hands of many different artists are visible. The paintings are numerous and from two periods, many narrating the Jataka tales in a clockwise sequence. Both Hinayana and Mahayana stage paintings are discernable, though the former are more faded and begrimed with early centuries of Hinayana worship. Of interest here is the Saddanta Jataka tale – the fable about six tusked elephant, and the Shyama Jataka – the story about the man who dedicates his life serving his blind parents. According to Stella Kramrisch, the oldest layer of the Cave 10 paintings date from about 100 BCE, and the principles behind their composition are analogous to those from the same era at Sanchi and Amaravati. Cave 11 Cave 11 is a monastery (19.87 × 17.35 m) from the later 5th century. The cave veranda has pillars with octagonal shafts and square bases. The ceiling of the veranda shows evidence of floral designs and eroded reliefs. Only the center panel is discernible wherein the Buddha is seen with votaries lining up to pray before him. Inside, the cave consists of a hall with a long rock bench opening into six rooms. Similar stone benches are found in Nasik Caves. Another pillared verandah ends in a sanctum with seated Buddha against an incomplete stupa, and has four cells. The cave has a few paintings showing Bodhisattvas and the Buddha. Of these, the Padmapani, a couple gathered to pray, a pair of peafowl, and a female figure painting have survived in the best condition. The sanctum of this cave may be among the last structures built at Ajanta because it features a circumambulation path around the seated Buddha. Cave 12 According to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Cave 12 is an early stage Hinayana (Theravada) monastery (14.9 × 17.82 m) from the 2nd to 1st century BCE. Spink however only dates it to the 1st century BCE. The cave is damaged with its front wall completely collapsed. Its three sides inside have twelve cells, each with two stone beds. Cave 13 Cave 13 is another small monastery from the early period, consisting of a hall with seven cells, each also with two stone beds, all carved out of the rock. Each cell has rock-cut beds for the monks. In contrast to ASI's estimate, Gupte and Mahajan date both these caves about two to three centuries later, between 1st and 2nd-century CE. Cave 14 Cave