With the fact that India is an amazing country, no one will argue. Not only lovers of beach holidays come here, but also those who are afraid to learn all the secrets of the universe and nourish themselves with spiritual food. Indian spiritual practices are known throughout the world, because it was here that they originated. To this day, scholars with admiration and reverence study the ancient temple complexes that amaze the imagination of modern people with their beauty and monumentality. There are many similar places in India, but one of them is forever imprinted in the memory of curious tourists, and these are the caves of Ellora. At first glance at the complex of these structures, the thought comes of their extraterrestrial origin, since it is hard to imagine that human hands could create this incredible beauty in the thickness of basalt rock. Today, all the temples included in this historical monument are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. They are carefully guarded from destruction, but the Indians themselves still treat them as a shrine, observing a special ritual of behavior when approaching the temple. The article will tell you what the caves of Ellora are, and the most famous and beautiful temples of this unique complex are described.
Brief description of the complex
India today is a completely civilized country, at first glance not much different from many others. However, it is worth moving a little away from the tourist quarters and taking a look at the life of ordinary people to understand that Indians are incredibly distinctive. They coexist well with modern rules and laws with ancient traditions and rites. Therefore, the spirit of sacred knowledge is still alive here, for the sake of which many Europeans come to India.
Ellora is a symbolic place for any resident of the country. It stands on a par with such great monuments of world culture as the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge. Scientists have been studying Ellora's caves for many years, and during this time they could not put forward any reliable version that could explain the appearance of dozens of temples in this place.
So what is an ancient temple complex? Cave temples are located in the Indian state of Maharashtra, which today is a place of pilgrimage for tourists from all over the world. The complex itself is conditionally divided into three parts, since three groups of churches are actually carved from basalt in caves. Each belongs to a particular religion. There are thirty-four shrines in the caves of Ellora. Of them:
- twelve belong to the Buddhists;
- seventeen created by Hindus;
- five are Janay.
Despite this, scientists do not divide the complex into parts. If you look at the UNESCO World Heritage List, then the temples are not described separately. For historians and archaeologists, they are of interest in the complex.
The temples of Ellora are full of amazing puzzles. It is impossible to get around them all in one day, so many tourists stay near the complex in a small hotel and live there for several days to explore the entire complex. And it's worth it, because still in the temples in their places are ancient sculptures, bas-reliefs and other decorations. All this is carved from stone and preserved almost in its original form. Sculptures of Shiva, for example, amaze with their authenticity and subtlety of work. It seems that divine power guided the hand of the master when he created such masterpieces.
The history of the creation of a unique complex
This is amazing, but so far no explanation has been found for why and why the temples in Ellora were built. It is hard to imagine what kind of genius the thought of hollowing out a large-scale complex of temples in a dense stone rock could come. Scientists make only assumptions in this regard.
Many agree that the temples in Ellora (India) arose on the site of a busy trade route. India in the Middle Ages conducted an active trade in its goods. Spices, the finest silk and other fabrics, precious stones and carved figurines were exported from here. All this was sold for a lot of money mainly to European countries. Trade went briskly, and merchants and maharajas grew rich. However, in order not to feel the need in the future, they donated their money for the construction of temples. Many different people, including masters, always gather on the trade routes. Merchants agreed on work with them. So that gold does not leave these places, then temples were built right here. In addition, anyone who donated money could at any time check how the masters disposed of them.
Scientists believe that the first structures in Ellora appeared at the beginning of the sixth century. In general, temples were built a century and a half. However, some decorations and refinements date back to a later time - the ninth century.
Therefore, scientists consider the temple complex of Ellora not just a cultural monument, but rather a kind of textbook on the history of religion. From sculptures, decorations and bas-reliefs, you can learn about how the religious beliefs of the Hindus have changed over the course of several centuries.
Features of the temple complex
Scientists in the study of temples determined that they were built in groups according to religion. The first were Buddhist buildings, they began to be built in the fifth or sixth centuries and are represented by a large number of temples. Gradually, Buddhism in all parts of the country was replaced by Hinduism and the next group of structures was erected according to the canons of this religion. Dzhanai monasteries were the last to appear in Hellar. They were the very few.
One of the structures of Ellara, which today is considered one of the most beautiful, - the Kailasanath temple was built in the thirteenth century. Its construction was funded by the Rastrakut dynasty. Its representatives were fabulously rich, and in their influence could even be compared with the rulers of the Byzantine Empire.
All temples have their own numbering. This was done by scientists in order to facilitate the study of complex facilities. However, tourists on examination usually do not focus on these figures. They are armed with flashlights and sent to meet with amazing Indian history.
