Ellora Caves

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

When I show you this object, I am amazed once again and once again I can’t even believe that such majestic structures could have been built a long time ago. How much labor, effort and energy was invested in these rocks!

The most visited ancient monument of Maharashtra - the ELLORA caves, which are located 29 km northwest of Aurangabad, may not be located in such an impressive place as their older sisters in Ajanta, but the amazing richness of their sculpture fully compensates for this shortcoming, and they not to be missed by any means if you are on your way to Mumbai or from Mumbai, which is 400 km southwest.

A total of 34 Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves - some of which were created at the same time, competing with each other - encircle the foot of the two kilometers long Chamadiri cliff where it merges into the open plains.

The main attraction of this territory - the gargantuan-sized temple of Kailash - rises up from a huge, sheer-walled hollow in the hillside. The largest monolith in the world, this incredibly huge piece of solid basalt has been transformed into a picturesque cluster of intersecting colonnaded halls, galleries and sacred altars. But let's talk about everything in more detail …

The temples of Ellora originated in the era of the state of the Rashtrakut dynasty, which in the 8th century united the western part of India under their rule. In the Middle Ages, many considered the Rashtrakut state the greatest state; it was compared with such powerful powers as the Arab Caliphate, Byzantium and China. The most powerful Indian rulers at that time were the Rashtrakuts.

The caves were created between the 6th and 9th centuries AD. There are 34 temples and monasteries in Ellora. The interior decoration of the temples is not as dramatic and rich as in the caves of Ajanta. However, there are refined sculptures of a more beautiful form, a complex plan is observed and the dimensions of the temples themselves are larger. And all the memos have been much better preserved to this day. Long galleries were created in the rocks, and the area of one hall sometimes reached 40x40 meters. The walls are skillfully decorated with reliefs and stone sculptures. Temples and monasteries were created in the basalt hills for half a millennium (6-10 centuries AD). It is also characteristic that the construction of the Ellora caves began around the time when the holy places of Ajanta were abandoned and lost from sight.

In the 13th century, by order of Raja Krishna, the Kailasantha cave temple was created. A temple was erected according to very specific treatises on construction, everything was set out in them to the smallest detail. Kailasantha was to become intermediate between the heavenly and terrestrial temples. A kind of gate.

Kailasantha has dimensions 61 meters by 33 meters. The height of the entire temple is 30 meters. Kailasantha was created gradually, they began to cut down the temple from the top. First, they dug a trench around the boulder, which eventually turned into a temple. Holes were cut in it, later it will be galleries and halls.

The Kailasantha Temple in Ellora was created by gouging about 400,000 tons of rock. From this we can judge that those who created the plan of this temple had an extraordinary imagination. The features of the Dravidian style are demonstrated by Kailasantha. This can be seen in the gate in front of the entrance to Nanding, and in the very outline of the temple, which gradually tapers towards the top, and along the facade with miniature sculptures in the form of decor.

All Hindu buildings are located around the most prominent Kailash temple, which personifies the sacred mountain of Tibet. In contrast to the calm and more ascetic decoration of Buddhist caves, Hindu temples are decorated with catchy and bright carvings, which is very characteristic of Indian architecture.

Near Chennai in Tamilnand there is the Mamallapuram temple, with its towers the tower of the Kailasantha temple resembles. They were built at about the same time.

An incredible amount of effort has gone into building the temple. This temple stands in a well 100 meters long and 50 meters wide. At Kailasanath, the foundation is not only a three-tiered monument, but also a huge complex with a courtyard near the temple, porticoes, galleries, halls, statues.

The lower part ends with a plinth of 8 meters, with figures of sacred animals, elephants and lions, it is girdled on all sides. The figures guard and support the temple at the same time.

