Ellora Caves

• Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE.^[1][2] Cave 16 features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailash temple, a chariot-shaped monument dedicated to the god Shiva. The Kailash temple excavation also features sculptures depicting various Hindu deities as well as relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu epics.
• There are over 100 caves at the site, all excavated from the basalt cliffs in the Charanandri Hills, 34 of which are open to public. These consist of 17 Hindu (caves 13–29), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, each group representing deities and mythologies prevalent in the 1st millennium CE, as well as monasteries of each respective religion. They were built close to one another and illustrate the religious harmony that existed in ancient India.

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Cave 16 of the Kailasanatha Temple, Interior

The Hindu monuments:� Caves 13–29

The Hindu caves were constructed during the Kalachuris period, from the mid-6th century to the end of the 8th century in two phases. Nine cave temples were excavated early in the 6th century,[22][23] followed by a further four caves (caves 17–29). Work first commenced, in order, on Caves 28, 27 and 19 then Caves 29 and 21, which were excavated concurrently with Caves 20 and 26. Caves 17 and 28 were the last ones to be started.

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The later caves, 14, 15 and 16, were constructed during the Rashtrakuta period, some being dated to between the 8th to 10th centuries. Work first began in Caves 14 and 15 with Cave 16, the world's largest monolith,[citation needed] being the last of the three to be constructed. These caves were completed in the 8th century with the support of king Krishna

Parvati and Dancing Shiva (right) in an Ellora cave

Early Hindu temples: Dhumar Lena, Cave 29

• Construction in the early Hindu caves commenced before any of the Buddhist or Jain caves. These early caves were generally dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, although the iconography suggests that the artisans gave other gods and goddesses of Hinduism prominent and equal reverence. A common feature of these cave temples was a rock-cut linga-yoni within the core of the shrine with each being surrounded by a space for circumambulation (parikrama).

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• Cave 29, also called Dhumar Lena, is one of earliest excavations in Ellora and among the largest. Early Hindu temple building in the cave centred around the "Vale Ganga", a natural waterfall that was integrated into the monument. The waterfall is visible from a rock carved balcony to the south and has been described as "falling over great Shiva's brow", particularly during monsoon season. The carvings in this cave are larger than life size but, according to author Dhavalikar, they are "corpulent, stumpy with disproportionate limbs" compared to those found in other Ellora caves

The Stone Pillar at the Kailashanatha Temple (Cave #16)

Rameshwar temple, Cave 21

• Cave 21, also called Rameshwar Lena, is another early excavation whose construction has been credited to the Kalachuri dynasty. The cave was completed prior to the ascension of Rashtrakuta dynasty which went on to expand the caves at Ellora.

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• Although the cave features similar works to those in other Ellora caves, it also has a number of unique pieces, such as those depicting the story of goddess Parvati's pursuit of Shiva. Carvings depicting Parvati and Shiva at leisure, Parvati's wedding to Shiva, Shiva dancing and Kartikeya (Skanda) have been found in other caves. The cave also features a large display of the Sapta Matrika, the seven mother goddesses of the Shakti tradition of Hinduism, flanked on either side by Ganesha and Shiva. Inside the temple are other goddesses important to Shakti tradition, for example, the Durga. The entrance to Cave 21 is flanked by large sculptures of the goddesses Ganga and Yamuna representing the two major Himalayan rivers and their significance to the Indian culture.

Goddess Ganga at the entrance of Cave 21

The Kailāśa temple: Cave 16

• Cave 16, known as the Kailasa temple, is a particularly notable cave temple in India as a result of its size, architecture and having been entirely carved out of a single rock.

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• The Kailasha temple, inspired by Mount Kailasha, is dedicated to Shiva. It is modeled along similar lines to other Hindu temples with a gateway, an assembly hall, a multi-storey main temple surrounded by numerous shrines laid out according to the square principle, an integrated space for circumambulation, a garbha-grihya (sanctum sanctorum) wherein resides the linga-yoni, and a spire-shaped like Mount Kailash – all carved from one rock. Other shrines carved from the same rock are dedicated to Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, the ten avatars of Vishnu, Vedic gods and goddesses including Indra, Agni, Vayu, Surya and Usha, as well as non-Vedic deities like Ganesha, Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati), Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu), Annapurna, Durga and others. The basement level of the temple features numerous Shaiva, Vaishnava and Shakti works; a notable set of carvings include the twelve episodes from the childhood of Krishna, an important element of Vaishnavism.

Kailash temple at Ellora. Right: James Fergusson's 19th-century drawing of the temple

The Dashavatara: Cave 15

• The Dashavatara temple, or Cave 15, is another significant excavation that was completed sometime after Cave 14 (Ravan ki Khai, Hindu). Cave 15 has cells and a layout plan that are similar to Buddhist Caves 11 and 12, which suggests this cave was intended to be a Buddhist cave; however, the presence of non-Buddhist features, such as a Nrtya Mandapa (an Indian classical dance pavilion) at its entrance, indicated otherwise. According to James Harle, Hindu images have been found in Buddhist Cave 11, while many Hindu deities have been incorporated in Buddhist caves of the region. This overlap in disparate designs between Buddhist and Hindu caves may be due to the sites being worked on by the same architects and workers, or perhaps a planned Buddhist cave was adapted into a Hindu monument.

