<P> The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries and worship halls of different Buddhist traditions carved into a 250 feet wall of rock . The caves also present paintings depicting the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha , pictorial tales from Aryasura 's Jatakamala , as well as rock - cut sculptures of Buddhist deities in vogue between the 2nd century BCE and 5th century CE . Textual records suggest that these caves served as a monsoon retreat for monks , as well as a resting site for merchants and pilgrims in ancient India . While vivid colours and mural wall painting were abundant in Indian history as evidenced by historical records , Caves 16 , 17 , 1 and 2 of Ajanta form the largest corpus of surviving ancient Indian wall - painting . </P>
<P> The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries and worship halls of different Buddhist traditions carved into a 250 feet wall of rock . The caves also present paintings depicting the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha , pictorial tales from Aryasura 's Jatakamala , as well as rock - cut sculptures of Buddhist deities in vogue between the 2nd century BCE and 5th century CE . Textual records suggest that these caves served as a monsoon retreat for monks , as well as a resting site for merchants and pilgrims in ancient India . While vivid colours and mural wall painting were abundant in Indian history as evidenced by historical records , Caves 16 , 17 , 1 and 2 of Ajanta form the largest corpus of surviving ancient Indian wall - painting . </P>
the paintings on the walls and ceilings in the ajanta cave depict mainly
the paintings on the walls and ceilings in the ajanta cave depict mainly
the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha pictorial tales from Aryasura 's Jatakamala
the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha pictorial tales from Aryasura 's Jatakamala