Ellora Caves

In Guhatthaka Sutta,it is said that,"Man immersed in delusion stays protected in a cave;" it tells us cave place was used as a secluded place for meditative purposes to come out of delusion & achieve Nirvana i.e. Salvation. Ellora was good for this purpose as it's located in lap of Sahyadri hills.

The Art & Architecture at Ellora was throbbing for at least 500 years, started from 6th century BCE to 11th century. This site passed through many dynasties mainly Chalukyas, Kalachuri & Rashtrakutas. 

There are 34 caves at Ellora dedicated to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. 

Period of 500 years suggest that 34 caves were not built under same circumstances. Political and Religious development influenced the excavations at Ellora, & hence one can witness such diversified sculptures and designs at Ellora. 

If we go chronologically then it is interpreted that Buddhist caves belong to 6th-7th century. Along with that Hindu caves also seem to be from more or less same period, cave no. 27 & 28 are interpreted as earliest Hindu caves. And the Jain caves are excavated around 9th century. But these dates are still debatable and no one could prove the exact dates with strong evidences.

The most interesting dynasty associated with Ellora caves was Rashtrakuta, from their vibrant art & architectural activities to diversified faiths that their kings adopted, makes them quite fascinating dynasty. Earlier ruler of this dynasty named Govindaraja was the staunch devotee of Shiva, it means he was the follower of shaivism but his successor King Karka-I was follower of Vaishnava sect(Vishnu worshippers). And later king Amoghavarsha was the staunch follower of Jainism. These upheavals in Royal religion explains the existence of diversified caves. 

One of the peculiarity of Buddhist caves at Ellora is, it's a confluence of old & new ideas. Artists for carving used old rock-cut architecture but tried to depict new school of thought that was emerging during 7th-8th century period,i.e Vajrayana school which is also known as Tantric Buddhism. Ellora was the grand experimental lab for then artists to try their hands on innovative ideas, improvisation & combination of ideas. At Ellora we found Ashtabodhisattva Mandala, where Buddha is surrounded by 8 Bodhisattvas. Images of Avalokiteshwar are very exquisite. Female deities of Buddhism like Goddess Tara, Janguli & Cunda are also found. This deities suggest Ellora caves is a visual representation of new Branch of Buddhism i.e. Vajrayana. 

Cave No.10(Vishwakarma cave which means Carpenter's cave),it's a chaitya gruha.Chaitya gruha means shrine, a place of worship. In cave no.10 there is a large sculpture of seated Buddha, with 2 figures standing beside him, these 2 figures are of Avalokiteshwar (represents compassion of Buddha & Prajnaparamita (embodiment of perfection of Wisdom). Jaina Caves-Cave 30-34 are dedicated to Jainism. Cave no.30, Chhota Kailasa,an imitation of Kailasa temple of Hindu cave 16. Cave no.32 is Indra sabha cave, have beautiful sculptures of Mahavira. Cave no.33 is Jagganatha sabha cave. In Cave no.34 there is a statue of Bahubali.Most of the Jina figures in meditative posture suggests the focus of artists in Jaina caves was on ascetic features. It's parallel to the great teachings of Lord Mahavira like asceticism, ahimsa(Non-violence) etc. 

The most remarkable things about Ellora is co-existence of different sects & religions. Caves dedicated to all three major sects were built and sustained without encroaching upon each other, this co-existence, this harmony is the flag bearer of religious tolerances, a remarkable feat achieved by great minds of Ancient India. Along with that these caves are tangible evidences of Human Endeavour which was aimed at cessation of ignorance & attain ultimate goal of Moksha/Nibbāna i.e. Salvation. Nowhere in the world Human potential was harnessed to this level where humans actually shaped the 66 million year old basaltic rock of Deccan plateau into such wonderful caves. 

Reference:-  “Kailasa: A Structural Analysis” in Ellora Caves.