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Amazing Rock Cut Kailash Temple

The Rock Cut Kailash Temple is amazing. It is the Kailashnath Temple. It one of the largest rock-cut ancient Hindu temples located in Ellora, Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved out of one single rock, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in India because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment.

Kailashnath Temple is housed in Cave 16 of the 32 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the 8th-century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in 756-773 CE. The temple architecture shows traces of Pallava and Chalukya styles.

Kailashnath Temple features the use of multiple distinct architectural and sculptural styles. This, combined with its relatively large size, has led some scholars to believe that its construction spanned the reigns of multiple kings. Some of the temple reliefs feature the same style as the one used in the Dashavatara cave, which is located next to the temple. The Dashavatara cave contains an inscription of Krishna's predecessor and nephew Dantidurga (c. 735–756 CE).

The Kailashnath Temple is notable for its vertical excavation—carvers started at the top of the original rock and excavated downward. The traditional methods were rigidly followed by the master architect which could not have been achieved by excavating from the front This construction of a massive temple during the reign of a single monarch does not seem impossible.

The entrance to the temple courtyard features a low Gopura. 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 Vaishnavite (followers of Lord Vishnu). A two-storeyed gateway opens to reveal a U-shaped courtyard. The dimensions of the courtyard are 82 m x 46 m at the base. The courtyard is edged by a columned arcade three stories high. The arcades are punctuated by huge sculpted panels, and alcoves containing enormous sculptures of a variety of deities. Originally flying bridges of stone connected these galleries to central temple structures, but these have fallen.

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 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, Mithuna (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 meters high and built on two stories. 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. A rock bridge connects the Nandi Mandapa to the porch of the temple. The base of the temple hall features scenes from Mahabharata and Ramayana….Read more at Kailashnath…Sivkishen Ji, Author