unequalled in its wealth of splendid rock-cut sanctuaries in the country, Maharashtra has over 1,000 -- indispensable for the study of Buddhist art and architecture. Pilgrims from many lands come to pay homage to the Enlightened One, at one or more of these cave temples in Maharashtra.

The Buddhist bhikshu (monk) was a wanderer, carrying Buddha’s message of compassion and code of ethics from village to village. Often he followed the trade routes that criss-crossed the Deccan plateau, connecting wealthy towns and urban emporiums with one of the several flourishing sea ports and trading centres on the west coast.

Sometimes he would meet a caravan of merchandise going to Barygaza (today’s Bharuch,) or Sopara from where ships would carry these prized goods to distant countries. Sometimes there would be a Greek or Roman merchant in the company, curious to hear the teachings of the Enlightened One, a merchant who might donate generously to the sangha, the Buddhist order.

Traversing the hilly terrain of central India, the bhikshus sheltered in secluded caves, particularly during the monsoon. The enforced rain retreat may have encouraged monastic community life and, in time, meditation and prayer rituals. The trap rock of the Deccan with alternating hard and soft strata was easy to excavate as the bhikshus soon found, when they wished to enlarge their cells or provide shelter for their companions. 

Architecture closely followed religion and with the devotional phase of Buddhism came the chaitya or chapel for congregational prayer. With just hammer and chisel held in the hands, the bhikshus carved out viharas, residential cells, and chaityas for their monastic complexes. The earliest example of Buddhist architecture was the stupa, erected to house a relic. There are traces of simple funerary mounds at Elephanta Island but little is known about their history. Emperor Ashoka built several of these stone memorials as part of an imperial effort to spread Buddhism over his vast empire. The stupa at Nalasopara (Nalasopara is just outside Mumbai, 55 kms from Churchgate, south Mumbai, on the Central Railway line) -- once the headquarters of Ashoka’s important western province -- yielded a rich find of funerary caskets (now housed at The Asiatic Society of Bombay), layered one inside the other. Nearby stands a fragment of one of Ashoka’s rock edicts on the dharma (now in the collection of the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai).

The viharas at Kanheri indicate a large monastic settlement which probably began in the 1st century AD when the bhikshus followed the austere Hinayana tradition. The settlement grew into a scholastic centre with a large library and continued through generations of monks for several centuries. The cells are provided with stone beds and cisterns for storing water, and are connected by walkways.

Over time, the bhikshus enlarged their rock-cut caves and in each group of viharas one was set aside as a chapel for meditation and the performance of prayer rituals. A stupa, now a votive memorial, was carved at the inner end and the arrangement of columns allowed a circumambulatory passage around it. Over the entrance was the characteristic arch in the shape of a pipal leaf.

Originally simple and even severe, as at Bhaja, the chaitya developed into an impressive shrine like the magnificent Karla chaitya of the 2nd century AD -- an inscription here claims that it is the finest in ancient India. Wealthy merchants and townspeople as well as simple villagers from nearby would worship in these temples within caves and their patronage sustained the sangha, as recorded at Karla.

The facade of the chaitya grew increasingly elaborate as Hinayana asceticism slowly came to be replaced by the exuberance of Mahayana architecture and sculpture.

At Ajanta, the intricate arrangement of horizontal friezes in traditional designs of railings and arches, interspersed with seated and standing figures of Buddha and bodhisattvas almost make a mandala or mystic diagram of the facade. Elaborately carved and decorated, the votive stupas, often adorned with a figure of Buddha, within these later chaityas are a far cry from the original which they resemble only in form.

As Buddha had forbidden images to be made of himself, in the early years, Buddhist iconography used a variety of symbols to remind the devout of the Enlightened One. The bodhi tree, the empty seat, the wheel of dharma, the deer recalling the sermon at Sarnath, his footprints, all symbolized Buddha who was not depicted in human form till about the 1st century AD. By this time Buddhism had developed into a devotional form of worship and images of Buddha in attitudes of blessing or in deep meditation were installed in the chaityas. Mahayana transformed him into a God and legends of his previous births, the Jataka tales, and episodes from his life inspired the painters and sculptors of Ajanta in the following centuries.

