Cave 10 is the earliest chaitya (sanctuary) at Ajanta that started in 1^st BCE. The cave carries inscriptions from different donors indicating that the cave was based on community efforts, rather than the private benefactions of elite donors, as was the case in Ajanta’s Vakataka phase. There is a monolithic stupa, which preserves a fragment of later Vakataka repainting. The facade of the cave was probably at first of wood, but at a later date the lower portion of it, at least, was built of very large brick, which has now disappeared.

From the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien’s records, it is known that that the site was active around 400 CE; however, the site may have had its problems in the period between the second and the fifth century when Buddhism was in decline. The cave contains paintings of different periods. Only a few early Buddhist period paintings remain in the cave, all much obscured and covered with later images. A sequence of paintings showing scenes from the life of the Buddha, appears on the left wall while Jataka stories Sama Jataka and the Chhaddanta Jataka are depicted on the right wall. The later Vakataka period paintings are better preserved and contain Buddha figures in various poses mainly over the pillars.

The principal paintings are: ‘The Arrival of the Raja with his Retinue’ on the rear wall of the left aisle, ‘The Royal Party Worshipping at a Stupa’ on the left hand wall behind pillars nine to eleven; ‘The Royal Party Passing Through a Gateway’ on the left-hand wall behind pillars eleven to fifteen and various figures of Buddha painted on different pillars. The cave contains the largest number of painted records.

References:

• Debala Mitra, Ajanta, 1964.
• Walter Spink, Ajanta: A Brief History and Guide, 1990.
• Walter Spink, Volume 18/5 Ajanta: History and Development: Cave By Cave, 2007.