Ellora Travel Information

The cave temples and monasteries at Eitora, excavated out of the vertical face of an escarpment, are 26 kms. north of Aurangabad. Extending in a linear arrangement, the 34 caves contain Buddhist Chaityas, or hails of worship, and Viharas. or monasteries, Hindu and Jain temples. Spanning a period of about 600 years between the 5th and 11th century AD. The earliest excavation here is of the Dhumar Lena (Cave 29).

The most imposing excavation is, without doubt, that of the magnificent Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) which is the largest single monolithic structure in the world- Interestingly. Eitora. Unlike the site of Ajanta.. was never 'rediscovered. Known as Verul in ancient times, it has continuously attracted pilgrims through the centuries to the present day.

Ellora has been designated as a World Heritage Site. to be preserved as an artistic legacy that will continue to inspire and enrich the lives of generations to come.

Listing of Caves:

Buddhist Caves :
Caves 1 to 12at the southern end.5th Century to 7th Century AD
Hindu Caves:
Caves 13 to 29 in the middle.
8th Century to 10th Century AD.
Jain Caves:
Caves 30 to 34 at the northern end.
9th Century to 11th Century AD.
Source; Archaeological Survey of India

Cave 1 : This is the first monastery at the southern end of Eilora. It has four residential cells cut into the side walls. The cave is devoid of any carvings or sculptures.

Cave 2 : This has a verandah, with a recess at the right, housing images of Panchika, the god of wealth, and Hariti the goddess of prosperity. The entrance is flanked by guardians, next to whom are figures of the Buddha and other divinities. Each of the lateral wells m the hall has sculptures of five seated Buddhas flanked by celestial figures and by Bodhisattvas, or saintly beings who are destined to become Buddhas. A similar but larger figure of the Buddha can be seen in the sanctuary. The porch to the right of the sanctuary depicts the Miracle ofShravasti when the Buddha manifested himself in a thousand forms.

Cave 3 : This cave has an unfinished image of the seated Buddha in a shrine Pot and foliage motifs adorn the columns of the hall.

Cave 4 : A two-storeyed excavation this cave is now mostly in ruins. At tne lower level is a pain hall, with a columned aisle leading to a shrine, where a figure of the seated Buddha is accompanied by attendants. A similar but smaller shrine is located on the upper storey.

Cave 5 : Excavated at a higher level, this large cave consists of a spacious hall divided into three aisles. Porches in the middle of the side walls have small cells on either side Columns are decorated with medallions and other motifs surrounded by intricate foliage. Severai benches are carved out of the floor. The entrance to the central shrine 's carved with Bodhisattvas bedecked with intricate headgear and jewellery. In the shrine is a figure of the seated Buddha.

Cave 6 : The rectangular hail in this cave has columns with pot and foliage capitals. The walls of an antechamber in the rear of the hall, which leads into a small shrine, are covered with figures of the Bodhisattva and the goddesses Tara and Mahamayuri The doorway of the shrine is carved with elaborate sculptures on either side. On the left is Avalokiteshwara holding a lotus and a rosary in his hands, with a deer-skin draped on hss left shoulder. On the right is the sculpture of Mahamayuri the Buddhist goddess of learning, with a piumed peacock by her side. Within the shrine is the figure of the seated Buddha, flanked by multiple smaller Buddhist figures, attendants and devotees on the side wails.

Cave 7 : This is a simple hail with four plain pillars.

Cave 8 : This is the only monastery at Ellora. where the sanctum is isolated from the rear wail. with a circular passage around it The passageway has three cells on the left. an incomplete columned gallery at the rear and two columns in the front Sculptures of the Buddha adorn the hall.

Cave 9 : This consists of an open terrace with a baicony and a shnne housing figures of Buadhist divinitses The embellished facade has. among other motifs, an unusual scene of the goddess Tara rescuing devotees from the perils of a snake, a sword, an elephant (left). fire and a shipwreck (right).

Cave 10 (Vishvakarma) : Named after Vishvakarma the architect of the gods. this cave marks the culmination of Chaitya architecture in India The hall has porticos on three sides, raised on a basement carved with animals.

A long frieze depicting a hunting scene appears above the brackets in the hall. A Stupa in the middle of the rear wall has a seated Buddha figure. A filght of steps in the verandah leads to the upper gallery. The facade behind this gallery consists of a doorway flanked by Chaitya a window motifs, flying celestials, ana Bodhisattvas with female attendants. On either side of the doorway, to the inner gallery. Are recesses housing the figures of female deities and the Bodhisattva A large figure of the Buddha, in the teaching position, is carved on to the front of the centra! Stupa accompanied by flying attendants and Bodhisattvas

Cave 11 (Do Tal) : A three-storeyed excavation aating back to the 8th century. Do Tal, or two storeys- was the name erroneously given to this cave when its ground floor was buried under deDris. The lowest level has two cells and a central sanctuary with figures of the Buddha in the leaching position Tne intermediate ievei consists of five excavations, the first being incomplete and the last being a cell with a rock-cut bed The remaining three have images of the Buddha extended by Bodhisattvas The uppermost level has a long columned hall with a shrine in the centre. On the rear wall are images of the goddess Durga and Lord Ganesha, indicating that this cave was later converted for worship by the Hindus.

Cave 12 (Teen Tal) : A three-storeyed excavation, this is the last in the series of Buddhist caves. The lowest floor consists of a long hall with small cells carved in the side walls and a shrine in the centre. The intermediate level has similar architecture. The upper level has a hall with rows of seven Buddhas fianked by flying figures on both sides of the antechamber. Within the antechamber, leading into the shrine, are twelve goddesses seated on double-petalled lotus flowers.

Cave 13 : This is the first in the series of Hindu caves at Ellora. It only has a small storage hall.

