Ellora caves

About:

The Ellora caves, locally known as ‘Verul Leni’ is located on the Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road at a distance of 30 km north-northwest of Aurangabad, the district headquarters. The Ellora caves is one of the World Heritage Sites in India. The Elora caves are one of the wonders of the time and speak volumes about the excellent craftsmanship of the Ellora artists, sculptors and painters. The structures at Ellora caves are not creation of a particular period but were built over a long period of time from the 6th century AD to 10th century. The structures at Ellora comprise of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cave temples and monasteries. There are 34 caves at Ellora (12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu and 5 Jain caves) and they demonstrate the religious tolerance prevalent during this period of Indian history.

The name Ellora itself inspires everyone as it represents one of the largest rock-hewn monastic-temple complexes in the entire world. Ellora is also world famous for the largest single monolithic excavation in the world, the great Kailasa (Cave 16).The Kailasa or Kailasanatha Temple, is the unrivaled centerpiece of Ellora. This gargantuan structure – designed to recall Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva – looks like a freestanding, multi-storeyed temple complex, but it was carved out of one single rock, and covers an area double the size of Parthenon in Athens.

The caves are hewn out of the volcanic basaltic formation of Maharasthra, known as ‘Deccan Trap’, the term trap being of Scandinavian origin representing the step like formation of the volcanic deposits. The rock formation, on weathering has given rise to the appearance of terraces with flat summits.The hills in which the caves are hewn, forms part of the Sahyadri ranges of the Deccan and dated to the Cretaceous era of the Geological time scale (about 65 million years ago). The hills rise abruptly from the surrounding plains on the south and west, the western surface being extensively utilised for hewing the cave complexes. The hill also supports several streams, the prominent among them being the Elaganga, which drains into the Shiv, a stream of the Godavari river system. The Elaganga is in its full vigour during the monsoon, when the overflowing waters of a barrage in the upstream near Mahismati allows the gushing waters to land at “Sita-ki-nahani” near Cave 29 as a crashing waterfall.

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History:

The Ellora Caves were built at time when Buddhism was declining in India and Hinduism was beginning to reassert itself. The Brahmanical movement was especially powerful under the patronage of the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta kings, who oversaw most of the work at Ellora - including the magnificent Kailasa Temple built in the 700s.

The last period of building activity took place in the 10th century, when the local rulers switched allegiance from Shaivism (Hinduism devoted to Shiva) to the Digambara sect of Jainism.

The coexistence of structures from three different religions serve as a splendid visual representation of the prevalent religious tolerance of India. For this reason and others, the Ellora Caves were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

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Grishneshwar:
Though there are lots of tourist attractions in Ellora Caves, the very famous spot is Grishneshwar which is the Shiva Temple is one of the twelve holy Jyotirlings of Lord Shiva, spread across the country. The temple situated a kilometer from the caves is deeply revered by the Hindus.

Khuldabad:
Situated at a distance of 3 km from the Ellora caves, the little town of Khuldabad is a holy place for the Deccan Muslims. It is also the final resting place of the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb.

Daulatabad:
The another important tour spot is Daulatabad, whihc is the hill fort of Daulatabad, a stronghold of the Hindu dynasty of the Yadavas is situated about 13 km from Ellora. Earlier known as Devgiri, it was renamed Daultabad by Sultan Mohammad Bin Tughlaq in the 12th century.

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