Ellora Caves
Nestled in the crook of the Charanadari hill in Deccan is a series of ancient temples and monasteries hewn out of the moutainside. Situated on the ancient north- south trade route or the dakshinapatha, the tiny mountain village of Verul - mutated today to Ellora -was a well- known stopover for traders, priests and pilgrims who plied the route to the western ports.
Beginning sometime in the 7th century, when the Chalukyas (AD 553 - 753) ruled the Deccan, these wayfarers decided to make their presence permanent. And excavation started on a number of Buddhist chaityas and viharas. The place found favour with missionaries of other faiths as well, and over the next five centuries, Hindus and Jains also built their temples in the rocks there.
A path often tread upon; Unlike the caves at Ajanta, the Ellora caves were never 'lost'. Largely because it lay on a more frequented route, Ellora remained in the public eye. In fact, Kailasa Temple remained a practising shrine until the 19th century. Several travellers to India including the 10th century Arab geographer Al Masudi and Niccolao. Manucci in early 17th century mention the caves in their accounts.
The Caves
There are 34 caves, of which 12 are Buddhist, 17 Hindu and 5 Jain. The caves all face west, so are best seen in the afternoon. The Buddhist caves are to your far right as you face the curve of the Charanadari Hill, then come the Hindu ones, and finally, the Jain cave temples to the far left.
Although not too far removed from the Ajanta caves in terms of both space and time, the chaityas and viharas of Ellora are architecturally and sculpturally different. Compared to the Ajanta paintings and sculptures, the Ellora representations are more earthly, drawing elements from the Vajrayana school of Buddhism which was permeated with primitive ideas of magic and mysticism. So, the dwarapalas that flank each doorway, the gigantic Boddhisattavas and their consorts have a robust earthiness about them.
A masterpiece of Architectural
In fact, it is architectural skill rather than sculptural aesthetics that Ellora is noted for. Buddhist Cave 12 or Tin Tala, for instance, has a rather plain edifice with unadorned pillars and the sculptured panels are only on the inner walls. But its historical value lies in the fact that human hands fashioned a three- storeyed building from solid rock with such painstaking skill that even the floors and the ceiling are smooth and levelled. Tin Tala cave is a commodious monastery- cum-chapel, with cells enough to house 40 monks. It dates to the Rashtrakuta period in the middle of the 8th century and, in fact, the third floor, which contains the most sculpted decoration, was being excavated even as the Hindus were carving the magnificent Kailasa Temple further along the rock face. The cruciform layout of the third storey in Cave 12 may also be the inspiration behind the Dumar Lena (Cave 29) and the Shiva cave at Elephanta.
Kailasa Temple - The largest monolithic structure in the world
The other Buddhist caves as well as the first few Hindu caves are fairly unremarkable and do not prepare you for the magnificence of Kailasa Temple or Cave 16. Believed to have been started by the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna
I.
Its excavation must rank as an architectural wonder. Two great trenches some 90 meters long were dug into the hillside. They were connected at the deepest point by another trench 53 metres across. The temple was meant to appear as though rising from a vast courtyard at ground level.
The great block of residual rock, rising 30 metres, was then carved into the three- storeyed vimana, the main mandapa, two giant dhwajasthambas or pillars, and four sub- shrines. Beginning at the top, the mass of rock was hewn into shape, and as each layer was shaped, the carves began ornamenting the structure. Each layer was thus hewn and decorated completely before moving downward, thus eliminating the need for any scaffolding.
The temple is dedicated to Shiva and named for his mountain home in the Himalayas, the snow- peak Kailasa. The main shrine and the Nandi mandapa are built on a plinth, over 7.8 metres high, with its entire vertical surface carved with mythical animals and gargoyles.
The Main Temple
This is flanked on either side by two free- standing pillars, soaring some 15.9 metres high. These gracefully proportioned pillars are believed to have once borne the trishul or trident of Shiva.
Two storeys of corridors have been carved into the mountain, ringing the temple on three sides. These corridors are studded with small alcoves, all containing a wealth of sculpted figures telling the tales of the great Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Among the narrative friezes is the descent of river Ganga, and one of Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa. The architectural style and intricate sculpture is similar to Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal that had been completed a decade before.
The Chota Kailasa
A further 2 kms along the rock-face are the Jain caves, the most recent of the lot, having been excavcted between AD 800-1100. Of these the Chhota Kailasa (Cave 30) and the Indrasabha (Cave 32) are the most noteworthy. Chhota Kailasa is a miniaturised version of the stupendous Hindu Kailasa Temple.
However, the masterpiece of the Jain caves is the two-storeyed Indrasabha temple. The doorway opens onto a courtyard containing a small shrine, but the temple itself is a large edifice attained by a high flight of steps and flanked by a huge dhwajsthamba and a statue of an elephant. The three-sides of the central quadrangle are carved over to produce a two-storeyed façade containing a series of shrines to the many Jain tirthankaras or saints.
What staggers one at Ellora is the realisation that all that beauty one beholds was fashioned by human hand, more than a millenium ago.
