Known as the 'Cradle of Civilization', caves were the earliest homes to our kind. The man understood the importance of having a roof over his head as one of his basic necessities, and so came into being the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra and the Udayagiri and Khandgiri Caves in Orissa. Masterpieces of the most exemplary architecture, engravings, and sculptures seen by the eye, both sets of caves served as monasteries for Buddhist and Jain monks. Constructed around the 1st century, the caves are stupendous examples of all that our forefathers built brick by brick, and stone by stone, without the advantages of technology and science. Carved and chiseled with handmade tools from that time, Ajanta and Udagayiri/Khandagiri caves are some of the finest instances in Indian history.