The original reason why this rather remote place became the center of such an active religious and artistic activity was the lively caravan route that ran here, connecting the flourishing cities in the north and the ports of the west coast. The profits from the lucrative trade went to the construction of the sanctuaries of this five-hundred-year-old complex, which began in the middle of the 6th century. n. BC, at about the same time that Ajanta, located 100 km to the northeast, was abandoned. This was the period of the decline of the Buddhist era in central India: by the end of the 7th century. the rise of Hinduism began again. The revival of Brahmanism gained momentum over the next three centuries under the patronage of the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta kings, two powerful dynasties that helped carry out most of the work in Ellora, including the creation of the Kailash temple in the 8th century. The third and final stage of the rise of construction activity in this area came at the end of the first millennium of the new era, when local rulers turned from Shaivism to Jainism of the Digambara direction. A small cluster of less prominent caves to the north of the main group stands as a reminder of this era.

Unlike the secluded Ajanta, Ellora did not escape the consequences of the fanatical struggle with other religions that accompanied the rise to power of Muslims in the 13th century. The worst extremes were taken during the reign of Aurangzeb, who, in a fit of piety, ordered the systematic destruction of "pagan idols." Although Ellora still bears the scars of that time, much of her sculpture has remained miraculously intact. The fact that the caves were carved into solid rock, outside the zone of monsoon rainfall, has kept them in remarkably good condition.

All caves are numbered, approximately according to the chronology of their creation. The numbers 1 through 12 in the southern part of the complex are the oldest and date back to the Buddhist Vajrayana era (500-750 AD). Hindu caves numbered 17 to 29 were built at the same time as later Buddhist caves and date back to the period between 600 and 870. new era. Further north, the Jain caves - numbers 30 to 34 - were carved from 800 AD to the end of the 11th century. Due to the sloping nature of the hillside, most of the cave entrances are set back from the ground level and are located behind open courtyards and large pillared verandas or porticos. Entrance to all caves, except for the Kailash temple, is free.

To see the oldest caves first, turn right from the car park, where buses arrive, and walk along the main path to Cave 1. From here, gradually move further north, resisting the temptation to go to Cave 16 - the Kailash temple, which is better to leave for later when all the tour groups leave at the end of the day and the long shadows cast by the setting sun bring its striking stone sculpture to life.

The artificial rock caves scattered across the volcanic hills of the northwestern Deccan are among the most astonishing religious monuments in Asia, if not the entire world. Ranging from tiny monastic cells to colossal, elaborate temples, they are remarkable for being hand-carved in solid stone. Early caves 3rd c. BC BC, it seems, were the temporary shelters of Buddhist monks when torrential monsoon rains interrupted their wanderings. They copied earlier wooden structures and were financed by merchants, for whom the casteless new faith was an attractive alternative to the old, discriminatory social order. Gradually, inspired by the example of Emperor Ashoka Maurya, the local ruling dynasties also began to convert to Buddhism. Under their patronage, during the 2nd century. BC BC, the first large cave monasteries were created in Karli, Bhaj and Ajanta.

At this time, the ascetic Buddhist Theravada school prevailed in India. Closed monastic communities had little interaction with the outside world. The caves created during this era were mostly simple “prayer halls” (chaityas) - long, rectangular apsidal chambers with cylindrical vaulted roofs and two low aisles with columns curving gently around the back of a monolithic stupa. Symbols of Buddha's enlightenment, these hemispherical burial mounds were the main centers of worship and meditation around which communities of monks made their ritual walks.

The methods used to create caves have changed little over the centuries. Initially, the main dimensions of the decorative facade were applied to the front of the rock. Then the groups of masons cut a rough hole (which would later become an elegant horseshoe-shaped chaitya window) through which they cut further into the depths of the rock. As the workers made their way to floor level using heavy iron picks, they left chunks of untouched rock, which skillful sculptors then transformed into columns, prayer friezes and stupas.

By the 4th century. n. e. the Hinayan school began to give way to the more luxurious Mahayana school, or “Great Vehicle”. The greater emphasis of this school on the ever-increasing pantheon of deities and bodhisattvas (gracious saints who postponed their own attainment of Nirvana in order to help humanity in its progress towards Enlightenment) was reflected in the change in architectural styles. The chaityas were supplanted by the richly decorated monastery halls, or viharas, in which the monks lived and prayed, and the image of the Buddha gained great importance. Taking the place where a stupa used to stand at the end of the hall, around which ritual walks were performed, a colossal image appeared that carried 32 characteristics (lakshanas), including long hanging earlobes, a bulging skull, curls of hair that distinguish the Buddha from other creatures. Mahayana art reached its peak at the end of the Buddhist era. The creation of an extensive catalog of themes and images found in ancient manuscripts, such as the jatakas (legends of previous incarnations of the Buddha), as well as presented in the marvelous, awe-inspiring wall paintings at Ajanta, may have been partly due to an attempt to stir up interest in a faith that by that time had already begun to fade in this region.

