Human faith knows no boundaries, it is not subject to time and the laws of nature, it is pure and strong. It is for this reason that the oldest cave temples, once created by ancient monks, have survived to this day. Oddly enough, some of them still fulfill their original religious function.
1. Cave temples of Ajanta (Maharashtra, India)
This most outstanding monument of ancient Indian art is eloquently told by its incredible rock paintings, created by ancient monks over several centuries. All of humanity was destined to learn about them only at the beginning of the 19th century, before this period the temple was abandoned twice.
The secluded location of the temple complex allowed to preserve its values from the destructive influence of religious fanatics. And today the cave temples of Ajanta are a unique architectural monument, which is a series of caves carved into the rocks, which carry the secrets of Buddhist monks.
2. Ellora cave temples (Maharashtra, India)
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Not far from Ajanta, there is another younger, but no less delightful and bewildering architectural creation - the cave temples of Ellora. It is simply impossible to believe that all the elements of the temple complex are made of stone.
Unlike Ajanta, the temples of Ellora housed Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves, once, according to archaeologists, competing with each other. The pearl of the abandoned complex is the Kailash Temple - a huge monolith, from which an incredible structure was created, consisting of halls, sacred altars and picturesque galleries.
3. Dambulla Golden Temple (Dambulla, Sri Lanka)
The temple on the top of the mountain of the same name impresses with its size, wonderful location and amazing architecture. It did not become a "useless" historical monument and still receives Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world.
Their religious purposes (like many centuries ago) are still performed by 5 main and about 70 small caves, which contain statues of kings and gods, as well as an impressive collection of Buddha statues. This unique picturesque treasury of the Buddhist religion fills with energy and restores inner harmony, it is so pure and blissful that it is overflowing not only with pilgrims and tourists, but also with wildlife.
4. Undavalli cave temple (Vijayawada, India)
The four-story rock structure of the 4th century AD is revered today by both Hindus and Buddhists.
The Undavalli temple complex, created by Buddhist monks, after several centuries turned into a Hindu shrine, which today keeps the mysteries and subtleties of Indian religions, radiates the power and strength of an unbreakable faith. The caves of the temple are decorated with carved columns, frescoes and various sculptures. Against the background of dense jungle, lake and fields, the temple seems mysterious and inaccessible.
5. Cave temples of Maizishan (Gansu, China)
Almost 200 stone caves are located on a high cliff in the northwestern province of China.
They contain a whole variety of wall paintings, stone and clay statues dedicated to the Buddhist religion. The location of the temple in dense thickets, as the course of time showed, turned out to be quite beneficial, as it helped to protect it from possible destruction during the wars. Almost all cataclysms passed by the temples of Maizishan, so today mankind has another architectural monument filled with valuable sculptural objects that help to comprehend the features of ancient Chinese Buddhism, history and folklore.
6. Longmen Cave-Temple Complex (Henan, China)
The construction of the Longmen temple complex, which today consists of 2,300 caves and niches, 40 Buddhist pagodas and 100,000 sculptures, lasted for about 400 years.
This huge structure is located on the slopes of winding mountains above a muddy river and brings delight and surprise to adventurers. Most of the caves of the complex have their own specific purpose, their specific features that modern researchers use to study Chinese culture and religion. They can tell a lot about calligraphy, painting and the peculiarities of the ethnic community of the Yuan Wei Dynasty.
7. Cave Temple Wat Suwan Kuha (Phang Nga, Thailand)
The limestone mountains located near Phuket proved to be an ideal place for the construction of a cave temple, which is popularly called the "Temple of the Monkeys". This, of course, is not strange, because small hungry beggar monkeys scurry about throughout its territory, imagining themselves to be the local owners.
But this is not its only name, because this sacred place, according to the beliefs of the Thais, is intended for prayer for health, from which the temple received the name "Healing Temple". Brightly colored caves filled with golden Buddha statues (the main attraction is a giant reclining Buddha) are today the ideal place to get closer to Buddhist beliefs and learn the peculiarities of a difficult religion.
8. Cave-temple complex Qianfodong or "Cave of a Thousand Buddhas" (Gansu, China)
A whole string of caves (about 500), formed in the sheer sandstone massif of Minshashan Mountain, is an amazing Buddhist temple complex.
The slope of the picturesque mountain resembles an anthill, in which small natural chambers, decorated with ancient Chinese paintings, frescoes and sculptures, are connected by narrow winding passages and corridors. The temple, which survived more than one looting and lost many values, has not lost its beauty and grandeur. Today it is the largest example of early Buddhist art, which carries eternal religious values.
9. Yungang Caves (Datong, China)
The colorful name "Temple of the Sky-high Heights" is quite consistent with the atmosphere and interior decoration of the cave complex. Despite the fact that the sacred place is hidden under the thickness of the rocks, it seems that a piece of the skies with the great Buddha himself was wrapped in a gray stone blanket and transferred to the sinful earth in order to engender true faith in the hearts of people.
The Yungang Caves are solemn and majestic, they contain thousands of religious monuments of various styles, the combination of which is a vivid demonstration of a turning point in the development of Chinese Buddhist art.
10. Cave temples on the island of Elephanta (Mumbai, India)
The perfection and depth of Indian rock art is most clearly manifested in the unique monumental temple complex on the island of Elephanta.
Seven cave structures, which are located on three levels, according to Hindu teachings, are home to the gods, chief among whom is Shiva. It is to him that most of the sculptural compositions and many individual monuments are dedicated. All these stone sculptures were part of a once prosperous civilization, and today they only bear unique eloquent evidence of its existence.