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AURANGABAD

GROUP HOTELS : CITIES : AURANGABAD HOTELS : AURANGABAD SIGHTSEEING

GENERAL INFO

A quiet city in the Northern Maharashtra, Aurangabad is the largest city in the region. An otherwise a quiet town, it wakes up during the political rallies and demonstrations. The town is named after Aurangzeb and has many places to see admire and to know about. The most famous excursion to be taken from Aurangabad is that of Ajanta and Ellora caves. History of Aurangabad goes back to 2200 years when it was known as Rajtadak and Kirkee Fatehnager. Finally it was named as Aurangabad.

SIGHTSEEING

PANCHAKKI
Panchakki (Water Wheel) takes its name from the mill that in its days was considered a marvel of engineering. Driven by water brought through earthen pipes from the river 6 kms away, the mill once ground grain for pilgrims. The mill itself is to the right of the first tank as you enter.
It is also the shrine of a saint, Baba Shah Musafir.

HIMROO FACTORY
Tucked away in the old town near Zaffar Gate, this small workshop is the only place in the city that still produces hand-woven Himroo shawls from cotton, silk and silver threads. This art developed as a cheaper alternative to the more extravagant brocades of silk and gold thread, known as Kam Khab, that were woven for royalty in the 14^th century. Aurangabad is well known for its Himroo, shawls and saris. It can be found in the many showrooms around the market area. Most are mass produced using power looms but here you can see the tradational process. Many of the designs are based on motifs in Ajanta frescoes.
 

BIBI KA MAQBARA
Bibi Ka Maqbara is the tomb of Begum Rabia Durani, wife of Emperor Aurangazeb. The monument is an excellent example of Persian Architecture - the arched aclove surmounted by a swelling dome. Bibi Ka Maqbara is considered to be a poor imitation of Taj Mahal of Agra. The layout and surrounding of the tomb is very much similar to that of Taj but some how the architecture fails to produce the magic of Taj. Nevertheless, the monument has its own charm and has been attracting tourists from far & wide.

WESTERN GROUP
All the caves are viharas, except for cave 4. This is the oldest cave at Aurangabad, and is a Hinayana chaitya with a ribbed roof and is fronted by stupa and is now partially collapsed. Cave 3 is square and is supported by 12 highly ornate columns

AJANTA CAVES
When the echo of the chisel faded, the world forgot these cave temples. Till the 19th century these caves were hidden under thick forest growth. These caves are representation of Buddhist thoughts which were etched on walls of these caves. These caves were built between 2nd century B.C to 7th century A.D. The 30 Chaityas and Viharas have paintings which illustrate the life and incarnations of Buddha. The artist has lent his creativity in each work with an overwhelming sense of vitality. These paintings have survived time and till date the numerous paintings glowing on the walls leave visitors spell-bounded. The contours of these figures and positions of their hands make the atmosphere very vibrant and alive. Ajanta caves were meant to provide seclusion to the Buddhist monks and their hammer & chisel offered a rich tapestry of images that speak of places, royalty, culture and tales of everyday life of ancient India.

 The artist's skill and creativity were contemplated by his keen sense of observation. Many of the panels of the caves hold depcition of the Jatakas and numerous images of Buddha, Nymphs and Princesses. The flying Apsara in cave 17, the preaching Buddha in cave 16 to the sculptured Nagaraja in a sitting posture with his consort and a female attendant are to name a few of the popular caves. Some of these enigmatic caves are illuminated by the natural light at a particular time of the day.

Ajanta also forms the base of a motif which was frequently used in the paintings - even in the 19th century Rajput miniature paintings. The motif of two lovers, a mithuna couple has been used in many of Ajanta paintings. One can spend days exploring, discovering and learning these caves but still the urge to see more hangs in the mind. The caves are so fascinating that one feels like coming here again and again.

ELLORA CAVES
34 temples carved out of stones, 34 sculptured caves expressing Hindu, Buddhist and Jain themes, 34 priceless pages out of history. It took over five centuries for the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain monks to chisel out these monastries, temples, chaples and decorate them with remarkable imagination and detail. These caves run North-South and take on the Golden Radiance of the late afternoon sun.

The Buddhist Expression -These sixteen caves are the oldest in the group and were carved in the 5th century. As one enters these caves, one crosses graceful angles and steps in a high ceilinged chamber where a 15 feet huge statute of Buddha is sitting in a preaching pose. In these caves the artist has tried an element of surprise by giving them expression of wood. Most of these 16 caves are viharas but cave number 10 is a chaitya. The style of carvings and sculplures in these caves indicate that initially the artist was going in for a simple decoration but later as in caves 11 and 12 he became more ambitious. The 10th cave has a impression of wooden beams on its ceiling and has a small decorated window which illuminates the sitting Buddha. These caves are rightly called the Vishvakarma caves and is considered to be one of the finest in India. Here life and religion go hand in hand. The amorous couples play joyfully. Step out of this cave and you come acros an upper gallery giving a view of the precisely carved Naga Queen, the harbinger of monsoon and the dwarfs who were the court entertainers. The Buddhists believe that Buddha returns after every five thousand years, thus the 12th cave has seven images of Budhha depicting his seven incarnations.

The Hindu Expression- The Hindu caves exhibit a totally different league from the Jain and Buddhist temples in terms of style, creative vision and execution skills. These temples were built top to bottom and the architecture of these caves show that it required several generations of planning and cordination to give it the final shape. Cave 14 was initially a Buddh Vihar but in the 7th centutry it was dedicated as a Shiva temple. Here Shiva is depicted as 'The Destroyer'. The 16th cave in the group is one of the audacious feat in architecture ever achieved. The idea was to build Mt. Kailash from a single stone. Hence the name Kailasnath temple. The artist tried to give the structure the shape of a Temple. The scale at which the work was undertaken is enormous. It covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and is 11/2 times high, and it entailed removing 200,000 tonnes of rock & took 100 years to be completed. The Ramesvara cave has figurines of river Goddesses adorning its entrance. The Dumar Lena cave resembles the great cave shrine at Elephanta and is dedicated to lord Shiva.

The Jain Dedication- Each of the caves show the beliefs of the Jains, and their strict ascetism that embibed in them a spirit of non-violence towards all. These caves do not carry the high voltage drama of the Hindu or the Buddhist caves nor are they ambitious in size but they balance these with their exceptionally detailed work. The 32nd cave is a beautiful shrine with exquisite carvings of a lotus flower on the ceiling and an imposing yakshi seated on her lion under a mango-tree laden with fruit. The ceiling of this double-storied cave are also decorated with paintings.

AURANGABAD CAVES
Although they're easily overlooked in favour of the Ajanta and Ellora caves, Aurangabad has its own group of caves 2 kms north of the Bibi-ka-Maqbara. They were carved out of the hillside around the 6^th or 7^th century AD. The 10 caves are all Buddhist caves - 1 to 5 are in the western group and caves 6 to 10 are 1 km away in the eastern group.

EASTERN GROUP
Cave 6 is fairly intact and the sculptures of women are notable for their exotic hairstyles and ornamentation. Cave 7 is the most interesting of the Aurangabad caves, particularly for its sculptures. The figure of women, scantily clad and ornately bejewelled, are indicative of the rise of Tantric Buddhism during this period

To the left of the cave, a huge Bodhisattv prays for deliverance from the eight dangers: fire, the sword of the enemy, chains, shipwreck, lions, snakes, mad elephants and a demon (representing death)