Download Ellora - Esamskriti

Kailasa Temple Ellora
By Sanjeev Nayyar
March 2003
I had gone to Ajanta Ellora while in school and was longing to do it after esamskriti was
born. A friend asked me why had not covered Ellora and I replied yes will do. She said
my brother in law lives in Aurangabad so he will take care of local arrangements. That
motivated me to plan a trip earlier than planned.
The train leaves Mumbai at about 9pm and reaches Aurangabad early morning. Checked
into a hotel and by 10ish was at Ellora caves. Left Ellora at about 6ish. We had dinner at
a thali restaurant. Caught the train at bout 11pm and was in Mumbai the next morning.
Truly a hurricane trip. I was not keen to Ajanta but my analog camera cannot click inside
the caves. I was keen on Kailasa which is magnificent and a must see.
I would like to share my learnings. When you visit a temple like Kailasa spent atleast an
hour walking around the temple so you get the right photo angles. Then click before
10am or after 4pm. During the day there is too much of sunlight. Anyway the way it
turned out I had no option but to click between 11 and 5pm. Due to a paucity of guides
we took a Muslim guide. Although he was sincere it is not the same as having a Hindu
one.
In 1998 I visited the abode of Lord Shiva Mount Kailash, in 2001 visited amongst the
most sacred temples dedicated to Lord Shiva i.e. Kedarnath and in 2003 visited Kailasa
Temple Ellora. For someone who’s Ishta Devta (personal God) is Bhagwan Shiv it was a
dream come true.
“An Indian temple, to whomsoever Godhead it may be built, is in its inmost reality an
alter raised to the divine Self, a house of the Cosmic Spirit, an appeal and aspiration to
the infinite. The Gods of Indian sculpture are cosmic beings, embodiments of some great
spiritual power, spiritual ideas and actions, inmost psychic significance”. Quote Sri
Aurobindo.
The magnificent group of rock-temples at Ellora representing three different sects,
Buddhist, Hindu and Jain mark the final culmination of the cave-temple architecture in
Western India. The Ellora caves nestle in the lap of the Charnadari hill extending over a
mile and a quarter in the north-south direction, are 29 kms from Aurangabad. The cave
monuments of Ellora, chiefly patronized by the Chalukhya-Rashtrakuta rulers (7-10th
century) represent the plastic idiom at its very best when the regional art was in full
efflorescence. A tentative chronology of the caves suggests periods to be, Buddhist 50750 A.D., Hindu 600-875 A.D. and Jain 8-1000 a.d.
The Buddhist caves with a vast pantheon of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Saktis suggest
Vajrayana philosophy (the vehicle of the thunderbolt). This philosophy envisages and
emphasized self-discipline and meditation as a means of attaining Buddhahood in
contradiction to the Mahayana belief, which held that Buddhas would by endless grace
and compassion help the devotee, attain nirvana.
The Hindu caves are dedicated to Lord Siva. The deity is worshipped symbolically in the
form of a phallic emblem called Linga. Siva’s manifestations are many, as Mahakala or
personification of death and time, as Mahayogi or ascetic, as Nataraja or Lord of Dance.
In addition various aspects of female energy are also portrayed in the sculptural panels.
The other Gods in the Trinity Vishnu and Brahma are also shown in a variety of forms
indicating friendly relations and respects towards other sects.
The Jain caves represent the Digambara sect (space-clad). The cave that we have covered
is popularly known as Chhota Kailasa and is a miniature of the celebrated Kailasa temple.
In the Kailasa temple an isolated part of a mountain has been trimmed from above and
affected into the model of a structural temple. Indeed it is an architectural sculpture in the
reverse order. Its axial alignment consists of the gopuram, the Nandi Mandapa, the main
pillared hall and the shrine, all places on a raised podium in east-west direction.
