The mention of Maharashtra architecture brings the caves of Ajanta and Ellora into limelight. Some of India’s oldest wall paintings can be traced here. The sculptures of the time are stiff and unmoving but Maharashtra’s famous rock-cut caves have several distinct design elements. The Buddhist caves; particularly the older ones are either temples (Chaityas) or monasteries (Viharas). Chaityas are usually deep and narrow with a stupa at the end of the cave. 

There  may  be row  of  columns down both  sides of the cave and around the stupa. Viharas are normally intended to be the living quarters for the monks and usually have a row of cells along both sides. In the back there is often a small shrine containing an image of the Buddha. At Ajanta, the cliff face into which the caves are cut are very steep and there is often a small verandah or entrance porch in front of the main cave. At Ellora the rock face is more sloping. Cave architecture reached the peak of its complexity and design in the Hindu temples at Ellora. These can be hardly called caves for each temple is opened to the sky, built up from the bottom they were cut from the living rock from the top down.

The art of early Muslim invaders was chiefly confined to painting. The best known of the art forms of the Mughal era are the paintings of miniatures. These delightfully detailed and brightly colored paintings show the events and activities of the Mughals in their magnificent palaces. Other paintings included portraits and studies of wildlife and plants. The earliest Indian artifacts were from the Indus Valley cities in modern-day Pakistan. The classical school of Buddhist art reached its peak during the reign of Ashoka. Close to Peshawar, now in Pakistan, owing to the Greek influence, Gandharan art got amalgamated with the Buddhist art forms. During the Gupta period, Indian art experienced a golden age. The Buddhist art gave way to Hindu forms. Both Buddhism and Hindu schools of art produced metal-cast sculptures using the lost wax method, as well as larger sculptures in stone.