Ellora caves-A must visit architectural miracle on earth-Part 3

Hindu caves are the most intricately carved caves of Ellora and one after another we were witnessing the most hypnotic structures of the world.In my last post I talked about cave no 16 ,the Kailash Temple.We now moved ahead to cave no 15 ,the Dashavatara Temple.

As the name suggests, The Dashavtara temple depicts the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.A small flight of stairs takes you up to the main cave .At the middle of the courtyard, there is a small raised square hall called Natya mandapa(hall of dance) containing the inscription of Dantidurga,the famous Rashtrakuta ruler (758-756.A.D.).
The main structure is double storied.The ground floor is plain and devoid of any sculptures and the upper floor is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The next cave we came upon was cave no 14 ,Ravan ki khai .This cave temple was probably dedicated to the Shakti cult as it was evident from the various sculptures of female divinities we spotted there.The entrance door was flanked by the sculptures of gigantic guards and river goddesses.The prevalence of river goddesses on the entrance of the temples was a common feature for almost all the caves at Ellora. It is believed to be symbolic of purifying ourselves with holy waters before reaching the main deity.
Since we were moving towards the southern side ,the next cave in line was Cave no 13.This cave was an incomplete cave .

Cave 13 (An incomplete Hindu Cave)

Cave no 13 marked  an end of Hindu caves on the southern side .

Buddhists Caves (1-12)

After having seen the most dramatic caves of Ellora ,we now stopped at the Budddhists caves.The Buddhists Caves contained the most simplest ornamentation and were twelve in number.We started off with the last of the Buddhists caves i.e.Cave no 12. This was an 8th century cave and known as "Teen Taal" because of its three floors.This Cave contained Lord Buddha in preaching position on a lotus throne.An interesting feature of this cave was that it had  seven mortal Buddhas pointing to the belief that the Buddha had already incarnated seven times on earth.Another three storied cave we came upon was Cave no 11 also built in the  8th century.

cave no 12

cave no 11

Cave no 10-The Vishwakarma cave

As we stepped inside this beautiful cave ,we couldn't keep our eyes away from the huge Buddha shrine we came across.It was placed right in the centre of a stupa hall also known as Chaitya-Griha. This hall had a vaulted roof in which ribs were carved out of the rock.The upper portion of the cave was beautifully carved with flying celestials and bodhisattvas. The carvings were so finely done that it gave a woodden look. Thats why this cave is also known as the "Carpenter's Cave".This cave was built around 650 C.E. and was a major Buddhist prayer hall.

Cave 6,7, 8 & 9

We then reached Cave no 9 which had elaborate upper facade levels containing a series of six seated Buddhas.Inside the cave we saw one seated Buddha, holding rosary in his broken right hand.This intricately carved facade was right above cave no 8 and one could easily get confused between these two caves.Cave no 8 had a Buddha seated in Bhadrasana between two Bodhisattvas. Cave no 7 was a large cave ,supported  by only four simple square pillars having minimal designs.

Cave no 6 welcomed us with many elaborately carved dance sculptures.At the entrance we came upon an unusual sculpture of Goddess Tara holding a lotus.There were figures of dwarfs above her, an ascetic to her left and a female to her right.The main shrine there was a  Buddha seated on his elaborate lion throne accompanied by bodhisattvas on either sides.

Goddess tara at Cave no 6

Caves no 1-5

Cave no 5 was different from all other caves we saw at Ellora. Excavated at a higher level ,it was largest among the single storied caves.It had a huge hall comprising of long parallel carved benches running down its center.The two storied Cave no 4 is now virtually in ruins.There is a Buddha sitting under a peepal tree and another in a shrine.

Cave no 5

Cave no 4

Cave no 3 had a square central chamber with Buddha seated on the lotus and twelve meditation cells.Cave no 2 was a worship hall decorated internally and externally with sculptures of Lord Buddha in different postures.Finally we came to Cave no 1 which was a vihara or resident for monks to stay.

