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As well as the high quality carvings the main fame for Ajanta is the superb murals inside many of the caves. They are the earliest known Buddhist cave paintings in India as well as the finest. They are believed to have been painted between the 2nd century and 5th century AD. They are depictions of the Buddha's life and from the Jataka tales which recount stories from Buddha's previous incarnations. Both mineral and vegetable pigments were used in the paints. Some elements on the ceilings were purely decorative.
No flash was allowed and there was not much light so the photos do not really do the pictures justice but they give an idea of what is there.
This is Padmapani (Lotus-Holder) the Bodhisattva of Compassion, surrounded by celestial beings and air-borne figures.
Prince
Mahajanaka, surrounded by female attendants, who later renounced the world to
become an ascetic.
Some
fine elephants in a garden.
Part
of a ceiling depicting flowers and scenes from daily life, including theses two
men talking.
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