The "Black" Princess stands: frozen in a timeless moment on the wall of cave No. 17, at Ajanta. Attended by her sakhis, with flowers strewn on the floor of her inner apartment, she is lost in contemplation of her own image in a golden mirror.

Despite the ravages of time, there is no mistaking the absolute mastery of the unknown artists who created these stunning images for their royal patrons, of the Vakataka dynasty, in the 5th century AD. They were executed when the ancient Indian civilization was at its zenith. Nothing comparable from this glorious era survives. The wall paintings have therefore been rightly included in the World Heritage List of Monuments.

They illustrate the major events from the life of the Buddha and tales from the Jalakus - a large collection of stories about the previous incarnations of the Buddha. both animal and human.

One of the most eloquent and moving panels of these is that of the towering Buddha, begging for alms from his wife and son in cave No.19; and one of the most intriguing is the panel of the "Thousand Buddhas" in No. 2.

Here you can see all the six branches of Indian paintings, called the shadanga. First, the depletion of emotion (bhava). A beautiful example of this is the panel showing King Mahajanaka listening to Queen Sivali in cave No. I - The expressions on the faces of the protagonists, particularly the lower attendants, are handled with a skill that rivals that of the cinematographer. Second is the infusion of grace (lavanya-yojana): an outstanding example is the famous Padmapani Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of the blue lotus; third is verisimilitude (sadrisya): a vivid example is the portrait ofJujuka, the wicked Brahmin from the Vessantara Jataka; fourth is variety of form (rupabheda); fifth is correct proportion (pramana) and the sixth is mixing of colours to produce an effect of modelling.

The paintings are valuable because they bring to life what works like the Jatakas and the poems of Kalidasa describe in words-the gem-set jewellery, rich furniture, imposing architecture, natural scenery and fleeting expressions on the faces.

The story of how the 30 caves at Ajanta were discovered is equally fascinating. Early in the 19th century, a party of British officers, scrambling over the thickly wooded slopes of the Sahyadri hills, accidentally stumbled on to this treasure trove.

Rescued from a long period of obscurity (which no doubt helped preserve the wall paintings for the modern generation), Ajanta is today an important landmark on the tourist map of the world. Aurangabad, the city founded by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb as his viceregal capital in the Dee-can, serves as the base for Ajanta.

Aurangabad itself has a number of monuments: the Bibi Ka Maqbara, the tomb of Begum Rabia Durani. Aurangzeb's wife: the Pan Chakki, an intricate water-mill dating back to the 17th century-using the concept of the Persian water wheel, the Mughal engineers managed to channelise water from a spring on a hill some distance away and generated energy to turn large grinding stones: and the cluster of caves in the hills just outside the city.

The excursions from Aurangabad include Daulatabad. an old Hindu fortress that was taken over by the Muslims. It became the second capital of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century. A few kilometres away is Khuldabad, the austere, plastered masonry tomb of Aurangzeb. In stark contrast to monuments like the Taj Mahal, the tomb was built according to the wishes of the emperor, who directed in his will that it should be as simple as possible.

Also accessible from Aurangabad (30 km) are the cave temples of Ellora. In all there are 34 caves-16 Hindu, 13 Buddhist and five of the Jain faith.

The Kailas temple, named after Siva's celestial mountain stronghold, is undoubtedly one of the greatest glories of Indian architecture. It is the very antithesis of the cave temple. Carved out by master craftsmen during the reign of the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna, the whole was cut out of the hill from the top downward to the base. The entire work progressed exactly as the plan visualized by the architect without paper and quill!

The Rashtrakutas were fully aware of the stupendity of their artistic achievement because the beauty of the Kailasanatha temple is recorded on a later Rashtrakuta copper plate grant. This records an imaginary conversation of celestials, who are shown to have paused here in their journeys through the clouds.

Besides Ajanta and Ellora, Maharashtra has many other beautiful cave sculptures to offer, such as Pitalkhora, Bedsa.KarIa, Bhaja and Pandavieni. The Elephanta Island, just off Bombay, is famous for four rock-cut cave temples, which are dedicated to Shiva. The Kanheri caves are located within the Krishnagiri Upavan National Park about 42 kms from Bombay. These are a series of 109 Buddhist caves lining the side of a rocky ravine.