Cave 14 (Ravana ki Khai) : A single-storeyed excavation dating from the 7th century, this is a small sanctuary with a doorway adorned with large guardians and river goddesses The panels carved on the side walls of the hall include various Hindu deities. On the left walt are sculptures of the goddess Durga. Lord Vishnu seated with Shridevi and Bhudevi and Lord Vishnu with his consort. The right wall has sculptures of Durga, the dancing Shiva, Ravana shakma Mount Kailasa (the sculoture from which the cave derives its name) and Shiva speanng Andhaka the demon.

Cave 15 (Dashavatara) : This was excavated as a Buddhist monastery in the 8th century and, was later, converted to a place of Hindu worship. It has an open court with a free-standing, monolithic Mandapa, or a columned hall, in the middle and a two-storeyed temple at the rear. The doorway of the Mandapa is flanked by the river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna. On the roof are reclining lions and seated Ganas, or dwarfs. A flight of steps, to the left of the entrance, ascends to a spacious Mandapa on the upeer floor. Large sculptural panels occupying the spaces between the columns illustrate the ten incarnations, the Dashavatara, of Lord Vishnu and a wide range of mythological subjects. Clockwise, from the front of the left wall, are Shiva spearing Andhaka, Shiva and Parvati playing dice, and the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. Among other sculptures on the rear wall, from the left, are Shiva emerging from the Linga to rescue Markandeya, a young devotee, and Shiva containing the force of the river Ganga in his hair.

Cave 16 (Kailasa) : The most stupendous single work of art ever executed in India, this is an elaborately embellished, three-storey high temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is unique for being carved out of solid rock from top to bottom. The exterior wall has a gateway in the middle that leads into a spacious court surrounding the main temple. In from is the free-standing Nandi pavillion with richly decorated, 17-metre high monolithic columns, spending on either side. A pair of three-dimensional elephants stands nearby.

Porticos and shrines are cut into the side walls of the court. To the left of the entrance is a shrine housing images of the river goddesses and, to its immediate right, is the Lankeshvara Temple.

The west facing temple is raised on a solid lower storey, with its walls sculpted with elephants gathering lotus flowers. At the upper level, is a 16-columned Mandapa with three porches. Bridges connect the front porch with the Nandi pavilion and, in turn, with the upper storey of the gateway.

The sculptural scheme at Kailasa is elaborate. Guardians and river goddesses appear at the gateway of the complex, while Durga (right) and Ganesha (left) flank the interior passageway. The two staircases leading to the Mandapa of the main temple are carved with narrative friezes. These include episodes from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The pannels which adorn the lower storey depict Shiva dancing with the skin of the elephant demon. The upper storey Mandapa walls show. the vulture, Jatayu. attacking Ravana (south), among others. In the subsidiary shrines are images of the goddesses Lakshmi and Durga among other deities.

Cave 17 : This cave, partly incomplete, is noteworthy for its richly decorated doorway and pillars. Caves 18, 19 & 20 : These caves adhere to the usuai pattern of traditional Hindu architecture.

Cave 21 (Rameshvara) : This ss one of the earliest excavations at Ellora dating back to the 7th century. It is approached through a court with a monolithic Nandi. on a plinth. This leads to a verandah. on the left of which is the gracefully posed figure of the river goddess Ganga, while the figure of Yamuna is sculpted on the right. Carved panels in the hall include the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, their warrior son Kartikeya, and Durga (left end of the shrine), the dancing Shiva, the seven Matrikas - a group of seven goddesses, with Lord Ganesha and Shiva holding the Veena, and the skeletal Kala and Kali (right end of the shrine).

Caves 22 to 28 : Except for the free-standing Nandi shrine in Cave 22 and a sculpture of Surya. the sun god, on the ceiling of Cave 25, there is nothing particularly noteworthy in these caves.

Cave 29 (Dhumar Lena) : The earliest excavation at Ellora. this cave has a shrine, with a Shiva Linga inside. The four entrances of the shrine are guarded by Dwarapalas. or guardians. and accompanying lady attendants. On the left and right walls are scenes of Shiva and Parvati.

Cave 30 (Chhota Kailasa) : This is the first in the series of Jain excavations. and an incomplete, miniature replica of the Kailasa Temple (carved ornamentation is mostly restricted to the Jam saints and goddesses.

Twenty-two seated Tirthankaras, or teachers worshipped by the Jains, are located in the Mandapa. An image of Mahavira, the founder of Jainism. seated on a lion throne, is enshrined in the sanctuary.

Cave 31: This is an extension of Cave 32 rather than a separate excavation.

Cave 32 (Indra Sabha) : This is the finest excavation of the Jain caves. An open court, with its sides adorned with lions, elephant friezes and Tirthankaras has a monolithic shrine in the centre. A double-storeyed temple is excavated into the rear side of the court.On the lower level is an unfinished Mandapa comprising incomplete cells. Tne upper storey has a similar columned Mandapa which is more complete. With a sanctuary in the middle of its rear wall. Among the sculptures deserving special attention are Ambika, the mother goddess, with a child in her lap, a lion beneath and a huge tree above. Other panels depict Lord Mahavira Gommateshwara- son of Adinatha, the first Tirthankara. and Parshwanatha - the second last Tirthankara. Paintings on the ceiling of the upper Mandapa show couples and maidens flying through the clouds.

Cave 33 (Jagannath Sabha) : This cave has five independent shrines, each with a columned Mandapa and a sanctuary built on two levels.

Cave 34 : The last in the series of Jain caves, this is a small sanctuary-situated at the extreme northern end. The shrine door is carved with figures of Matanga and Sidhaika, on either side. A seated figure of Mahavira is housed in the centre of the shrine.