Western Vakatakas: The Creators of Ajanta (3rd CE - 6th CE)

‘Washim’ is a name that few Indians have heard of. Located around 215 km east of Aurangabad city, in Washim district of Maharashtra, it is like any other Indian town with haphazard constructions, bazaars and traffic. So it is hard to imagine that more than 1,600 years ago, this was the fabled city of Vatsagulma, capital of one of the richest kingdoms in India of its time, the Western Vakatakas.

And yet, the Western Vakatakas, one of ancient India’s most important dynasties, would have been forgotten had it not been for their greatest construction – the Ajanta Caves.