Unique Wonder: ancient caves in India

Kailasha Temple At Ellora

Brief History about Ellora Caves:

Ellora is an archaeological site, 30 km (19 mi) from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta rulers. Well-known for its monumental caves, Ellora is a World Heritage Site. Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "caves" – actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills – being Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock cut temples and monasteries, were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.

Kailasha Temple At Ellora ( Front Side ) Photography By ~ Hardik Patel.

Interesting & Fun Facts About Ellora Caves

• Ellora caves are locally known as ‘Verul Leni’.

• The Great Kailasa (Cave 16) at Ellora boasts of being the largest single monolithic excavation in the world.

• Ellora caves have been hewn out of the volcanic basaltic formation of Maharashtra, known as ‘Deccan Trap’.

• The caves are datable from circa 6th-7th century A.D. to 11th-12th century AD.

• The hills that have served as the venue of Ellora caves form a part of the Sahyadri ranges of the Deccan. These ranges date back to Cretaceous era of the Geological time scale (about 65 million years ago).

• There is inscriptional evidence related to Rashtrakuta Dynasty, on the back wall of the front mandapa of Cave 15.

• The Great Kailasa (Cave 16) is attributed to Krishna I (c. 757-83 A.D.), the successor and uncle of Rashtrakuta Dantidurga.

• Caves 1 to 10 and Cave 21 (Ramesvara) are generally attributed to the Kalachuris of Mahismati.

• Brahmanical caves and two Buddhist caves (caves 11 and 12) are attributed to the Rashtrakuta times.

• The style of execution and fragmentary inscriptions of the Jaina caves hint to their origin being post the reign of Rashtrakutas.

• Ellora caves are open from sunrise to sunset all days of the week, except, Tuesday.

• The Great Kailasa is a freestanding, multi-storied temple complex, built to resemble Mount Kailasa - the abode of Lord Shiva.

• Dashavatara cave (Cave 15) at Ellora depicts the ten avataras of Lord Vishnu.

• The entrance of Ramesvara cave (Cave 21) is adorned with figurines of River Goddesses - Ganga and Yamuna.

• The design of Dhumar Lena (Cave 29) is similar to the cave temple on Elephanta Island, near Mumbai.

• Buddhist caves mostly consist of viharas or monasteries, which include living quarters, sleeping quarters, kitchens, and other rooms.

• Vishwakarma cave (Buddhist cave 10) is also known as "Carpenter's Cave" and houses a 15 foot statue of Buddha, seated in a preaching pose.

• Amongst all Buddhist caves, the first nine (caves 1-9) are monasteries, while the last two - Do Tal (cave 11) and Tin Tal (cave 12) have three stories.

• The Jain caves at Ellora stand adorned with exceptionally detailed art works.

• Chhota Kailash (cave 30), Indra Sabha (cave 32) and Jagannath Sabha (cave 33) are the most remarkable Jain caves.

• Ellora caves, in combination with Ajanta caves, have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Few More Pictures discover about Ellora's Caves :