Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c47.32

c47.32

Cave I at Aurangabad, in which the "vase and foliage" capital has been used with great effect in the verandah, was intended to be a large *vihara*, but further work therein was abandoned at almost the same stage of construction as Cave XXIV at Ajanta. I cannot help thinking that the cause of the cessation of work must have been the same at Ajanta and Aurangabad, and it is highly probable that the same cause must also have brought work to a standstill at Ellora. As already stated, this cause was probably the invasion of the Deccan in 642 A.D., by Narasimhavarman I and the overthrow of the Chalukyan king. At the same time, there seem to be every reason to suppose that a good deal of constructional work must have been done in the Buddhists caves at Aurangabad and Ellora long after it had ceased at Ajanta.