The journey continues.....

Ellora caves- A must visit architectural miracle on earth -Part 2

From my various travel experiences, I realized that for a successful travel one must have the right people along if not travelling alone.I am certainly blessed with few of these like minded souls.Well, in the month of March this year, we were yet again on a road trip from Pune to Ellora caves. We started from Pune in the afternoon ready to explore one of the most exquisite and spellbinding place we could ever visit. We took the route via Ahmednagar highway-Aurangabad- Ellora caves. It takes about five and a half hours to reach Ellora from Pune but it took us little more !!! Thanks to the bad roads we came across at few places. Since we couldn’t find a decent accommodation at  Ellora , we stayed at a hotel in Aurangabad. Next day early morning we headed to Ellora and reached there in just 20 minutes. 

While having breakfast at a food joint just half a km from the caves , we came to know that a very famous Shiva temple was just walk able distance from there. So we all decided to visit the temple as well. And to our utmost surprise , this temple turned out be one of the twelve jyotirlingas known as The Grishneshwar temple.Being an ardent Shiva follower I was extremely delighted .

Exploring the Ellora caves

As I already mentioned in my previous post  ,there are 34 caves open to public which are numbered consecutively, starting with Buddhist caves (cave 1 to 12), Hindu caves(13-29 ) and Jain Caves(30-34). We started off with the most remarkable and unfathomable among the Hindu caves, Cave No 16 The kailash temple. It’s dedicated to Lord Shiva but also pays homage to other gods.

The Kailash Temple

It is the largest monolithic structure of the world carved out of a single rock. An inscription on this temple reveals that it was built by Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty and involved the removal of 1,50000 to 2,00000 tons of solid rock.It was conceived and architected by pallavas of the south.One peculiar feature of this temple is that unlike other temples at this site , it was built from top to bottom. It is the most spectacular display of human craftsmanship on natural formations having the most enormous and beautiful sculptures. It is believed that this temple is made in a pyramid shape resembling the mythical abode of lord Shiva, the Mount Kailasha and hence the name Kailash Temple. We kept on wondering how the craftsmen in ancient times, came up with this mammoth using the very few basic tools of construction.

As we entered through the gateway of the temple , we came upon sculptures of two  sages, the Valmiki and the Vyasa authors of the most famous religious scriptures the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Little ahead we were greeted with symbols of wealth and prosperity i.e.  God Kuber (the god of wealth) on both sides of the doorway and Goddess Laxmi in the cubicle opposite. Turning to the left of the temple, we saw the God Kama. Also there were depictions from Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Goddess laxmi

God kama with his bow and arrows

We  were mesmerised to see the huge carved pillars standing tall  and also elephants lined up on either sides   in the courtyard . The courtyard is surrounded by  columned galleries three storied  high. Inside these galleries one can find various depictions of Lord Shiva and Vishnu. Since Lord shiva is believed to lead us to the path of salvation and for that one has to completely abstain from worldly pleasures. Therefore all the sculptures like those of God Kuber and God Kama were carved outside the temple.

Elephants adorned on either sides of the courtyard

carved pillars having a height of 16mts.

In the inner porch we saw two sculptures of Lord Shiva, one showing him as lord of knowledge and other as bhairava, killing the elephant demon.Climbing few steps ahead we reached the main part of the temple , the garb griha which has a huge lingam .At the back of the temple there were five shrines which were believed to be  a copy of the main temple.Another notable sculpture there  was that of Ravana attempting to lift mount kailash. 

Lord Shiva depicted as Lord of Knowledge

Garb-Grah with Lingam

As we made our way out of this magnificient  temple, we stood there for a moment ,completely astounded by its beauty,we felt a sudden gush of pride for being part of this great Indian civilization.The Kailash Temple was undoubtedly the most impressive among all the caves of Ellora.

The journey continues....

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