•   The first and most dramatic examples of Gupta Hindu art date from the beginning of the 5th century A.D. and are found in Udaygiri. Here is a monumental and expressive depiction of the Varaha (boar) avatar of Vishnu, as he rescues Goddess Earth from the deep and chaotic waters.

There is a great sense of power and majesty in the figure of the boar.

•   The sculptures of Ajanta are among the finest ever made and reflect the exquisite qualities found in the paintings. The Parinirvana of the Buddha in Cave 17, with numerous celestial musicians above and the sorrowful figures of his followers below, is one of the grandest and yet most delicately expressive scenes ever made in stone.

•   One of the most remarkable groups of sculptures anywhere in India is ‘Arjuna's Penance' or the traditional sarees, sculpted on the surface of two huge boulders at Mamallapuram with a narrow fissure between them.

•   The moon, the sun, pairs of singers, siddhas, nymphs are all shown moving towards the cleft in the rock, where a sage is seen engaged in penance.

•   The artists have used the cleft beautifully to represent Ganga as she flows down from the heavens.