Ellora Cave Temples & Sculptures : A Confluence of Tri - religious Heritage
- kamalparu
- May 11
- 4 min read
Ellora Cave Temples & Sculptures : A Confluence of Tri - religious Heritage
Kailasa Temple (Cave 16)
Backside of ₹ 20 banknote
· Nestled in the lap of Charanandri Hills of the Sahyadri Range in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad ) district of Maharashtra, India, the world famous rock – cut caves at Ellora made during 6th to 11th century, is a World Heritage Site. It consists of a group of 34 caves dedicated to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism which makes it a unique confluence of tri – religious heritage centre. These rock – cut caves are testimony of high caliber, technique, knowledge and dedication of artisans of bygone era. It is a treasure of architectural marvels, magnificent sculptures, motifs and reliefs.
· It is believed that creation of these caves might had happened in a sequence – initially Cave 01 to 12 dedicated to Buddhism, then Cave 13 to 29 dedicated to Hinduism and there after Cave 30 to 34 dedicated to Jainism. The Buddhist and Hindu caves might have been constructed during Rashtrakuta dynasty and the Jain caves during Yadava dynasty.
Brief Details about Caves and their Sculptures
(1) The Buddhist Caves
· Buddhist caves mainly depict about life of Lord Buddha, Bodhisattvas, female deities, images of Yakshas, Gandharvas, Apsaras, Dwarapalas, devotees etc.
· Cave 01 to 12 are dedicated to Buddhism and mainly consists of ‘Chaitya grihas’ (or Prayer halls) and ‘Viharas’ (or Monasteries).The Cave Nos. 2, 5, 10 & 12 are main attraction.
· Cave 10 ( or Vishwakarma Cave) : A finest example of Chaitya griha, elaborately carved images of flying figures (Vidyadharas) on the façade, colossal image of Lord Buddha in seating posture & a Stupa inside the main hall and vaulted roof with images in the niches.
· Cave 05 : A central rectangular hall with Lord Buddha image at extreme end and 02 Nos. low-rise platform which might have been used for study purpose indicates that this cave was a study centre during 6th to 7th centuries.
· Cave 11 (Do Taal) & 12 (Teen Taal) : These caves consists of 02 and 03 storied huge monastery.
Images of Buddhist Caves
(2) The Hinduism Caves
· Hinduism caves mainly depict images of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, goddess Parvati, goddess Ganga, other Hindu deities, panels depicting events of the Ramayana & Mahabharata, images of animals such as lions, elephants etc.
· Cave Nos. 13 to 29 are dedicated to Hinduism. The Cave Nos. 15, 16, 21 & 29 are main attraction.
· Cave 16 ( Kailasa or Kailasanath Temple) : Dedicated to Lord Shiva, it is the largest monolithic rock – cut temple in the world. It is believed that construction of this temple started from top to bottom and huge quantity of rock was excavated / carved out to create this 32 m high temple. The construction of this temple is attributed to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (756 to 773 CE).
The temple has a U – shaped huge courtyard, a low height Gopuram, Shivalingam inside the central mandap and image of Nandi in front of main mandap. Colossal image of elephants, decorated stone columns (Dwaja-sthambams), lions on the top of mandap very impressive. The shikhar of the temple are very articulated. Sculptures of Hindu deities are placed on the interior of main temple. All these features makes the Kailas Temple very unique and magnificent. The events / stories from the great epic Ramayana & Mahabharata have also been displayed as intricately carved panels. Truly Kailas Temple may be dubbed as ‘jewel in the crown’ of Ellora group of monuments.
The image of Kailasa Temple has been placed on the backside of ₹ 20 banknote issued by Reserve Bank of India.
Images of Kailasa Temple, Cave 16
· Cave 15 ( Dasavatara Temple) : Articulated sculpture panels depicting Lord Shiva & Lord Vishnu in different postures with other deities. Images depicting 10 incarnation (avtar) of Lord Vishnu has been prominently displayed.
· Cave 21 (Rameshwara Cave) : Sculptures depicting events related to Lord Shiva are prominently displayed in this cave. Image of goddess Ganga at entrance is very impressive.
· Cave 29 (Dhumar Lena) : Dedicated to Lord Shiva.The famous sculptures in this cave are Shiva & Parvati playing chausar, Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa, marriage of Lord Shiva with goddess Parvati etc.
Images of Cave 21 & 29
(3) The Jainism Caves
· Cave Nos. 30 to 34 are dedicated to Jainism. These caves depicts exquisitely carved images of Jain Tirthankars[A1] , yakshaa, yakshis and other deities.
· Cave Nos. 30 to 34 are dedicated to Jainism. The Cave Nos. 30, 32 & 33 are main attraction.
· Cave 30 is also known as ‘Chhota Kailasa’ being the replica of Kailasa Temple at Cave 16.
· Cave 32 is also known as ‘Indra Sabha’.
· Cave 33 is also known as ‘Jagannatha Sabha’.
Images of Jain Caves
# During our posting at Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore, we got opportunity to visit these famous Ellora caves. Some memorable glimpses clicked during our visit have been displayed here which is a modest attempt to bring forward the rich artistic treasure of India for the viewers.
· The Ellora Caves was declared as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO in year 1983.
# The cave – temple architecture and intricately carved sculptures created at Ellora are timeless heritage of three religion - signifying religious tolerance and harmony.
The artistic imagination and expression in the form of sculptures are most magnificent and unparalleled. A visit to Ellora Caves may impart bliss as well as proud moment for our glorious past.
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