The deep faith of the bhikshu illuminated by the imaginative artistic mind is expressed in the wall paintings of Ajanta which in conception and execution are unrivalled in the art heritage of the world.

The artist used the simplest tools and accessories -- a metal sheet to reflect sunlight into the shadowy recesses of the caves, vegetables and mineral ores for pigments. His aesthetic perception, keen appreciation of nature and extraordinary talent infuse the paintings in Ajanta with a wonderful vibrancy, so that the walls seem to throb with movement and emotion.

Buddhist, Hindu and Jain faiths flourished harmoniously side by side in the tranquil atmosphere of Ellora. With the passing of time Mahayana Buddhism absorbed Tantric ideas and these influences are evident here. The strong, sober style of the pillars and massive sculptures with the viharas and chaityas is most impressive though the visitor is so overwhelmed by the grandeur of the Kailasa rock-cut shrine that often he has no time for the Buddhist group of caves.

Imagination, skill and piety at Ellora soar into double and triple-storeyed cave sanctuaries carved into the hillside. Decorative features now transform the traditional pipal leaf of the chaitya and give it a trefoil shape. The viharas have pillared verandahs, another new architectural feature. The two-tiered Vishwakarma is both a chaitya and a vihara and has a large figure of a seated Buddha.

At first, Buddha was most often depicted with his right hand raised in blessing or reassurance -- abhaya mudra. Later iconography has a number of mudras or hand gestures that were associated with events and episodes in Buddha’s life. Bhumispara, touching the earth, when he called the earth to witness his ministry; dharmachakra, turning of the wheel of dharma, signifying teaching; varadha mudra, right hand held at shoulder level in benediction; dhyana mudra, hands laid one over the other, palms upward, as he sits in deep meditation…

Tantric influences are very apparent in the Aurangabad Caves. Iconography now extends to elements like vajra, thunderbolt, which both destroys and is indestructible and is the emblem of Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism. Buddha appears here as Sakyamuni, seated on an intricately carved lion throne recalling his royal birth. 

At Pitalkhora on the ancient trade route linking Ajanta and Ellora and travelling down to the coast, the earliest caves are Hinayana sanctuaries with a later group added in the 5th and 6th centuries. The paintings bear a strong likeness to Ajanta and the richness and finesse of the carvings here indicate skills surpassing the accomplishment at earlier sites.

Yet another centre of learning and meditation flourished at Nashik on the banks of the river Godavari. From the emporiums of this city, caravans of merchandise crossed the hills to reach Pitalkhora and Pratisthana (Paithan). The simple cells of the bhikshus, some fitted with doors and windows, contrast interestingly with the imposing pillared facades of the chaityas at Nashik.

Buddhist art reflects many distinct influences. The first images of Buddha were made at Mathura and also in the ancient province of Gandhara in north-west India (roughly the Peshawar valley today in Pakistan) during the time of the Kushan kings -- about the end of the 1st century BC. Artists and craftsmen from Rome came to Gandhara and they invested their figures of the Enlightened One with features and toga-like robes that were more Roman than Indian. Simultaneously, an indigenous style developed at Mathura, on the banks of the river Jamuna, which was the southern capital of the Kushan empire.

The sculptor here skilfully portrayed the tranquillity of nirvana as well as the physical marks of perfection that distinguished Buddha -- long ear lobes, cranial protuberance, and wheels on the soles of his feet. Examples of both Gandhara and Mathura art can be seen at the Heras Institute Museum and the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai.

Under the royal patronage of the Gupta kings and their vassals there was a wonderful flowering of the Indian artistic genius which found expression in many different centres of Buddhism. Figures of Buddha from this period, the 4th and 5th century AD, are infused with spirituality and are impressive in their serenity. A strong sense of theatre pervades Gupta art giving it vitality and rhythm and from this classicism emerged a style that travelled out of centres like Ajanta as Buddhism found its way to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and to China and Japan.