Ajantar Antarale by Ranjan Chandra Gupta [Hardcover]

The very name 'Ajanta' transports the contemplative minds of the cultural world to a dreamy land of ancient art. In astonishment, the thoughtful mind ponders—approximately two and a half thousand years ago, what divine artist's hands, using only tools like iron chisels and hammers, brushes made from leaves, twigs, or animal hair, and mineral and herbal dyes, created this extraordinary art on the volcanic rocks of the Sahyadri mountains? This wonder about 'Ajanta' is further fueled by the Archaeological Survey of India and various artists, poets, and historians. From the depths of relentless thought emerges the backdrop of this story. The symbolic characters of the novel are in harmony with the geographical location.

Out of the twenty-six cave houses in Ajanta, only the work on six caves was initiated by the monks of the Buddhist Hinayana sect. The work on the remaining twenty caves by the artists from Greater Bengal, Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, and Magadha is not the subject of this narrative. History states that the remaining twenty caves were built under the supervision of the Buddhist Mahayana sect, approximately four to six hundred years after this initial phase. Who were these artists? Where were they from? The answer is presented in this novel. These artists were inhabitants of Greater Bengal. Primarily focused on imparting the specific forms of Buddha's religion and philosophy of Eastern India, monk Dharmarakshita took these artists to Ajanta. Their experience with cave houses was beyond imagination. These artists had the characteristic ability to bring consciousness to the unconscious through meditation. This narrative is the story of this astonishing journey of creating the cave art of 'Ajanta.'