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Towers of Silence in Mumbai

Mumbai, the highly cosmopolitan city, is also religious, and highly secular in character. No

wonder countless number of people belonging to different religious backgrounds likeHinduism, Islam and even Zoroastrianism call Mumbai their life and home. Due to this

diverse nature, Mumbai showcases the best monuments, churches, and shrines that are

thronged by devotees and tourists alike. One such unique structure built for a unique purpose

is indeed the Towers of Silence in Mumbai , which is built for the exposure of the dead.

The Parses

The Parses, who originally originated in Iran, arrived in India almost 900 years ago. Since

then they have been an integral part of the Indian society.

Tower of silence

The Zoroastrian Tower of silence in Mumbai was built by Seth Modi Hirji in accordance

with the Parsi beliefs in 1672.

The Towers of Silence in Mumbai serve as the symbol ofreligious beliefheld by the

depleting population of Paris. It is a unique structure devoted to the final rites of the dead.

Location

The Tower of Silenceor Parsee Bawdi is located on the top ofMalabar Hills and isspread over an area of 55 acres.

Belief

According to the Parsis, the dead should be exposed to the flesh eating birds within the

confines of the Towers of Silence. The reason for doing so is that the Parseesbelieve that the

dead body should not pollute the air, water or soil by means of cremation and hence such a

place is created, which is also called as dakhma or dokhma.

In Mumbai, the Tower of Silence serves the purpose of offering the last rites to the dead.

Structure

TheTower is a huge circular structure similar to a well and it is a custom amongst Parsee

community that after death, the bodies of the Parsee people are sent to this Tower where

they are consumed by birds like the eagles and vultures.

this structure consisted of 3 rings out of which first was for male bodies, the second for

female bodies and the last one for children.


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Special features:

Despite the open exposure to dead, the place has a feeling of calm and peace, owning in part

to the beautiful architecture and green surroundings. However, the actual area where the dead

are exposed is strictly off limits for all. Mumbai's tower of silence have come under

controversy, due to the disappearance of vultures and the consequent crisis faced by theparsis about leaving the dead for a long time in the towers.

It also serves as a tourist attraction,but most important of all, the structure is a symbol of

Mumbai's diversity and a proof of its secular character.

The tower of Silence therefore continues to attract attention and respect from countless

number of people from all over India and abroad.


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The Ajanta Caves are a series of29 Buddhist cave temples in Ajanta, India, some of which

date from the 2nd century BC. Encompassing both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist

traditions, the Ajanta caves preserve some of the best masterpieces of Buddhist art in India.

Many visitors explore the Ajanta Caves in conjunction with the nearbyEllora Caves.

History

The Ajanta Caves were carved in the 2nd century BC out of a horseshoe-shaped cliff along

the Waghora River. They were used by Buddhist monks as prayer halls (chaitya grihas) and

monasteries (viharas) for about nine centuries, then abruptly abandoned. They fell into

oblivion until they were rediscovered in 1819.

What to See

The caves are numbered from east to west, 1 through 29. Today, a terraced path connects the

cave, but in ancient times each was independently accessed from the riverfront.
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A viewing platform across the river affords an excellent view of the entire Ajanta site. The

natural beauty of the area makes it clear why the monks chose the site for their spiritual

pursuits.

Preserved inside the caves are many masterpieces ofBuddhist art. Some reflect the earlier

Theravada tradition of depicting the Buddha only in symbolic form such as a throne orfootprints. Others, the Mahayana caves, feature colorful murals and statues depicting the life

(and former lives) of the Buddha and various Bodhisattvas. The caves also depict scenes from

everyday life and many include inscriptions indicating a prince or noble who gifted the cave

to the monks.

It is most practical to explore the Ajanta Caves in reverse numerical order, so they are

presented in this way below. This keeps you somewhat out of the masses of people moving

from cave to cave in the other direction, and brings you out at the exit at the end. The

numbers of the must-see caves are in bold.

Cave 26A Mahayana prayer hall (chaitya). The highlight is a large carved statue of thereclining Buddha, representing his moment of death. Below him, his followers mourn his

passing; above, celestial beings rejoice. The cave also contains a stupa with an image of the

Buddha in a pavilion.

Cave 17A Mahayana monastery covered with many well-preserved wall paintings.Maidens and celestial musicians are on the ceiling, and Buddhas, celestial guardians,

goddesses, lotus petals and scroll work adorn the doorway.

One mural in Cave 17 shows Prince Simhala's encounter with the man-eating ogresses ofSri

Lanka, where he'd been shipwrecked. Another shows the king of gods flying amidst clouds

with his entourage of celestial nymphs (apsaras) and musicians. The panel above the

doorway depicting the seven Manushi Buddhas (Buddhas in human form) together with the

Maitreya or future Buddha, seated under their respective Bodhi trees.

Cave 16A Mahayana monastery featuring a beautiful painting of the princess Sundari

fainting after learning that her husband (the Buddha's half-brother, Nanda) was going to

become a monk.

Cave 15, 13, 12Theravada monastery caves.

