Ellora contains a total of 34 caves and are a mixture of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain, with the most elaborate facades and exquisitely adorned interiors. The 12 caves in the southward are Buddhist caves, 17 in the middle are Hindu caves and 5 in the north direction are Jain caves.
The sculpture in the Buddhist caves, beautifully presents the nobility and grace of Lord Buddha. Ellora caves are more impressive in terms of architectural splendour and they are carved out in a curve on the slopes of low hills.
These rock temples and monasteries were constructed between the 5th and 8th centuries AD. Caves 6 and 10 house images from the Buddhist and Hindu faith, under the same roof, the latter dedicated to Vishwakarma (patron saint of Indian craftsmen). The Vishvakarma cave is both a Chaitya and a Vihara, with a seated Buddha placed. Its two storied structure sports a colourful pageant of dwarfs, dancing and making music.
The caves are located about 30km from Aurangabad and are known for the genius of their sculptors whom moved from Ajanta. The cave complex is multicultural, providing a mix of religions, the Buddhist caves came first, about 200BC – 600AD followed by the Hindu 500 – 900AD and Jain 800 – 1000AD.
The Hindu Caves were constructed between 500CE and 1000CE, and represent a different style of creative vision and execution skills, which required several generations of planning and coordination to complete it. During the Kalachuri and Rashtrakuta periods, the caves 17-29 and the caves 15, 16 were contructed, respectively.
The most significance is the cave 15, Dashavatara, begun as a Buddhist monastery. An open court with a monolithic mandapa at the middle and two-storeyed excavated temple at the rear are the main characteristics in this cave. The large panels between the wall colums on the upper floor illustrate a wide range of themes including the ten Vishnu’s avataras.
According to Coomaraswamy the cave depicts the finest relief of the Hiranyakashipu’s death where Vishnu in man-lion (Narasimha) form, emerges from a pillar to lay a fatal hand upon the shoulder of Hiranyakashipu.
The cave 21, Ramesvara, has figurines of river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna at the entrance. The cave 29, Dhumar Lena, has a similar design to the cave temple on Elephanta Island near Mumbai. The cave 14, Ravan ki Khai, and the cave 22, Nilkantha, have several sculptures.
The Buddhist Caves created between fifth and seventh centuries and were the earliest structures. Mostly consist in large, multi-storeyed buildings carved into the mountain face, called viharas or monasteries which include living and sleeping quarters, kitchens and some of them have shrines with carvings of Buddha, bodhisattvas and saints.
In many of these Buddhist caves, the stone seems wood due to the endeavour of their sculptors. The cave 10 is the most famous chaitya hall known as the “Carpenter’s cave”, whose ceiling has been carved to give the impression of wooden beams. At the middle a 15 foot statue of Buddha seated in a preaching pose. In relation with the other Buddhist caves, the first nine are monasteries.
The Jain Caves reflect a strict sense of asceticism and reveal specific dimensions of its philosophy and trandition. In spite of not being large as compared to others caves, they has an exceptionally detailed art works. The most important shrines are the cave 30, Chhota Kailash; the cave 32, Indra Sabha with the lotus flower on the ceiling and the cave 33, the Jagannath Sabha. Many of the caves had rich paintings in the ceilings, nowadays fragments of which are still visible.
Maybe as a form of religious competition, some caves were formed simultaneously as the dates indicate. At the time, Buddhism was declining in India and Hinduism regaining ground, so representatives of both were eager to impress potential followers. Although Ellora has more caves than Ajanta, generally the rooms are smaller and simpler with exception of Kailasa Temple.
The Kailasa Temple, the jewel in the crown, in the cave 16 also named Kailasanatha represents the unrivalled centrepiece of architecture in Ellora. Designed to recall the Mount Kailash, the home of the god Shiva in the Himalayas, it covers an area double size of Parthenon in Athens. The temple, carved top-down from a single rock along the largest cantilevered rock ceiling is the largest monolithic structure in the world. Also the image of Vishwakarma is placed on it.
The scale work in which it was undertaken is enormous, so it covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and is 1.5 times high, and it entailed removing 200,000 tonnes of rock. Probably it is believed to have taken 7,000 labourers and around 150 years to complete the entire project.
Kailasa Temple consists of a gateway, antechamber, assembly hall, sanctuary and tower. Virtually every surface is lavishly embellished with symbols and figures from the sacred Sanskrit poems (puranas). The temple is 50m deep, 33 m wide and 30 m high. In addition the temple is connected to the gallery wall by a bridge.
The Kailasa Temple is an illustration of one of those rare occasions when men's minds, hearts, and hands work in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal.