|
Cave 16 Ellora - the
Kailasanatha Temple
Linda (my better half) and I took a weekend mini-vacation to Aurangabad this winter. Well, Aurangabad was where we slept, but we didn’t see much of that city. The purpose of the excursion was to visit the Ajanta and Ellora Caves located at distances of 106 km and 30 km from the city respectively. Most good hotels in the city offer day trips to each of the cave sites. We signed on with one and spent one day at each of these magnificent World Heritage Sites.
Ajanta: The 3-hour drive to the Ajanta Caves provided an opportunity to observe the scenery and human activity of rural Maharastra. The caves date back to the second century BC and contain masterpieces of painting and sculpture – mostly Buddhist religious art. The caves are situated in a rugged horseshoe-shaped ravine with the stream running through it. The site consists of 29 monastic halls of residence and stupa monument halls cut into the side of a steep escarpment.
The Ajanta Caves are numbered 1 to 29, with number 1 being the first after entering the complex. Cave number 1 contains the painting of the Buddha that one normally sees on posters and pamphlets depicting Ajanta. Actually, the Buddha figure is about the only thing that’s left of the painting, which must have been immaculate in its day. While they are still worth seeing, other paintings throughout the complex are in approximately the same shape; a shame really, but time does take its toll. Perhaps the most spectacular sites in the Ajanta Cave then are the carved sculptures. Another nice feature of the Ajanta complex is a serine park down by the edge of the stream at the foot of the gorge.
Ellora: The Ellora caves, unlike Ajanta, were never lost to oblivion, due to their close proximity to trade routes. They consist of 34 Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cave temples and monasteries cut out of the face of the Chanaandri Hills, the most beautiful of which are similar to the monolithic rock-hewn churches of Lalibala in Ethiopia. Built between the 5th and 8th centuries the whole complex demonstrates the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.
Cave number 16, the Kailasanatha Temple, is the centerpiece of Ellora. Touted as the ‘world’s largest monolithic sculpture,’ it was hewn from the rock by 7000 labourers over a 150 year period. This gigantic structure – designed to recall Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva – appears to be a freestanding, multi-storied temple complex, but actually, it was carved out of one single rock, and covers an area estimated to be double the size of Parthenon in Athens. Most of the remaining caves at Ellora are in a crescent fronting the escarpment and contain breathtaking sculptures. Spectacular indeed.
Painting in Cave 1 is
the most recognizable at
Ajanta
Buddha Sculpture in one
of the Ellora caves
Shiva-Parvati seated on
mount Kailash, while
Ravana tries to lift it.
If you are a foreigner and visiting Ajanta or Ellora on a statutory holiday or weekend, don’t be surprise if you are asked to pose for photos with groups of Indian school children. An added bonus!
A Worthwhile Stop
If time permits, a stop in the town of Khuldabad on the way back from Ellora is worthwhile. Here one can encounter the tomb of Emperor Aurangzeb in the courtyard of Alamgir Dargh. The great Mughal Emperor wrote the following words in his will: “No marble sheets should shield me from the sky as I lie there (at) one with the earth.” Just as he desired, only a portion of his tomb – the place of the cenotaph – is exposed to the sky.
We recommend the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, with a stop at Khuldabad to the history buffs amongst our readership.
|
