Archeology, Holidays, India, Travel

The Kaptivating Kailash Temple of Ellora

Posted by Sid's Photologue on March 12, 2016March 1, 2026

Ellora Caves is an archaeological site, located around 30 km north-west of the city of Aurangabad, in Maharshtra, India.

It is essentially a complex of around 34 small & large Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cave temples, believed to be built during the 6th and the 9th centuries, during the rule of the Kalachuri, Chalukya and Rashtrakuta dynasties.

Ellora, also called Verul or Elura, has been derived from the ancient name of the village, Elapura…..

The epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture in the Ellora cave complex is the Hindu temple complex of Kailasa temple, carved out of a single rock ! Yes…..it is a top down excavation-cum-carving & not a bottoms up carving of the stone.

Kailasa temple, also known as Cave 16 in the Ellora cave complex is one of the most remarkable cave temples in India because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment……

…..It is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and also contains smaller, detached shrines dedicated to Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.

Peripheral smaller temples dedicated to Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati.

The temple architecture shows traces of Pallava style of architecture……

the Chalukya king Vikramaditya II took some Pallava artists back to his kingdom after defeating the Pallavas. The temples constructed by these artists influenced the Kailasa temple constructed at a later date….

Though the structure looks like a freestanding, multi-storeyed temple complex, it was carved out of one single rock, and covers an area double the size of Parthenon in Athens…..

The entrance to the temple courtyard features a low gopuram……

A two-storeyed gateway opens to reveal a U-shaped courtyard, which is edged by a columned arcade which is three stories high….

Most of the deities at the left of the entrance are Shaivaite (followers of Lord Shiva) while on the right hand side the deities are Vaishnavaites (followers of Lord Vishnu).

Due to its dimensional alignment with the exact north & west; there is a belief that it symbolises Mount Kailash – the heavenly abode of Lord Shiva.

when this temple was discovered, it was completely covered in white plaster…….presumably symbolising the snow on Mt. Kailash??

The arcades are punctuated by huge sculpted panels, and alcoves containing enormous sculptures of a variety of deities. There are also bridges carved out, connecting various levels of temple with the caves on the sides

Imagine excavating a mountain 50 meters down & as you excavate, you simultaneously carve out the designs with precision!!! Was it an engineering feat of the era or some “extra” hands have helped the overall construction? Lets park this thought for now & revisit soon !!

Within the courtyard, there is a central shrine dedicated to Shiva, and an image of his mount Nandi (the sacred bull)……

The central shrine housing the lingam features a flat-roofed mandapa supported by 16 pillars, and a Dravidian style shikhara…..

The shrine – complete with pillars, windows, inner and outer rooms, gathering halls, and an enormous stone lingam at its heart – is carved with niches, plasters, windows as well as images of deities, mithunas (erotic male and female figures) and other figures…….

As is traditional in Shiva temples, Nandi sits on a porch in front of the central temple……

…….The Nandi mandapa and main Shiva temple are each about 7 metres high, and built on two storeys…..

The lower stories of the Nandi Mandapa are both solid structures, decorated with elaborate illustrative carvings……

The base of the temple has been carved to suggest that elephants are holding the structure aloft.

There are two Dhwajasthambha (pillars with flagstaff) in the courtyard. A notable sculpture is that of the Ravana attempting to lift Mount Kailasa.

A painted panel showing the dancing Shiva (Nataraja). One can still see a lot of the paint that once covered the entire temple.

Miraculously, despite being just 30 kilometres away from Aurangabad, once the capital of the Mughal emperor under the Islamic fundamentalist emperor Auragzeb, Kailash and Ellora survived the destruction Aurangzeb wreaked on many Hindu structures……

It is believed that Aurangzeb tried his entire labour force to deface these temples for 3 years…..but didn’t succeed much! Another clue to some ‘super natural’ engineering ????

Lord Shiva Killing the demon Andhaka

Sculpture describing Ramayan….

Can you spot the scene of Ravan kidnapping Sita?

Vali & Sugreev battle; Hanuman in Lanka, setting his tail on fire!

It also has sculptures depcting Mahabharat story

Do you see some unusual animal sculptures? Chinese Dragons? In the 5th centuary in India?? Doesn’t it look out of place? Or is there some mystery?

Around the main temple structure is a gallery depicting stories of various deities….

Harihara (Lord Vishnu – the Preserver and Lord Shiva – the Destroyer combined)

Lord Krishna (one of the avatar of Lord Visnhu) battling the serpent Kaliya

Lord Vishnu on his sun bird – Garuda

Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu

Lord Vishnu as Narsimha avatar, killing HIranyakashyap

Lord Visnhu on Sheshnaag (Sheshayee Vishnu)

Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvati seated on Mt. Kailash

Let’s re-look objectively at the overall construction of this magnificently magnanimous mega structure !! As the archeologists know, this temple wasn’t built by adding rocks; but the entire mountain was carved & excavated top-down, with utmost precision to shape this structure. The archeologists have calculated that over 400,000 tonnes of rock would have to be scooped out to excavate a mountain gorge of this size. Considering the historian’s advice that this temple was built in just 18 years (756 to 773 CE), & assuming that labourers worked like robots translates into removal of almost 60 tonnes of rock every hour!!!! Is it really humanly possible, given that we are talking about 7th century? Or was it not done by the humans at all????

Did the Chinese civilisation have any influence on shaping the structure of kailash temple? Did the people from the land of Tibet craft this structure presumably resembling Mount Kailash?

It is believed that Kailash temple was carved before other temples in the region. This structure is clearly visible from the high altitude. It has been perfectly carved facing West direction, with the four faces of the dome, perfectly facing the four cardinal directions (just like Mt. kailash). Do you see a distinct cross mark atop the temple terrace?…… (Pic courtecy – Google Earth)

…………Was it created with the help of extra-terrestrial life forms?? The mixture of architecture styles in Kailash temple suggests that a lot of the sculptures were added later, as different dynasties contributed to its upkeeping. However, the question still remains that who excavated & carved the original structure? Is it much older than our historians believe? Why is there presence of some mysterious creatures & animals on the walls, when they are not recorded anywhere in our history?

It is created by the 4 lion like figures on the top of the second level. Was this some sort of a sign for the extra terrestrials to mark the location of the place? Is this just a coincidence or was it designed for the ‘flying objects’ to locate it from the air, just like the Nazca Lines of Peru???? Is the close proximity of the Lonar Crater lake (that was created by a meteor) merely a coincidence too??

…I doubt we would ever know the reality! Whatever the history may be, the fact still remains that this One- of-its- kind world heritage exists on our land. We are blessed to be bestowed upon with such wealth of art & architecture that most parts of the world are deprived of. Shouldn’t each one of us play a bit of a role of Lord Vishnu & contribute towards ‘preservation’ of such invaluable legacy?

One Comment Add yours

Candia says:

July 4, 2016 at 7:47 pm

Amazing.

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