When Ajanta Was New: Reimagining the Lost Colours of India’s Ancient Murals
An AI-assisted journey to imagine the original splendour of the Ajanta paintings
For centuries, the caves of Ajanta have preserved one of the greatest artistic achievements of ancient India. Hewn into the rock above the Waghora River in Maharashtra, the Ajanta complex contains Buddhist monuments created in two major phases, from the 2nd–1st centuries BCE and again during the 5th–6th centuries CE. Its murals are among the masterpieces of Buddhist art and provide an extraordinary window into the visual, social and cultural world of ancient India. UNESCO World Heritage Centre
But when we look at Ajanta today, we are seeing only a fragment of the splendour that once covered its walls.
Time has taken its toll. Colours have faded, plaster has detached, sections of paintings have disappeared and countless figures survive only as fragments. UNESCO has documented problems including flaking paint, cracks, water infiltration and other threats to the fragile wall paintings. UNESCO World Heritage Centre
And this raises a fascinating question:
What might Ajanta have looked like when these paintings were newly created?
That question inspired my experiment with artificial intelligence.
Bringing the surviving fragments back to life
I began with photographs of surviving Ajanta murals—many of them so badly damaged that only portions of the original composition remain visible.
A face may survive while its body has disappeared. A jewel may still be visible against a damaged background. A fragment of blue, green or red may suggest the colour of an entire garment. The graceful curve of an arm, an elaborate crown, a lotus flower or a decorative border may provide clues to what once existed around it.
Using these surviving visual clues as the starting point, I experimented with AI-assisted image reconstruction to imagine the paintings in a state closer to their original visual richness.
The objective was not simply to make the photographs brighter or more colourful.
It was to ask:
If the damaged areas had survived, what might the complete painting have looked like?
The palette of ancient Ajanta
The colours chosen for these reconstructions are deliberately rooted in the earthy visual character of ancient Indian mural painting rather than modern synthetic colours.
Technical studies of Ajanta’s paintings identify pigments including white from lime, red and yellow ochres, green earth (terre verte) and black from lampblack. The paintings were executed in a tempera technique on prepared wall surfaces. Getty
These pigments produced a remarkably sophisticated palette: warm reds and terracottas, ochres and golden yellows, earthy greens, deep dark tones, whites and touches of blue.
The result was not a dull or monochromatic world. Ancient Indian painters created extraordinary visual richness from a relatively restrained palette.
That is why, in these reconstructions, I have tried to retain the earthiness and luminosity of natural pigments rather than giving the paintings the artificially brilliant colours of modern digital art.
Beyond colour: the world of Ajanta
The surviving murals reveal much more than religious narratives.
They show kings and queens, princes and princesses, attendants, musicians, dancers, ascetics, celestial beings, animals, flowers, jewellery, textiles, architecture and elaborate decorative patterns.
They offer glimpses of hairstyles, ornaments, costumes and courtly life. They also reveal the extraordinary sophistication of the Ajanta painter: expressive eyes, graceful hands, flowing contours and carefully balanced compositions.
In reconstructing damaged passages, I have therefore tried to preserve the visual language of Ajanta—its elegant human figures, elongated forms, expressive faces, ornamental richness and characteristic earthy palette.
What AI can—and cannot—tell us
These images should not be mistaken for archaeological evidence.
AI cannot tell us exactly which colour was present in a portion of plaster that has completely disappeared. Nor can it recover an image that has left no surviving visual trace.
The reconstructions are therefore interpretations rather than definitive restorations.
Where the surviving painting provides strong clues, those clues form the foundation of the reconstruction. Where large sections have disappeared, the AI necessarily makes an artistic inference based on the surviving composition, Ajanta’s artistic vocabulary and the broader visual language of ancient Indian painting.
This distinction is important.
The purpose is not to claim:
“This is exactly how the Ajanta painting looked.”
Rather, it is to invite the viewer to imagine:
“This is how magnificent it may have been.”
Seeing Ajanta with fresh eyes
There is something deeply moving about looking at a severely damaged mural and then seeing a visual reconstruction of what its original artistic experience might have been.
The faded face becomes expressive again.
A lost garment regains its pattern.
Jewellery once barely visible begins to sparkle.
Flowers reappear.
Architectural details emerge.
And colours that have been muted by centuries once again begin to speak.
For me, this experiment is ultimately about heritage appreciation.
AI cannot replace archaeological conservation, scientific pigment analysis or the painstaking work of professional conservators. UNESCO itself stresses the importance of careful conservation, documentation, monitoring and minimal intervention for Ajanta’s fragile paintings. UNESCO World Heritage Centre
But AI can provide another kind of window—a visual one.
It can help today’s viewer move beyond the damaged surface and imagine the extraordinary artistic world that once surrounded the monks, pilgrims and patrons who entered these caves many centuries ago.
A dialogue between the past and the future
Ajanta was created by artists who could never have imagined photography, digital imaging or artificial intelligence.
And yet, more than a millennium later, technology gives us a new way to engage with their work.
The paintings themselves remain the irreplaceable historical record.
The AI reconstructions are something different: a bridge between surviving evidence and imagination.
They invite us to look more carefully at what remains—and perhaps, in doing so, to appreciate even more deeply what has been lost.
The original murals are fragments of history.
The reconstructions are invitations to imagine their former glory.
And perhaps that is the most beautiful possibility of all:
to see Ajanta not only as it survives today, but also as it might once have appeared when its colours were fresh, its lines were crisp and its painted world was new.
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The Surviving Ajanta Murals With AI-Assisted Reimagining
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About the Reconstructed Images:
The images accompanying this article are AI-assisted visual reconstructions based on surviving Ajanta mural photographs from Wikimedia Commons. They are artistic interpretations intended to evoke the possible original appearance of the paintings and should not be regarded as definitive archaeological restorations. Colour choices and reconstructed details have been informed, where possible, by the surviving artwork and published information on the pigments and techniques associated with Ajanta.
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Bringing Ajanta Back to Life: Seeing Ajanta Murals as They Once Were
What if visitors to the ancient Ajanta Caves could see how the Ajanta paintings may have looked when they were new? A small, man-made cave could be created near the Ajanta visitor area to display high-quality copies of the ancient paintings. Alongside each original image, an AI-Assisted Reimagining could show how the painting might have looked with its original colours and details.
Large paintings and digital displays could make the experience even more interesting. Visitors could also buy canvas prints and books featuring these beautiful images. Such a centre could help people understand and enjoy Ajanta better, while also reducing the need to spend too much time inside the fragile ancient caves. The AI images would be clearly presented as reimagined versions, not as exact restorations of the original paintings.
Can We Bring Back the Lost Beauty of Ajanta Murals in the Caves?
For centuries, the rulers of Tamil Nadu repaired and renewed their temples, preserving their architectural heritage for future generations. Could we adopt a similar spirit for the surviving paintings of Ajanta?
We should not repaint the ancient murals themselves. Every surviving brushstroke is precious evidence of the past—the colours chosen by the original artists, the fine lines of their drawings, the way they shaped faces and expressions, and even the faded and damaged areas tell us something about the techniques and materials used centuries ago.
Once a modern layer of paint is added over the original, it becomes impossible to know with certainty what belonged to the ancient artist and what was added later. The priority should therefore be to protect, preserve and study every surviving fragment, while using modern technology to help us understand and visualise what has been lost.
In this way, we can bring the beauty of Ajanta closer to the public without sacrificing the authenticity of the priceless originals.
We could protect and conserve the original paintings, use modern technology to reveal faded details, and digitally recreate the portions that have been lost.
Full-scale replicas of the murals could then be displayed in a specially created Ajanta interpretation centre near the caves. Visitors could see the surviving paintings alongside AI-Assisted Reimaginings of how they may once have looked in their original colours.
The goal would be simple: preserve the Ajanta that survives, while helping the world experience the Ajanta that has been lost.
Perhaps technology can give us a new way to see the ancient masterpiece—without touching the precious original.