Ellora Caves
The Ellora caves reflect the three faiths of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism between 350 AD and to 700 AD. There are 34 temples but only 12 of them are belongs to the Buddhist period, a certain representation of the slow decline of Buddhism at the time.
The Chalukya-Rashtrakuta rulers were the main patrons of the cave temples of Ellora and many kings and merchants donated huge sums of money for the construction of the cave temples. A temple was supposed to give salvation and religious excellence to the kings.
As a first-time visitor, you are immediately impressed by the fact that all temples, pillars, balconies and sculptures have all been carved out of ONE piece of rock. It’s a dwindling thought when you realize that there is only one chance to get it all done correctly.
Engineers and Architects are completely blown away by this amazing feat of engineering. The most incredible thing about Ellora caves is the fantastic rock cut sculptures crafted by hand, with only a hammer and chisel.
The masterpiece at Ellora is the Kailasa Temple. Dedicated to Shiva, it is the world’s largest monolithic sculpture, hewn from rock by over 7000 laborers over a 150-year period. Over 200.000 tons of rock has been removed to create the temple which covers an area twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and is also 1½ times as high.
The caves at Ellora remained shrouded in obscurity for over a millennium, till John Smith, a British Army Officer, accidentally stumbled upon them while on a hunting expedition in 1819.
A visit to the Ellora Caves is a breathtaking experience. This is truly a World Heritage Site in the same class as the Pyramids, Petra or Taj Mahal and an absolute must place to stop at when you plan you Indian travel route. |
