The Ajanta Caves that inspired Rahul Mishra's Paris couture collection are unlike anywhere else in India

When Rahul Mishra's 'Devi: The Eternal Muse' collection walked at Paris Haute Couture Week earlier this week— to Cardi B and Isha Ambani in the front row, to widespread critical acclaim — the designer cited a specific source of reference: the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, dating from the second century BCE.

The embroidery, the stone-grey palette, the sculptural silhouettes, all of it traced back to a horseshoe-shaped gorge in the Deccan Plateau, carved out by Buddhist monks over eight centuries, then lost to the jungle for a thousand years. The show's score was built from recordings made inside the Ajanta Caves. Composer Jayant Luthra used traditional South Indian percussion and singing bowls arranged into Fibonacci compositions, bringing the cave complex's second-century BCE acoustics to Paris.

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For anyone unfamiliar with Ajanta, these are not minor ruins, and that context is worth dwelling on.

What the caves are

The Ajanta Caves are 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to around 480 CE, located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. Universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, the caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that convey emotions through gesture, pose and form. They constitute ancient monasteries and worship halls of different Buddhist traditions, carved into a 75-metre wall of rock.

The caves were built in two phases: the first starting around the second century BCE, the second occurring from 460 to 480 CE during the Gupta period. The first phase produced six major caves during Satavahana rule — simple Hinayana chaityas and viharas emphasising stupa worship. Cave 10, from the second century BCE, is the oldest surviving example.

The second phase is where the visual richness that Mishra was drawing from lives: Cave 16's verandah features the dramatic Bodhisattva Padmapani fresco overlooking the Waghura valley, considered the world's most famous ancient Indian painting. Caves 1, 2, and 17 depict 30 Jataka stories (Buddha's past lives) in vibrant mineral colours including red ochre, lapis lazuli, and malachite that have retained their luminosity after 1,500 years.

The paintings are what make Ajanta singular. The technique applied in Ajanta's murals is fresco-secco, combining lime plaster with natural dyes to produce particularly durable images. Unlike other temple paintings, they convey realistic emotions, plastic movements and Buddhist myths. When Mishra spoke in an Instagram video about taking the symbolism of ancient sculpture and "reliving culture with the same ideas that created these sculptures," this is the visual world he meant.

The rediscovery

The caves remained hidden for centuries, concealed by dense forests, until their rediscovery in 1819 by a British officer named John Smith during a hunting expedition. As he stumbled upon the entrance to one of the caves, he inscribed his name on the walls, a mark that still exists today.

The caves are mentioned in the memoirs of several medieval-era Chinese Buddhist travellers, which means they were known to the wider Asian world long before the colonial-era rediscovery brought them to European attention, a distinction worth making. UNESCO designated them a World Heritage Site in 1983.

What to see

The 30 caves vary considerably in scale and state of preservation, and not all are equally accessible. The caves most worth prioritising:

Cave 1 is considered architecturally the most symmetrical, with walls depicting 30 Jataka stories. Cave 2 is the most spectacular in terms of murals, as its illustrations are the most vibrant, covering walls and ceilings in detail. Cave 16 holds the famous Dying Princess mural. Cave 17's Prince Vessantara Jataka spans multiple panels and is considered the world's oldest comic strip-style narrative in fresco. Cave 19's ornate facade with guardian figures marks the transition from austere Hinayana to exuberant Mahayana Buddhist traditions.

Adjacent to the caves, the Ajanta Museum provides deeper context with a collection of artefacts including sculptures, paintings and significant finds from archaeological excavations. For travellers wanting to extend the trip, the surrounding hills and forests offer trekking with panoramic views of the gorge. The Ellora Caves, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a few hours away — Hindu, Jain and Buddhist caves that add a different register to the same region's heritage.

Getting there

The caves are approximately 100 kilometres from Aurangabad, the nearest major city, reachable by road in about two and a half to three hours. Aurangabad's Chikkalthana Airport is well connected with Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. From the airport, a taxi to the caves takes around two and a half to three hours. State Transport buses depart from Aurangabad's Central Bus Stand every few hours as an inexpensive alternative. Renting a car is the most convenient option for flexibility.

The best time to visit is between November and March, when temperatures range from 12°C to 30°C and skies are clear. Avoid public holidays and weekends as the caves are often crowded at holiday times, which increases the threat to the paintings. Go on a weekday, early in the morning, before the light inside the caves gets difficult.

One practical note: photography inside several of the painted caves is restricted or prohibited. Bring a torch. The murals are dimly lit, and the detail does not read well in low light without one, which is, in some ways, part of the experience. These were not made to be seen quickly.