Ajanta Caves 20 to 25

Ajanta Caves 20 to 25 showcase Buddhist art and architecture, featuring Buddha statues, carved entryways, halls, monk cells, intricate sculptures, majestic pillars, and meditation rooms, with unfinished caves offering unique features. These are among the places to visit in Ajanta Caves for history and art lovers.

Cave 20

Between 450 AD and 525 AD, builders constructed Cave 20 as a pillarless vihara with a hall, cells, a sanctum sanctorum, and a porch with columns. A Brahmi writing on the porch says that Upendra gave the mandapa as a gift. The temple is where Buddha lives when he is teaching. Another important piece of art in this cave is a panel with seven Buddhas and their followers.

Cave 21

The first cave behind the waterfall is Cave 21, which is also a vihara. There is a hall with 12 pillars, 12 rooms, a sanctum sanctorum, and a porch with 12 pillars in this cave. Columns support the porches of four out of the twelve cells. The sanctum houses a sitting Buddha in a teaching pose. There were drawings on the ceiling because of the plaster from the pillars that are still there.

Cave 22

Among Caves 20 to 25, Cave 22 is a small vihara with four empty cells and a narrow porch. Workers dug it out at a higher level, making it accessible by a flight of steps. A drawing of Buddha lying down in pralamba-padasana appears on the shrine's back wall. Here, you can see sculptures of Buddha in different forms and pictures of Manushi-Buddhas drawn with Maitreya.

Cave 23

Cave 23 is an abbey that isn't finished yet. It has an astylar hall, sanctum sanctorum, antechamber, side cells, and a porch with columns. The pillars of the balcony are all still there, and they, along with the pillars of the hall and porches, show excellent craftsmanship in the decorative details.

The decoration of the finished pillars showcases another level of skill. The front one on the hall's right wall, with a figure breaking open a makara's mouth inside a medallion, stands out. The nagas who guard the door jambs are interesting. On the roof of the porch, you can see bits of plaster.

Cave 24

Cave 24 is the second biggest dig at Ajanta, after Cave 4. It is an unfinished vihara. The plan has a hall, a porch with columns, and a sanctum sanctorum. There is a beautiful pattern of flying figures on the door frame. The two figures in the middle each hold a crown.

A church with a pillared porch was cut into the left wall outside the balcony. On the chapel's back wall is a picture of Lord Buddha sitting in the pralamba-padasana pose, with figures of people helping him and figures flying around him. This monastery was likely one of the last ones discovered in the Ajanta Caves.

Cave 25

The convent or vihara in Cave 25 features an astylar hall, a pillared verandah, and a garden separated from the rest of the building. Workers dug it out at a higher level. On the left side of the porch, there are two cells. There are no cells in the hall. There is no shrine in the hall. This cave is also included in Ajanta Caves tour packages for visitors exploring the site.