Buddhist part of the temple complex
Since these temples were built the very first, then they are examined by tourists in the first place. In this part of the complex is a huge number of sculptural images of the Buddha. They are executed very skillfully and depict the Buddha in various poses. If you put them together, they will tell the story of his life and enlightenment. According to religious rules, all sculptures face east. Interestingly, some Buddhist temples look unfinished. For some reason, the craftsmen stopped and did not finish the job. Others have step architecture. They rise in tiers and have many niches in which Buddha sculptures were placed.
The most memorable temples of this part of the complex are:
- Tin Thal Temple;
- Rameshvara complex.
They will be described in detail in the following sections of the article.
Interestingly, the Buddhist temples (India) in Hellar are not only composed of prayer halls. Here you can see the cells of the monks, where they lived for a long time. Some rooms were intended for meditation. In this part of the complex there are also caves, which later tried to remake into other temples. However, the process was not completed.
The pearl of the Buddhist part of Ellara
To see such a majestic and severe construction, which is Tin Thal, you must go down twenty meters. A very narrow stone staircase leads to the foot of the temple. Having gone down, the tourist finds himself in front of a narrow gate. Before his eyes there will be massive square columns. The craftsmen arranged them in three rows, each rising sixteen meters high.
Having entered the gate, the curious is on the platform, from where it is necessary to go down another thirty meters. And here, spacious halls open to the eyes, and from the twilight of the caves here and there Buddha figures loom. All halls are framed by the same impressive columns. All this spectacle leaves a truly indelible impression.
Rameshvara Temple in the Caves
This temple looks no less magnificent than the previous one. However, it is made in a completely different style. The main decoration of the facade of Rameshvara are female sculptures. They seem to hold its walls, while the statues look at the same time elegant and austere.
The facades of the temple are distinguished by densely applied carvings. It is made in such a way that from afar resembles hands raised to the sky. But it is worth approaching the temple closer, as if the bas-reliefs seem to come to life, and in them you can see stories on a religious theme.
Everyone who dares to enter this stone temple finds himself in a dense ring of fantastic creatures. The sculptures are made so skillfully that they create the complete illusion of life. They seem to be drawn to a man, trying to grab him and leave him forever in the darkness and damp.
The walls of the temple depict real animals, scenes from the lives of ordinary people and the gods watching them. Interestingly, when the lighting changes, the pictures change, which gives them an unprecedented reality.
Many tourists write that this temple impressed them the most and left a feeling of unsolved mystical mystery.
Hindu temples
This part of Ellara was built a little differently than the previous one. The fact is that Buddhist masters built their temples from the bottom up, but the Hindu temples were built by workers using other technologies. Masters began to cut off excess from the top and only then moved on to the base of the temple.
Almost all the buildings here are dedicated to the god Shiva. Sculptures and bas-reliefs with his images cover the entire surface of the temples and courtyards. Moreover, in all seventeen temples, Shiva is the main character. Interestingly, only a few compositions are dedicated to Vishnu. A similar approach is not typical for Hindu structures. Until now, scientists do not know why all the temples in this part of the complex are dedicated to only one god.
Near the temples are rooms for monks, places for prayer and meditation, as well as cells for solitude. In this, both parts of the complex are almost identical.
Experts believe that the construction of Hindu temples ended by the eighth century. The most significant tourist attraction here is Kailash. This temple is often called the "roof of the world" because of its unusual location on top of the hill. In ancient times, its walls were painted white, which was perfectly visible from afar and resembled the top of a mountain, in honor of which it got its name. Many tourists are primarily sent to inspect this unusual structure. It will be discussed in the next section of the article.
Kailasanatha: the most amazing sanctuary
The Kailasanatha Temple (Kailash), according to legends and legends, was built for a long hundred and fifty years. It is believed that about seven thousand workers worked on the construction site, who for all the time carried out more than four hundred thousand tons of basalt rock. However, many doubt the reliability of this information, because, according to preliminary estimates, the indicated number of people could not cope with such a large-scale project. Indeed, in addition to the construction of the temple itself, they had to carry out carving. And she, by the way, glorified the temple throughout the world.
The sanctuary is a temple thirty meters high, its width is thirty-three meters, and its length is more than sixty meters. Even from afar, Kailasanatha strikes the imagination of any person, and near it leaves an indelible impression even on archaeologists who have seen before this a lot of bizarre buildings of antiquity.
