scramasacs
Ellora Cave
Ellora (\e-ˈlȯr-ə\, IAST: Vērūḷ) is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple caves complexes in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra, India. The site presents monuments and artwork of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism from the 600-1000 CE period.Cave 16 of Ellora features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailasha temple, a chariot shaped monument dedicated to Shiva. The Kailasha temple excavation also presents the gods, goddesses and mythologies found in Vaishnavism, Shaktism and relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu Epics.
The site features over 100 caves, of which 34 caves are open to public.[3] These were excavated out of the vertical basalt cliff in the Charanandri hills. These consist of 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves.Each group presents the respective deities and mythologies prevalent in 1st millennium CE, as well as the monasteries of that religion.
They were built in proximity and illustrate the religious harmony prevalent in ancient India. All Ellora monuments were built by Hindu dynasties, such as the Rashtrakuta dynasty who built some of the Hindu & Buddhist group of caves, and Yadav dynasty who built some of the Jain group of caves.]
Ellora was an important historic commercial center of the Deccan region, located on an ancient trade route of South Asia.The caves served as monasteries for monks, temples for prayers and a place for pilgrims to rest but now is an archaeological site. It is 29 kilometres (18 miles) north-west of the city of Aurangabad, and about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east-northeast from Mumbai. Ellora Caves, along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, form one of the major tourist attractions in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Ellora is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.
Starting with the colonial British era scholarship on Ellora caves, the overlapping styles of artwork between the Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina caves have led to many different chronology proposals, with no universal consensus.The disagreements have broadly been two fold. One being whether Buddhist or Hindu caves were carved first, and the second scholarly disagreement being the relative dating of caves within a specific tradition. The broad consensus that has emerged is based on comparing the style and content of artwork at the Ellora caves to other ancient and early medieval era cave temples in the Deccan region that have been dated, textual records of various dynasties, and by including epigraphical evidence such as inscriptions found at various archaeological sites near Ellora and elsewhere in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.These studies suggest, state Geri Hockfield Malandra and other scholars, that the Ellora caves had three chronologically important building periods: an early Hindu period (~550 to 600 CE), a Buddhist phase (~600 to 730 CE), a later Hindu and Jain phase (~730 to 950 CE).
The earliest Ellora caves may have been built during the rule of the Hindu dynasties of Vakataka (known for sponsoring the Ajanta caves) and Traikutakas.. However, it is more likely that some of the earliest Ellora caves, such as Cave 29 (Hindu), were built by the Shiva-inspired Kalachuri Hindu dynasty, while the Buddhist caves were built by the Chalukya Hindu dynasty.The later Hindu caves and early Jaina caves were built by the Hindu Rashtrakuta dynasty, while the last Jaina caves were built by the Yadava Hindu dynasty who also sponsored other Jaina cave temples.
Ellora Cave
Ellora (\e-ˈlȯr-ə\, IAST: Vērūḷ) is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple caves complexes in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra, India. The site presents monuments and artwork of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism from the 600-1000 CE period.Cave 16 of Ellora features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailasha temple, a chariot shaped monument dedicated to Shiva. The Kailasha temple excavation also presents the gods, goddesses and mythologies found in Vaishnavism, Shaktism and relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu Epics.
The site features over 100 caves, of which 34 caves are open to public.[3] These were excavated out of the vertical basalt cliff in the Charanandri hills. These consist of 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves.Each group presents the respective deities and mythologies prevalent in 1st millennium CE, as well as the monasteries of that religion.
They were built in proximity and illustrate the religious harmony prevalent in ancient India. All Ellora monuments were built by Hindu dynasties, such as the Rashtrakuta dynasty who built some of the Hindu & Buddhist group of caves, and Yadav dynasty who built some of the Jain group of caves.]
Ellora was an important historic commercial center of the Deccan region, located on an ancient trade route of South Asia.The caves served as monasteries for monks, temples for prayers and a place for pilgrims to rest but now is an archaeological site. It is 29 kilometres (18 miles) north-west of the city of Aurangabad, and about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east-northeast from Mumbai. Ellora Caves, along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, form one of the major tourist attractions in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Ellora is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.
Starting with the colonial British era scholarship on Ellora caves, the overlapping styles of artwork between the Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina caves have led to many different chronology proposals, with no universal consensus.The disagreements have broadly been two fold. One being whether Buddhist or Hindu caves were carved first, and the second scholarly disagreement being the relative dating of caves within a specific tradition. The broad consensus that has emerged is based on comparing the style and content of artwork at the Ellora caves to other ancient and early medieval era cave temples in the Deccan region that have been dated, textual records of various dynasties, and by including epigraphical evidence such as inscriptions found at various archaeological sites near Ellora and elsewhere in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.These studies suggest, state Geri Hockfield Malandra and other scholars, that the Ellora caves had three chronologically important building periods: an early Hindu period (~550 to 600 CE), a Buddhist phase (~600 to 730 CE), a later Hindu and Jain phase (~730 to 950 CE).
The earliest Ellora caves may have been built during the rule of the Hindu dynasties of Vakataka (known for sponsoring the Ajanta caves) and Traikutakas.. However, it is more likely that some of the earliest Ellora caves, such as Cave 29 (Hindu), were built by the Shiva-inspired Kalachuri Hindu dynasty, while the Buddhist caves were built by the Chalukya Hindu dynasty.The later Hindu caves and early Jaina caves were built by the Hindu Rashtrakuta dynasty, while the last Jaina caves were built by the Yadava Hindu dynasty who also sponsored other Jaina cave temples.