The Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, preserve some of the world’s most refined examples of ancient Buddhist mural painting (2nd century BCE – 6th century CE). Created with natural pigments on lime-plastered rock surfaces, these works combine technical mastery with spiritual storytelling drawn from the Jātaka tales.

The Ajanta painters employed precise classical principles still relevant to artists today:

• Rekhā — the expressive use of line weight to create volume and spatial depth.
• Vartana — traditional shading techniques (patrāja, airika, binduja).
• Kṣaya-vṛddhi — the principle of foreshortening.
• Ujjotana — subtle highlighting.
• Nimnonnata — balance of protrusion and recession for sculptural form.
• The Ajanta palette — natural pigments such as yellow ochre, red ochre, lamp black, lapis lazuli, terre verte, and lime white.
• Compositional principles — from the Chitrasūtras and Nāṭyaśāstra, emphasising rhythm, gesture, and harmony.

The competition invites artists worldwide to explore or reinterpret these timeless ideas — through traditional or contemporary methods — celebrating the contemplative spirit of Ajanta.