It is believed that the order for the construction of the sanctuary was given by the Raja from the Rastrakut dynasty. He had a great influence in India and was very rich. At the same time, Raja turned out to be very talented, as he independently developed a temple project. All sculptures, carvings and bas-reliefs were invented by him.
As for construction technologies, here scientists simply shrug. They have never seen anything like it in any other corner of the world. The fact is that the workers began to cut it from the top. In parallel, they made an adit deep in the hill so that another group of craftsmen could deal with the interior halls and their decoration. Most likely, at this stage of construction, the sanctuary resembled a well surrounded on all sides by people.
Kailasanatha was dedicated to the god Shiva and was very important for the Hindus. It was assumed that he would fulfill the role of a kind of intermediate link between the gods and ordinary people. Through these gates they had to communicate with each other, thereby bringing peace to the earth.
The temple has a lot of decorative elements. Surprisingly, on the surfaces of the sanctuary, whether it be a ceiling, walls or floor, there is not a centimeter of smooth stone. The entire temple is completely covered with patterns from floor to ceiling inside and out. It amazes, surprises and delights at the same time.
Conventionally, the temple is divided into three parts, but in reality it has a large number of rooms with sculptures of Shiva and other gods. For example, the image of the demon Ravana is often found in the sanctuary. He, according to the religious beliefs of the Hindus, is the lord of the dark forces.
Jain Caves
Many tourists advise starting the tour with these temples, because after the splendor of the Hindu and Buddhist sanctuaries, unfinished buildings will not make the proper impression. It is known that this religion could not conquer the Hindus. It was not very widespread. Perhaps this is due to some modesty of the temples. In addition, almost all of them are unfinished.
Even with a cursory inspection of the caves, it is noticeable that much of them repeats the temple complexes already built earlier. However, the masters could not even come close to the perfection of such shrines as Kailasanatha or Tin Thal.
Some tips for tourists
Europeans quite often break the rules of behavior in Indian temples, so you should carefully study them before you go to Ellora. After all, be that as it may, these shrines were created to serve the gods, and special rites were held here. The Indians themselves are very serious and anxious about the complexes of Ellora.
Remember that taking anything from here is forbidden. Esotericists believe that the pebbles from the ancient shrines will bring the owner only trouble. But the guards, who disguise themselves as ordinary tourists, will not explain anything to you, but simply take them out of the temple.
After sunset, sanctuaries are not allowed. But with the first rays of the sun you can already be at the walls of the temple and spend the whole day here until dark. Nobody limits the time of the excursion.
The cost of admission to the complex is two hundred and fifty rupees for children and adults. Tourists advise taking a flashlight with them for inspection, since without it some sculptures and carvings will simply not be visible. The temple complex is open six days a week; on Tuesday it is closed to the public.
If you can’t decide on a time to travel to India and explore the temples, then consider December as an option. This month, a traditional festival takes place in Ellora. It is dedicated to music and dancing, and often places near its temples become its venue. This sight leaves a lot of unforgettable impressions.
Ellora: how to get to the caves
There are several options to visit these magnificent temples. For example, while relaxing in Goa, you can buy a guided tour for yourself and go to the caves with all the comfort that India is capable of.
If you are not afraid to travel by rail, you can advise you on a very interesting tour, which includes a visit to Ellora. His program involves a train ride with stops in five cities in India. The starting point of the route is Delhi. Then tourists spend time in Agra and Udaipur. The next intermediate train station is Aurangabad. It is from here that you will be taken to inspect cave temples. And for this, quite a lot of time is allotted - all day. The tour ends in Mumbai. It should be noted that for such a trip, trains with all amenities are used. Therefore, tourists always leave positive reviews about such tours.
For those who go to India just to visit the cave temples, you can recommend air travel to Mumbai. Here is the closest international airport to Ellora. However, it should be borne in mind that there are no direct flights from Russia to Mumbai. It is better to choose a transit route that is carried out by Arab air carriers.
Arriving in Mumbai, you can transfer to a train and in nine hours be in Aurangabad. If the train is not your option, then take the bus. He also goes to the city about eight to nine hours.
In Aurangabad, you also need to take a bus. In just half an hour, you will already be in Ellora and you can finally proceed to the inspection of the sanctuaries. By the way, many taxi drivers work in Aurangabad. Any of them will gladly take you to the right place. Many tourists, in order not to wait for the bus, do just that.
There is another option, how to get to Ellora. From Russia, planes fly straight to Delhi. And from there you can buy a train ticket to Aurangabad. It is believed that such a route is much more convenient and faster than the previous ones.