Ajanta Cave Seventeen

Ajanta Cave Seventeen features a porch doorway, which has painting of seven past lives of Buddha with Maitreya. The painting on the left door is entirely different from that on the right door. Doorway of this cave is T-shaped and has an image of goddess supported by pilasters.

The shrine in this cave is supported by pillars, which are carved as well as painted. This shrine has image of Buddha seated in the Yogasana and hands held in the Dharmachakra Mudra. The image also has Bodhisattva attendants holding fly-whisks and dwarfs bringing garlands.

The floral work and geometric paintings in the cave depict that this cave was painted in the transition phase between Hinayana and Mahayana. Wall of this cave has a painting of Apsaras and the Flying Spirits floating across the sky. The popular painting of Indra and the Apsaras is among the major attractions of the cave. Another famous painting in the cave shows a king and queen with their attendants participating in a royal procession.

Painting that depicts another version of the Shada-danta Jataka, as that in cave 10, can also be seen in this cave. Wall of the cave is also adorned with painting of Prince Sinhala, who conquered Lanka and a scene showing the return of Buddha as a beggar to meet his wife and child.