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The rock-cut caves of Ajanta are world famous for their murals that demonstrate the degree of skill and artistry that Indian craftsmen had achieved several hundred years ago. The site of the caves, situated at a distance of 107 kilometres north of Aurangabad, is an important tourist destination in the world. These caves are excavated in a horse-shoe shaped bend of rock surface almost 76 metres in height, overlooking a narrow stream known as Waghora. The site of this valley once provided a calm and serene environment for the Buddhist monks who retreated there during the rainy season.The site consists of many excavations. A total of thirty excavations were hewn out of rock, including an unfinished one. Many of the caves can be dated to the pre-Christian era, the earliest among them being from the second century BC. It is understood that the art was financed by royal patronage of that time. Professional artists carried out much of the work and each contributed his own individual skill and devotion to this monumental work. The stupa formed the object of worship here and these caves exhibit the imitation of wooden construction to the extent that the rafters and beams are also sculpted, even though they are non-functional. New excavations were made again during the period of Vakatakas, the contemporaries of the imperial Guptas. The caves were made to be excavated by royal benefaction and the feudatories under the Vakatakas, as illustrated by the inscriptions found in the caves. The boom in activities at Ajanta was between the mid-fifth century AD to the mid-sixth century AD. However, Hieun Tsang, the famous Chinese traveller who visited India during the first half of the seventh century AD, has left a vivid and graphic description of the flourishing Buddhist establishments here, even though he did not visit the caves. A solitary Rashtrakuta inscription in one of the caves indicates its use during the eighth-ninth centuries AD. The world-famous paintings at Ajanta can be classified into two broad phases. The first phase is noticed in the form of fragmentary specimens which can be dated to the second century BC. The headgear and the other ornaments of the images of these paintings resemble the bas-relief sculpture of Sanchi and Bharhut. The second phase of paintings started around the fifth-sixth centuries AD, and continued for the next two centuries. The main theme of the paintings centre around Jataka stories, different incidents associated with the life of Buddha, and also contemporary events and social life.