Buddhism's aspiration to compete with resurgent Hinduism, which took shape in the 6th century, eventually led to the creation of a new, more esoteric religious movement within the Mahayana. Direction of Vajrayana, or "Thunder Chariot", emphasizing and affirming the creative principle of the feminine principle, shakti; in secret rituals, spells and magic formulas were used here. Ultimately, however, such modifications proved powerless in India in the face of the revived appeal of Brahmanism.

The subsequent transfer of royal and popular patronage to the new faith is best illustrated by the example of Ellora, where during the 8th century. many of the old viharas were converted into temples, and polished shivalingas were installed in their sanctuaries instead of stupas or Buddha statues. Hindu cave architecture, with its gravitation towards dramatic mythological sculpture, received its highest expression in the 10th century, when the majestic Kailash temple was created - a giant copy of structures on the surface of the earth, which have already begun to replace the caves carved into the rocks. It was Hinduism that bore the brunt of the fanatical medieval persecution of other religions by Islam, which reigned in the Deccan, and Buddhism had long since moved to the relatively safe Himalayas, where it still flourishes.

Buddhist caves are located on the sides of a gentle cut in the side of the Chamadiri cliff. All except Cave 10 are viharas, or monastery halls, which the monks originally used for teaching, solitary meditation and communal prayer, as well as for such mundane activities as eating and sleeping. As you walk through them, the halls will gradually become more and more impressive in size and style. Scholars attribute this to the rise of Hinduism and the need to compete to seek the patronage of rulers with the more awe-inspiring Shaiva cave temples that have been dug so close in the neighborhood.

Caves 1 to 5

Cave 1, which may have been a granary, as its largest hall is a simple vihara devoid of ornaments, containing eight small cells and almost no sculpture. In the much more impressive Cave 2, a large central chamber is supported by twelve massive columns with square bases, and Buddha statues sit along the side walls. On the sides of the entrance leading to the altar room are the figures of two gigantic dvarapalas, or gate guards: the unusually muscular Padmapani, the bodhisattva of compassion with a lotus in his hand, on the left, and the jeweled Maitreya, the “Coming Buddha,” on the right. Both are accompanied by their spouses. Within the sanctuary itself, the majestic Buddha sits on a lion throne, looking stronger and more determined than his serene predecessors in Ajanta. Caves 3 and 4, which are slightly older and similar in design to Cave 2, are in rather poor condition.

Known as the Maharwada (because during the monsoon rains the local Mahara tribe took refuge in it), Cave 5 is the largest one-story vihara in Ellora. Its huge, 36 m long, rectangular meeting room is said to have been used by the monks as a refectory, with two rows of benches carved in stone. At the far end of the hall, the entrance to the central sanctuary is guarded by two beautiful statues of bodhisattvas - Padmapani and Vajrapani ("Thunder Holder"). Inside sits the Buddha, this time on a dais; his right hand touches the ground in a gesture indicating the “Miracle of the Thousand Buddhas” that the Master performed to confuse a group of heretics.

Cave 6

The next four caves were dug around the same time in the 7th century. and are just a repetition of their predecessors. On the walls of the vestibule at the far end of the central hall in Cave 6 are the most famous and beautifully executed statues. Tara, the consort of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, stands on the left with an expressive, friendly face. On the opposite side is the Buddhist goddess of teachings Mahamayuri, depicted with a symbol in the form of a peacock, in front of her at the table is a diligent student. There is an obvious parallel between Mahayuri and the corresponding Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom Saraswati (the latter's mythological means of transportation, however, was a goose), which clearly shows to what extent Indian Buddhism in the 7th century.borrowed elements of a rival religion in an attempt to revive his own waning popularity.

