Ajanta is a renowned name in the world of architecture. Amidst apicturesque landscape of Deccan basalt, 101 km north of Aurangabad in Maharshtra, there occurs a small hamelts-Ajanta. It has 30 Buddhist rock-cut caves which have won admiration from all corners of the world for their unique sculptures, carvings and mural paintings. The cave excavations started here in as early as 2nd century B.C. and as many as six caves-two chaitya halls and four monasteries were completed by the end of the 1st century B.C. The momentum of further excavation gained ground during the 5th-7th century A.D. after an interval of nearly 400 years when 24 more caves were added and most of the famous sculptures were chiselled out and masterpieces of the murals were painted.

The Ajanta caves possess an invaluable treasure of Indian art which imbibes inspiration in the art-loving people of all generations. The facades and the Chaitya halls show intense ornamentation and carvings. Rocks were hewn out to make figures of classic qualities. The entire course of the evolution of Buddhist architecture can be traced in Ajanta. The Hinayana type of images continued from 2nd century B.C. to 2nd Century A.D. The remarkable period of artistry was the later phase of cave building during the 6th century A.D. When there was the stupendous architectural upsurge of the Mahayana series. During this time, images of the Buddha on his different life stories and several types of human and animal figures were carved out of in-situ rock.

ELLORA
The ELLORA rock-cut caves, the most spectular of India's monuments, are located 29 km northwest of Aurangabad. The majestic beauty, the architectural style and the sculptures carved out of the Deccan trap rocks of ELLORA have been acclaimed by the entire world. The excavations were executed in different periods. The construction was started in 2.5 century A.D. and was continued later in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. in the Buddhist style of architecture. The construction activity, between 6th and 9th century A.D. was continued, mostly by the Hindus and Jains.

There are hundreds of caves cut at ELLORA. Out of these only 34 caves containing different sculptures are well preserved and have been declared as protected monuments. The Buddhist were the first religious people to make 12-rock-cut caves. These consisted of a prayer hall and attached monasteries. These were single-storeyed excavations with one hall up to 35 m deep and 18m wide entered through the verandah with long central hall containing different shrines or cells. Several others were three-storeyed with a number of cells to accommodate at least 40 priests. The most notable of the excavated caves is the Chaitya hall which measures 26*14*10m.In addition to the Buddhist caves, there are 17(Nos.13-29)Hindu caves and 5(No30-34) Jain caves.