Vishnu at the Dashavatara Ellora temple

The Buddhist monuments: Caves 1–12

• These caves are located on the southern side and were built either between 630 and 700 CE,[60] or 600–730 CE. It was initially thought that the Buddhist caves were the earliest structures that were created between the fifth and eighth centuries, with caves 1–5 in the first phase (400–600) and 6–12 in the later phase (650–750), but modern scholars now consider the construction of Hindu caves to have been before the Buddhist caves. The earliest Buddhist cave is Cave 6, then 5, 2, 3, 5 (right wing), 4, 7, 8, 10 and 9,[60] with caves 11 and 12, also known as Do Thal and Tin Thal respectively, being the last.

Caves 11 (above) and 12 are three-storey monasteries cut out of a rock, with Vajrayana iconography inside.

The Jain monuments: Caves 30–34

• At the north end of Ellora are the five Jain caves belonging to the Digambara sect, which were excavated in the ninth and early tenth centuries. These caves are smaller than the Buddhist and Hindu caves but nonetheless feature highly detailed carvings. They, and the later-era Hindu caves, were built at a similar time and both share architectural and devotional ideas such as a pillared veranda, symmetric mandapa and puja (worship). However, unlike the Hindu temples, emphasis is placed on the depiction of the twenty-four Jinas (spiritual conquerors who have gained liberation from the endless cycle of rebirths).

Lord Bahubali

Chhota Kailasha: Cave 30

• The Chhota Kailasha, or the little Kailasha, is so named due to the similarity of the carvings to those in the Kailasha temple. This temple was likely built in the early 9th century, concurrent with the construction of the lower level of the Indra Sabha, some decades after the completion of the Kailasha Temple. It features two larger-than-life size reliefs of dancing Indra, one with eight arms and another with twelve, both adorned with ornaments and a crown; Indra's arms are shown in various mudra reminiscent of the dancing Shiva artworks found in nearby Hindu caves. However, the iconography has several differences that indicate this cave shows a dancing Indra and not a dancing Shiva. The Indra panels at the entrance also feature other deities, celestials, musicians and dancers.

Chhota Kailasha

The Indra Sabha: Cave 32

• The Indra Sabha (Cave 32), excavated in the 9th century, is a two-storey cave with a monolithic shrine in its court. 19th-century historians confused the Jain Yaksas for alternate images of Indra that were found in Buddhist and Hindu artworks, thus leading to the temple being given the misnomer "Indra Sabha". Indra is an important deity in all three major religions, but is of particular importance in Jainism as not only is he one of 64 deities who reign over the heavens, he is, specifically, the king of the first Jain heaven, Saudharmakalpa, and the chief architect of the celestial assembly hall according to the Adipurana, a Jain holy text.

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• The Indra Sabha Jain temple is historically significant as it contains evidence, in the form of layered deposits and textual records, of active worship inside by the Jain community. In particular, rituals were known to have been held in the upper level, where the artwork may have played a central role.

Painting in Cave 32

The Jagannatha Sabha: Cave 33

• The Jagannatha Sabha (Cave 33) is the second-largest Jain cave at Ellora and dates to the 9th century according to the inscriptions on the pillars. It is a two-storeyed cave with twelve massive pillars and elephant heads projecting towards a porch, all carved from a single rock. The hall has two heavy square pillars in front, four in the middle area, and a pillared interior square principal hall with fluted shafts, all intricately carved with capitals, ridges and brackets. Inside the major idols are of Parshvanatha and Mahavira, the last two Tirthankaras in Jainism.

Goddess Sidaika

Cave 34

• Certain inscriptions in Cave 34, or J26 according to historian José Pereira, are not deciphered as yet but were likely to have been executed between 800 and 850 CE. Other inscriptions, such as the one by Sri Nagavarma, are thought to date from the 9th or 10th century.

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• This cave features a large seated Parshvanatha Jina with four camara attendants, two of whom hold fly-whisks and seemingly emerge from the back of the Jina's throne. As with many other Jain excavations, a large pair of yaksa-yaksi is also found in this cave near the Jina. In the back of the cave is a bearded figure with a bowl containing round sacrificial offerings, which have shapes reminiscent of pindas (rice balls) or laddus (sweetmeat). This suggests the scene may be related to Jain devotional worship, possibly a shraddha ceremony. The Parshvanatha in the cave is paired with a standing Gommateshvara, and accompanied by other carvings showing musicians playing a variety of instruments such as horns, drums, conchs, trumpets, and cymbals.

Goddess Ambika sitting on a lion, Cave 34

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