Stupas are doomed monuments containing relics of the Buddha. The stupas are carved with symbols of Buddha footprint, bodhi tree, parasol or vase.
Viharas are monastery halls, which the monks would originally have used for study, solitary, meditation and communal worship, as well as the mundane business of eating and sleeping.
Like the remarkable stupas Sarnath, the finest caves at Ellora and Ajanta incorporate designs which depict the Buddha in human form standing and preaching or sitting in meditation, distinguished by characteristic marks, and indicating his teaching by hand gestures or mudras.