Ellora: The Kailasanatha Temple
After nine hundred years the monastic community at Ajanta went into decline. At roughly the same time, about 50 miles away, a similar community arose at Ellora. This time period, the 7^th–9^thC. AD, also saw the “Hindu Renaissance,” which eventually extinguished Buddhism from its land of origin, so only the earliest caves at Ellora are Buddhist — the rest are Hindu and Jain.

And cave 16 isn’t a cave at all — it’s this temple dedicated to Shiva. The temple isn’t a building in the normal sense of the word, as it isn’t built up stone by stone or brick by brick. It is really one giant sculpture, carved out of an enormous rock wall! The temple, commissioned by King Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in the late 8^th century, depicts Mt. Kailasa, the sacred abode of Shiva.

Photo taken: January 24, 2008

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