Kailasa Temple (rock-cut architecture)
The work of such a stupendous nature was started under the patronage of the Rashtrakuta
king Krishna I, and there is reason to believe that this artistic activity continued for
several generations. The Rashtrakutas were the successors of the Chalukyas of the
Deccan and during the period of Krishna I (last quarter of the 8th century a.d.) their
empire was unrivalled in power. (Friends I have always believed that culture and art
excel during times of peace which is why Peace is important not by appeasement because
the World respects strength).
The supreme political power and abundant resources of the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I
have a bearing on the sculptures of the Kailasa temple which are distinguished by their
dynamic energy, gigantic forms of modeling and animated expression. The sculptures
have scenes from the Ramayan and Mahabharat too.
Instead of scooping in the layers of the earth, the creators of this cave temple embarked
on fashioning in the live rock, a simulation of the evolved model of a structural temple. It
is modeled in the famous Virupaksha temple at Pattadkal which is a living testimony
to Chalukyan glory and grandeur.
How did they carve the Temple? The entire edifice was boldly and confidently chiseled
out of a single rock. The excavation method adopted by the artists was to create an island
of mountain in rectangular shape by cutting it into trenches vertically, from which was
chiseled out the main body of the temples. This picture shows that. The work started from
the top going downwards meaning that the dome like structure was chiseled first, then
lower portion of vihara and so on.
The entire edifice was boldly and confidently chiseled out of a single rock. The
excavation method adopted by the artists was to create an island of mountain in
rectangular shape by cutting it into trenches vertically, from which was chiseled out the
main body of the temples.
The temple proper rests on a raised plinth and consists of a sanctum cell where Lord
Shiva is enshrined as a Linga. It is connected by a vestibule to the huge pillared hall, and
in front of it and again connecting a porch, the shrine for Shiva’s mount Nandi. Simply
put the temple has four parts as viewed from the top of the mountain. One is the dome
shaped structure or Vihara as we call it where the Linga is kept, two is Mandapa 1
consisting of a huge pillared hall, three is Mandapa 2 is where Shiva’s carrier Nandi is
housed and four is the entrance or Gopuram as we would call it today.
The temple stands within a rectangular court that measures 300 feet by 200 feet. It
consists of a Vimana (dome like structure at the far end) in its sanctum cell is where Lord
Shiv is enshrined as a Linga. Mandapa 1 (main temple) the two occupying an area of app
150 feet (behind the free standing column) consists of a huge pillared hall on top of
which are four lions., Mandapa 2 has housed Nandi the carrier of Lord Shiv (next to the
free standing column) and double storied entrance (extreme right of picture). The vimana
+ main temple are on a plinth that has elephants and dhwajasthambhas (columns) on
either side. The temple is designed like a chariot.
The temple entrance has in the center Goddess of Wealth, Gajalakshmi seated on a fullbloomed lotus in the midst of a lotus pond while elephants above pour water by way of
ritual adoration abhishek as we in India call it.
The way to walk around a temple (we call it Parikrama) is clockwise left to right. On
northern side is a dhwajasthambhas or freestanding column nearly 50 feet high from
court level bearing at the apex a Trishul a symbol of Lord Shiv.
An elephant outside the pillared chamber. There is a column and elephants on both sides
of the courtyard. Imagine carving out an elephant out of a huge piece of rock, note trunk
broken. On south side are scenes from Ramayan as you see here. On north side are
depicted scenes from Mahabharat.
This entrance has a small balcony, which had great wind blowing, seemed like the coolest
place in the whole temple. Here is a view of the garden from the balcony. Very well
maintained and clean.
After visiting the temple was proud to be an Indian. Since time was running out I made a
quick visit to the Jain temples and the Buddhist section.
The temple is also known as Chhota Kailasa since it is modeled on the Kailasa temple.
Like the Kailasa it has a dhwajasthambhas. There are some nice sculptures for e.g. God
of Wealth, Matanga, seated on an elephant and Goddess of Generosity Siddhaika seated
on a lion.
All matter are excerpts from books Ajanta, Ellora and Aurangabad Caves by T V Pathy,
History & Culture of the Indian People published by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan and my
notings.
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