Image of a tantric goddess on top of pillar, along verandah of Cave 1, a 7th century vihara (monastery), Aurangabad Caves (Western Group), Maharashtra

---

The Aurangabad caves are 12 rock-cut Buddhist shrines, carved between the 6th & the 8th century, close to the city of Aurangabad. Located on the Sihaychal hills running roughly east to west, its sculptures are comparable to the UNESCO World Heritage monuments of Ajanta & Ellora, but the caves are much smaller, more decrepit & less visited. The carvings are notable for incorporating later Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist artwork. Cave 1 here has many resemblances with the Cave 1 of Ajanta.

---

Size: 3120px × 4160px
Location: Aurangabad, India
Photo credit: © positivesoundvision / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1, 6th, 8th, ajanta, archaeological, archaeology, artwork, aurangabad, basalt, bodhisattva, buddha, buddhism, buddhist, carved, cave, caves, center, century, city, columns, comparable, cut, ellora, goddess, group, heritage, hills, hinayana, incorporating, india, located, maharashtra, mahayana, monastery, monument, padmapani, pillars, rock, sculptures, shrine, sihaychal, site, tantra, tantric, top, unesco, vajrapani, vajrayana, vihara, western, world