Caves 10, 11 and 12

Dug at the beginning of the 8th century. Cave 10 is one of the last and most magnificent chaitya halls in the Deccan Caves. To the left of its large veranda, steps begin that rise to the upper balcony, from where a triple passage leads to the inner balcony, with flying horsemen, heavenly nymphs and a frieze decorated with playful dwarfs. From here there is a beautiful view of the hall with its octagonal columns and vaulted roof. From the stone "rafters" carved into the ceiling, imitations of beams that were present in earlier wooden structures, the popular name of this cave is derived - "Sutar Jhopadi" - "Carpenter's Workshop". At the far end of the hall on a throne, in front of a stupa erected on a votive basis, sits the Buddha - this group is the central place of worship.

Despite the discovery in 1876 of its formerly hidden underground floor, Cave 11 is still called "Dho Tal" or "two-tiered" cave. Its top floor is a long, pillared assembly hall with the Buddha's sanctuary, while the images on its back wall of Durga and Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva, indicate that the cave was converted into a Hindu temple after being abandoned by the Buddhists.

The neighboring cave 12 - "Tin Tal", or "three-tiered" - is another three-tiered vihara, the entrance to which leads through a large open courtyard. Once again, the main attractions are on the top floor, which was once used for teaching and meditation. On the sides of the altar room at the end of the hall, along the walls of which there are five large figures of bodhisattvas, there are statues of five Buddhas, each of which depicts one of his previous incarnations of the Teacher. The figures on the left are shown in a state of deep meditation, and on the right - again in the "Miracle of a Thousand Buddhas" position.

The seventeen Hindu caves of Ellora cluster around the middle of the cliff, where the majestic Kailash Temple is located. Carved out at the beginning of the Brahmin revival in the Deccan, during a time of relative stability, the cave temples are full of a sense of life that their reserved Buddhist predecessors lacked. There are no more rows of big-eyed people with a soft expression on the faces of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Instead, huge bas-reliefs line the walls, depicting dynamic scenes from Hindu lore. Most of them are associated with the name of Shiva, the god of destruction and rebirth (and the main deity of all the Hindu caves of the complex), although you will also find numerous images of Vishnu, the guardian of the universe, and his many incarnations.

The same pictures are repeated over and over, giving Ellora's artisans the perfect opportunity to hone their technique for centuries, culminating in the Kailash Temple (Cave 16). The separately described temple is a must-see attraction while in Ellora. However, you can better appreciate its beautiful sculpture by first exploring the earlier Hindu caves. If you don't have too much time, then keep in mind that numbers 14 and 15, located directly to the south, are the most interesting in the group.

Cave 14

Dating from the early 7th century, one of the last caves of the early period, Cave 14, was a Buddhist vihara converted into a Hindu temple. Its plan is similar to Cave 8, with an altar room separated from the back wall and surrounded by a circular passage. The entrance to the sanctuary is guarded by two imposing statues of river goddesses - Ganga and Yamuna, and in an alcove behind and to the right, seven fertility goddesses "Sapta Matrika" swing fat babies on their knees. The son of Shiva - Ganesha with the head of an elephant - sits to their right next to two terrifying images of Kala and Kali, the goddesses of death. Beautiful friezes adorn the long walls of the cave. Starting from the front, on the friezes on the left (when facing the altar), Durga is depicted killing the buffalo demon Mahisha; Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, sits on a lotus throne, while her elephant servants pour water from their trunks on her; Vishnu in the form of the boar Varaha, saving the earth goddess Prithvi from the flood; and finally Vishnu with his wives. The panels on the opposite wall are dedicated exclusively to Shiva. The second from the front shows him playing dice with his wife Parvati; then he dances the dance of the creation of the Universe in the form of Nataraja; and on the fourth frieze, he blithely ignores the vain attempts of the demon Ravana to throw him and his wife from their earthly home - Mount Kailash.

