Cave No. 17, Ajanta

This beautifully painted monastery, Cave No. 17 in Ajanta is donated by a feudatory prince Upendragupta under Vakataka King Harishena in the late 5th century A.D. 

It has some of the most magnificent paintings of Ajanta. The porch is a stream of jataka narratives and early Buddhist themes. Over the door are eight Buddhas, including Maitreya, the next Buddha to come. Even the sculptures on the door frame are beautiful.

The left end of the porch once had a magnificent kalachakra - the Wheel of Rebirth, showing the different possibilities of reincarnation according to your actions, and the possibilities of elevation.

It consists of a spacious hall surrounded by 17 cells on three sides, a vestibule and a sanctum containing the image of Buddha. The hall supported by twenty octagonal pillars and is pierced with three doors and two windows.  The cave houses some of the well preserved paintings. Even though the ceilings are beautifully painted.

One famous Jataka tale called the Matropaksha Jataka tells the story of a Bodhisattva born as a six tusked white elephant that is attacked by warriors commissioned by the queen of Banaras. The Elephant-Bodhisattva removes his own tusks to present them to the queen.