InFacts about India-29 June 2021

The Ajanta Caves are approximately 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India.
The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, According to UNESCO, these are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art that influenced the Indian art that followed.

They were covered by jungle until accidentally “discovered” and brought to Western attention in 1819 by a colonial British officer Captain John Smith on a tiger-hunting party.

Ajanta is one of the major tourist attractions of Maharashtra. It is about 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from Fardapur, 59 kilometres (37 miles) from the city of Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India, 104 kilometres (65 miles) from the city of Aurangabad

The Ajanta style is also found in the Ellora Caves and other sites such as the Elephanta Caves, Aurangabad Caves, Shivleni Caves and the cave temples of Karnataka.

VEDIK GYAN

Vedik tradition marks large spaces of time by a series of Yugas (roughly translated as “epoch” or “era” that fall in four-era cycles.
1. The Satya- Yuga,
2. The Treta -Yuga,
3. The Dwapara-Yuga
4. The Kali- Yuga.
After completing 4 Yuga’s, it’s called a Mahayuga.

According to the Vedik calendar, present time is the Kali Yuga, This calendar marks the days of the week and refers to them as the Vasara. As is true with the Western calendar there are seven days in a week. The days written in traditional Sanskrit.
Ravi (Sunday),
Soma (Monday), Mangala (Tuesday), Budha (Wednesday), Guru or Brhaspati (Thursday),
Sukra (Friday), and Sani (Saturday).

The Vedik calendar is divided into twelve months that correspond with the phases of the moon. The names of the months are based on the Zodiac signs as they follow the movement of the sun throughout the year. The names of the months and their corresponding Zodiac signs are:
Chaitra (Aries),
Vaisakha (Taurus),
Jyaistha (Gemini),
Asadha (Cancer),
Sravana (Leo),
Bhadrapada (Virgo),
Asvina (Libra), Kartika (Scorpio), Agrahayana(Sagittarius)
Pausa (Capricorn), Magha (Aquarius), and Phalguna (Pisces).

Each month is approximately 29.5 days but varies somewhat according to celestial movements.
Each month is broken down into two two-week periods: a Dark one (waning moon) and a Light one (waxing moon). Krishna Paksha & Shukla Paksha.

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