Cave 15

Like the neighboring cave, the two-story Cave 15, to which a long staircase leads, began its existence as a Buddhist vihara, but was occupied by the Hindus and turned into a Shiva sanctuary. You can skip the generally not particularly interesting first floor and immediately go up, where there are several samples of Ellora's most majestic sculpture. The name of the cave - "Das Avatara" ("Ten Avatars") - comes from a series of panels along the right wall, which represent five of the ten incarnations - the avatar - Vishnu. On the panel closest to the entrance, Vishnu is shown in his fourth image of the Lion-Man - Narasimha, which he took to destroy the demon, which “neither man nor beast could kill, neither day nor night, neither inside the palace nor outside” (Vishnu overpowered him, hiding at dawn on the threshold of the palace). Pay attention to the serene expression on the face of the demon before death, who is confident and calm, because he knows that, being killed by God, he will receive salvation. On the frieze second from the entrance, the Guardian is depicted in the embodiment of a sleeping “Primal Dreamer” reclining on the rings of Ananda, the cosmic serpent of Infinity. A sprout of a lotus flower is about to grow from his navel, and Brahma will emerge from it and begin the creation of the world.

A carved panel in the recess to the right of the vestibule depicts Shiva emerging from the lingam. His rivals - Brahma and Vishnu, stand before his vision humiliatingly and pleadingly, symbolizing the predominance of Shaivism in this region. And finally, in the middle of the left wall of the room, facing the sanctuary, the most elegant sculpture of the cave depicts Shiva in the form of Nataraja, frozen in a dance pose.

Caves 17 to 29

Only three of the Hindu caves located on the hillside north of Kailash are worth exploring. Cave 21 - Ramesvara - was created at the end of the 6th century. Believed to be the oldest Hindu cave in Ellora, it houses several amazingly executed pieces of sculpture, including a pair of beautiful river goddesses on the sides of the veranda, two marvelous statues of gatekeepers, and several sensual mithunas adorning the balcony walls. Note also the magnificent panel depicting Shiva and Parvati. In Cave 25, further away, there is a striking image of the Sun God - Surya, driving his chariot towards dawn.

From here, the trail leads past two more caves, and then abruptly descends along the surface of a steep cliff to its foot, where there is a small river gorge. Crossing a seasonal river with a waterfall, the path climbs up the other side of the crevice and leads to Cave 29 - "Dhumar Lena". This dating back to the end of the 6th century. the cave is distinguished by an unusual ground plan in the form of a cross, similar to the Elephanta cave in Mumbai harbor. Its three staircases are guarded by pairs of rearing lions, and the walls inside are decorated with huge friezes. To the left of the entrance, Shiva pierces the demon Andhaka; on the adjacent panel, it reflects the attempts of the multi-armed Ravana to shake him and Parvati off the top of Mount Kailash (note the fat-cheeked dwarf teasing the evil demon). The south side depicts a dice scene in which Shiva teases Parvati by holding her hand as she prepares to throw.

Kailash Temple (Cave 16)

Cave 16, the colossal Kailash Temple (6:00 am to 6:00 pm daily; 5 rupees) is Ellora's masterpiece. In this case, the term "cave" turns out to be a mistake. Although the temple, like all caves, was carved into solid rock, it is strikingly similar to the usual structures on the surface of the earth - in Pattadakal and Kanchipuram in South India, after which it was built. It is believed that this monolith was conceived by the ruler of Rashtrakuta Krishna I (756 - 773). A hundred years passed, however, and four generations of kings, architects and artisans changed, until this project was completed. Climb up the path along the complex's northern cliff to the landing above the squat main tower and you'll see why.

The size of the structure alone is amazing. The work began by digging three deep trenches at the top of the hill using picks, hoes and pieces of wood that, soaked in water and inserted into narrow cracks, expanded and crumbled the basalt. When a huge piece of rough rock was thus isolated, the royal sculptors began to work. It is estimated that a total of a quarter of a million tons of debris and crumbs were cut from the hillside, and it was impossible to improvise or make mistakes. The temple was conceived as a giant replica of the Himalayan dwelling of Shiva and Parvati - the pyramidal Mount Kailash (Kailash) - a Tibetan peak that is said to be the "divine axis" between heaven and earth. Today, almost all of the thick layer of white lime plaster that gave the temple the appearance of a snow-capped mountain has fallen off, revealing the carefully crafted surfaces of gray-brown stone. At the rear of the tower, these ledges have been exposed to centuries of erosion and faded and blurred, as if the gigantic sculpture was slowly melting from the brutal Deccan heat.

