Aurangabad - Tourist spots

Aurangabad may be the official Tourism Capital of Maharashtra with good reason. Being a tourist hub, todays Aurangabad offers a wonderful chance to soak
in the past history. Much prior to the Mughal rule, Aurangabad’s history actually goes back to the era of Buddhism. The Buddhist caves of Ajanta and Ellora have

immortalized the evident Buddhist influence our country was under in that period. Both these monuments happen to be declared as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Introduction

Named following the great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, Aurangabad is a popular city in Maharashtra. The term Aurangabad literally means ‘Built through the throne’. Aurangabad city
is located in the northern area of the state of Maharashtra, within the western region of India. Placed through the river of Kham, Aurangabad can serve as district headquarters. It
helps to ensure that its visitors never miss comfort of facilities in almost any department.

The year 1681 saw Aurangzeb use Aurangabad because the base for his campaigns. The location assisted as the kingdom of Mughal Empire for quite a while. He used the city as a
strategic indicate conquer Shivaji. Aurangabad was at India’s centre and also the region was considered the safest in the attacking armies of the Afghan and Central Asian
raiders. Post Aurangzeb’s death, the town of Aurangabad came under the reign from the Nizam of Hyderabad, until it had been annexed into the Indian Union. In 1956, it got
merged using the state of Maharashtra. Aurangabad has become a million plus city with Marathi and Urdu being the most crucial languages.

Ajanta caves

Ajanta caves is situated 100 kilometer from Aurangabad district within the state of Maharashtra of India. It conjures before one’s vision, an aspiration of beauty of the caves,
hidden in the center of a lonely glen having a streamlet flowing down below, caves which were scooped out of the heart from the rock. The followers of Lord Buddha
embellished with architectural details having a skillful command from the hammer over the chisel, using the paintings of infinite charm.
The unbelievable caves of Ajanta are dedicated exclusively to Buddhism. The caves such as the unfurnished ones are thirty in number, which five ( 9,10,19,26 and
29) are chitya-grihas (prayer halls) and also the rest are sangharamas or viharas (monasteries). At Ajanta, caves have exotic paintings illustrating the life span and
incarnations of Prince Gautama Buddha who had been the founder of Buddhism as well as in the more popular Jataka stories regarding Buddha’s previous incarnation.
A business of British soldiers discovered the enchanting Ajanta caves accidentally within the 19th century. Before the excavation of those caves, they were hidden underneath the
thick vegetation for a long period. For centuries, man forgot these caves. They were discovered in AD 1819. They fall under two distinct phases having a break of nearly
four centuries together. All the caves from the earlier phase date from 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD. The caves from the second phase were excavated throughout the
supremacy of the Vakatakas and Guptas. The Vakataka king dedicated cave 16 towards the Buddhist sangha. While cave 17 was the gift of some other prince, perhaps a feudatory. An
inscription records that Buddha image in cave 4 was the gift of some Ahayanandi Who hailed from Mathura.

Ellora Caves

These caves were built through the rulers of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty and therefore are located just 30 km from Aurangabad and were built-in the 7th century AD. Cave 16, that is known
as the Kailashnath Temple is really a masterpiece art at Ellora. The temple is really a splendid achievement from the Dravidian style of art and was started by King Krishna from the
Rashtrakuta dynasty that ruled Manyakheta. It took around A century to complete this cave. There are more caves here which depict the tradition and Philosophy from the
Buddhist and Jain art and architecture.

Daulatabad Fort

Located 13 kms from Aurangabad on the way Ellora, was built throughout the 12th century. Situated on the pyramid shaped hill, this imposing fortress attracts the interest of
all. The Daulatabad fortress, initially referred to as ’Devgiri’, was built throughout the times of Yadav dynasty by king Bhillama. Later Mohammed Bin Tughlaq, Sultan of Delhi,
changed the name ofthe entire spot to Daulatabad. A 5 km massive wall round the fort, spiked gates and also the Chand Minar, 30 metre high minaret, built through the Bahmani
rulers also attracts numerous tourists each year.

Shirdi

Approximately 144 kms from Aurangabad, Shirdi is really a reverred pilgrimage site especially for the Hindus. Tourists all over the world come here each year to pay
tribute in the shrine of Sidhi Sai Baba. Moreover, more holy shrines to the lifetime of Sai Baba are also around.

Bibi-ka-Maqwara

The Bibi ka Maqbara is really a mausoleum built in the memory of Rabia Durrani , the beloved wife of emperor Aurangzeb. The dwelling is strikingly like the world famous
Taj Mahal in Agra, but minus the grandeur usually related to mughal buildings. Due to the simple design and resemblance towards the Taj, it is also called the
duplicate Taj Mahal. After sunset the dwelling is floodlit and looks very attractive.

The Panchakki is yet another tourist attraction in Aurangabad. This can be a marvelous example of the engineering achievements within the later mughal period. The equipment was used
to grind grain for that pilgrims to the shrine of Baba Shah Muzaffar, a Sufi saint revered by Aurangzeb. It's powered by water from the nearby spring flowing with the
mill. The mill continues to be operational and entertains lots of tourists every day. The encompassing shrine of Baba Shah Muzaffar is also one of the prominent tourist spots in
Aurangabad.