Cave 10Theravada prayer hall, thought to be the oldest cave temple at Ajanta, dating tothe 2nd century BC.

Cave 9One of the earliest prayer hall caves, notable for its arched windows that let softly

diffused sunlight in the cave. This Theravada cave also features a large stupa.

Cave 8Theravada monastery cave.

Cave 4Incomplete, but the largest of the Ajanta monasteries.

Cave 2The faade of this Mahayana monastery cave shows the kings of Naga and their

entourage. Inside, a glorious mandala dominates the ceiling, held by demons and decorated
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with birds, flowers, fruits and abstract designs. The ceiling gives the effect of a cloth canopy,

right down to the sag in the middle.

Cave 1The most popular of the monastery caves at Ajanta. Every inch of the cave was

originally painted, though much has worn away over the centuries. The doorway to the

antechamber is flanked by murals of two great bodhisattvas. On the right, holding athunderbolt, is Avalokitesvara (or Vajrapani), the most important bodhisattva in Mahayana

Buddhism. On the left, holding a water lily, is the bodhisattva Padmapani.

The sidewalls of Cave 1's antechamber show two scenes from the Buddha's life: his

temptation by Mara just before his enlightenment and the miracle of Sravasti, where the

Buddha multiplied himself into thousand images.

Above the left porch of Cave 1 are friezes of the Three Signs (a sick man, an old man, and a

corpse) that the Buddha saw on his fateful journey outside the palace that led him to become

a monk. In the sanctum is a colossal sculpture of the Buddha in the preaching pose. Murals

on the walls of the main hall depict numerous Jataka Tales, stories of the previous lives ofGautama Buddha.

Brief Description

The first Buddhist cave monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C.

During the Gupta period (5th and 6th centuries A.D.), many more richly decorated caves

were added to the original group. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta, considered

masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, have had a considerable artistic influence.

Other Languages:

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Bruno PoppeMore pictures ...
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Long Description

The style of Ajanta has exerted a considerable influence in India and elsewhere, extending, inparticular, to Java. With its two groups of monuments corresponding to two important

moments in Indian history, the Ajanta cave ensemble bears exceptional testimony to the

evolution of Indian art, as well as to the determining role of the Buddhist community,intellectual and religious foyers, schools and reception centres in the India of the Gupta and

their immediate successors.

The caves are situated 100 km north-east of Ellora, 104 km from Aurangabad and 52 km

from Jalgaon Railway Station. They are cut into the volcanic lava of the Deccan in the forest

ravines of the Sahyadri Hills and are set in beautiful sylvan surroundings. These magnificent

caves containing carvings that depict the life of Buddha, and their carvings and sculptures are

considered to be the beginning of classical Indian art.

The 29 caves were excavated beginning around 200 BC, but they were abandoned in AD 650

in favour of Ellora. Five of the caves were temples and 24 were monasteries, thought to havebeen occupied by some 200 monks and artisans. The Ajanta Caves were gradually forgotten

until their 'rediscovery' by a British tiger-hunting party in 1819.

The Ajanta site comprises thirty caves cut into the side of a cliff which rises above a meander

in the Waghora River. Today the caves are reached by a road which runs along a terrace mid-

way up the cliff, but each cave was once linked by a stairway to the edge of the water. This is

a Buddhist community, comprising five sanctuaries orChaitya-grihas (caves 9, 10, 19, 26

and 29) and monastic complexsangharamas orviharas. A first group of caves was created in

the 2nd century BC: the chaitya-grihas open into the rock wall by doorways surmounted by a

horse-shoe shaped bay. The ground plan is a basilical one: piers separate the principal navefrom the side aisles which join in the apsis to permit the ritual circumambulation behind the

(commemorative monument). This rupestral architecture scrupulously reproduces the forms

and elements visible in wooden constructions.

A second group of caves was created at a later date, the 5th and 6th centuries AD, during the

Gupta and post-Gupta periods. These caves were excavated during the supremacy of the

Vakatakas and Guptas. According to inscriptions, Varahadeva, the minister of the Vakataka

king, Harishena (c. AD 475-500), dedicated Cave 16 to the Buddhist sangha while Cave 17

was the gift of the prince, a feudatory. An inscription records that the Buddha image in Cave

4 was the gift of some Abhayanandi who hailed from Mathura.

The earlier architectural formulas were re-employed but treated in an infinitely richer and

more ample manner. The decoration attained, at this time, an unequalled splendour: the

statuary is numerous (it was already permissible to represent Buddha as a human; these

representations are found both on the facades and in the interior). Finally, the wall painting,

profuse and sensitive, constitutes, no doubt, the most striking artistic achievement of Ajanta.

Under the impulse of the Gupta dynasty, Indian art in effect reached its apogee. The Ajanta

Caves are generally decorated with painted or sculpted figures of supple form and classic

balance with which the name of the dynasty has remained synonymous. The refined lightness

of the decoration, the balance of the compositions, the marvellous beauty of the feminine

figures place the paintings of Ajanta among the major achievements of the Gupta and post-Gupta style and confer on them the ranking of a masterpiece of universal pictorial art.


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