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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Ellora Caves – A must visit architectural miracle on Earth -Part 1

Few advertising campaigns do speak the truth. Incredible India!! An ad campaign carried out by Government of India to promote tourism is one of them. It truly showcases the beauty and essence of India, and I couldn’t agree more to this, when I visited Ellora caves. This magnificent architectural marvel left me awestruck and I felt an immense sense of pride and attachment for my country.

When I was growing up, whenever someone mentioned Ellora Caves, the first image which came to my mind was that of some erotic sculptures. Blame it to Bollywood movies or my lack of knowledge, for a long period of time I had this image until when I actually visited this place with my best of buddies. As a matter of fact, it is one of the most sacred places of India and the only place where all the three religions viz Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism co exists.This co-existence clearly demonstrates how much religiously tolerant Indians were way back then.

Ellora caves are located 30 kms from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra.Its about 300 kms from Mumbai and about 255 kms from Pune .There are over 100 caves at Ellora, all excavated from the basalt cliffs in the Charanandri hills,34 of which are open to public. These 34 caves comprises of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples and monasteries.These caves were excavated in the 6th  to 10th century making it one of the oldest wonders of our modern world.

The best time to visit Ellora caves is  from November to March when it is cooler and dry.The caves are open from 8 am to 5.30pm.There is an entry fee of Rupees 40 for Indians and rupees 600 for foreign tourists.

There are no eating joints inside the caves except the local vendors selling some fruits .It takes about nearly four to five hours to see the entire site which is stretched over for about 2 kms. Many buses are also provided by the government which starts from Cave no 16 and goes until the last cave.

This journey continues....

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