The main entrance to the temple leads through a high stone partition, which is designed to delimit the transition from the mundane to the sacred kingdom. Passing between the two river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna guarding the entrance, you find yourself in a narrow passage that opens into the main front yard, opposite a panel depicting Lakshmi - the Goddess of Wealth - being poured by a pair of elephants - this scene is known to Hindus as Gajalakshmi. The custom requires pilgrims to walk around Mount Kailash in a clockwise direction, so go down the steps on the left and walk through the front of the patio to the nearest corner.

All three main sections of the complex are visible from the top of the concrete staircase in the corner. The first is an entrance with a statue of the buffalo Nandi - Shiva's vehicle, lying in front of the altar; the next is the intricately decorated, stone-cut walls of the main meeting room, or mandapa, which still retains traces of the colored plaster that originally covered the entire interior of the structure; and finally, the sanctuary itself with a short and thick 29-meter pyramidal tower, or shikhara (which is best viewed from above). These three components rest on a suitably sized raised platform supported by dozens of lotus-collecting elephants. Besides the fact that it symbolizes the sacred mountain of Shiva, the temple also depicts a giant chariot. The transepts protruding from the side of the main hall are its wheels, the Nandi sanctuary is the collar, and the two life-size elephants without trunks in front of the courtyard (disfigured by marauding Muslims) are draft animals.

Most of the main attractions of the temple itself are limited by its side walls, which are covered with expressive sculpture. A long panel along the stairs leading to the north of the mandapa vividly depicts scenes from the Mahabharata. It shows some episodes from the life of Krishna, including the one shown in the lower right corner, with the baby god sucking the poisoned breast of the nurse sent by his evil uncle to kill him. Krishna survived, but the poison stained his skin a characteristic blue color. If you continue to look around the temple clockwise, you will see that most of the panels in the lower sections of the temple are dedicated to Shiva. In the southern part of the mandapa, in an alcove carved from its most prominent part, you will find a bas-relief that is generally considered the finest example of sculpture in the complex. It shows how Shiva and Parvati are disturbed by the multi-headed demon Ravana, who was imprisoned inside a sacred mountain and is now swinging the walls of his prison with his many hands. Shiva is about to assert his supremacy by calming the earthquake with a movement of his big toe. Parvati, meanwhile, watches him nonchalantly, leaning on her elbow as one of her maids flees in panic.

At this point, make a small detour and climb the stairs in the lower (southwest) corner of the courtyard to the “Hall of Sacrifices” with its striking frieze depicting the seven mother goddesses, the Sapta Matrika, and their terrifying companions Kala and Kali (represented by mountains of corpses), or head straight up the steps of the main meeting room, past the energetic battle scenes of the dramatic Ramayana frieze, into the altar room. The meeting room with sixteen columns is shrouded in a gloomy half-light, which is intended to focus the attention of those praying on the presence of the deity within. With the help of a portable electric flashlight, the Choukidar will illuminate the fragments of the ceiling painting, where Shiva in the form of Nataraja performs the dance of the birth of the Universe, as well as numerous erotic couples of mithun are presented. The sanctuary itself is no longer a working altar, although it still contains a large stone lingam, mounted on a yoni pedestal, symbolizing the dual aspect of Shiva's reproductive energy.

It is remarkable that after so many years, the cultural, historical and architectural heritage of the planet has been imprinted on our earth forever. And one of them is Ellora's caves. The caves and temples of Ellora are included in the UNESCO list as monuments that are the world's heritage of mankind.

one of the questions that interests me is this: surely a lot of people lived here or came here. And how were the water pipes arranged here? Yes, at least the same Sewerage topas there. - How? It would seem a common thing, but it needs to be organized somehow!

Be sure to take a virtual tour of the temple. Click on the picture below …