Ajanta Ellora

Some of the world's most beautiful frescos and sculptures- Buddhist, Hindu and Jain- are found here. Beautiful photographs capture the richness of an ancient ethos.

Ellora is one of the great cave temple sites of India, with thirty-four major Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain monuments of the late sixth to tenth centuries A. D. This book describes the Buddhist caves at Ellora and places them in the context of Buddhist art and iconography. Ellora's twelve Buddhist cave temples, dating from the early seventh to the early eighth centuries, preserve an unparalleled one-hundred-year sequence of architectural and iconographical development. They reveal the evolution of a Buddhist mandala at sites in other regions often considered "peripheral" to the heartland of Buddhism in eastern India. At Ellora, the mandala, ordinarily conceived as a two-dimensional diagram used to focus meditation, is unfolded into the three-dimensional program of the cave temples themselves, enabling devotees to walk through the mandala during worship. The mandala's development at Ellora is explained and its significance is considered for the evolution of Buddhist art and iconography elsewhere in India.

This dictionary provides those studying or working in archaeology with a complete reference to the field.

Independent Publisher Award for Best Travel Book of the Year; Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Travel Essay of the Year; India Unveiled by Robert Arnett has been internationally acclaimed as one of the most revealing compendiums ever written about the country. The stunning photography and engaging text with an insightful portrait of its people, landscape, and diverse culture truly captures the essence of India, one of the oldest continuously surviving civilizations on earth. This book is a stunning pictorial record of Robert Arnett's pilgrimage....Recommended for all collections. - Library Journal; The most beautiful book on India I have ever seen. - Toby Bourne, Editor, British Book-of-the-Month Travel Club; One of the most revealing compendiums on India in decades....A highly recommended acquisition. - The Midwest Book Review, Reviewers Choice

Report with reference to the state of Maharashtra, India.