Mysterious Kailash Temple - Ellora Cave

Place :- Kailash Temple - Ellora Caves 

Location :- 29km towards North -West of Aurangabad.

Link :- Google Map

Major Attraction :- Cave 16 Kailash Temple

Diety :- Kailashnath  (Shiva)

Entrance fee :- Rs.40/- for Indian and Rs.600/- for Foreigners

Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world, featuring Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments, and artwork, dating from the 600–1000 CE period.

We reached there around 1:00pm. It was very hot. We couldn't explore much but will try to share the maximum possible. 

There are over 100 caves which all excavated in Charanandri hills. Out of these only 34 are open to the public. These consists of cave number 1-12 which show Buddhism, cave number 13-29 which show Hinduism and cave 30-34 which show Jainism.

Cave 16 - Kailash Temple

Cave 16 is the major attraction of Ellora. It is a Kailash Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The thing that makes it the major attraction is its architecture and construction. It is entirely carved out of one big stone. 

Any construction starts from the bottom and then goes up towards the top, but this monument is carved by digging from the top and then going towards the bottom in part of a mountain. There is not a single joint in the temple. Everything is carved from top to bottom and then from outside to inside. The process of making it is still not known. Even with today's technology, we cannot build something like this. It is a mystery how they build it with no modern technology and tools. 

Mysteries about Cave 16 

Ancient theorist even says that there is an entire city underneath the temple. It has a lot of controversies surrounding it. No one can 100% say how it was constructed and who made it. There is some evidence that shows its construction is attributed to Rashtrakutana King Krishna

( 756-773 CE ) but elements of Pallava and Chalukya architecture are also noted.

It is surely a wonder of the world among rock-cut monuments.

The Vadodara copper plate inscription of Karkaraja II ( a ruler of Rashakuta Branch of Gujarat ) records the grant of a Village in present-day Gujarat. It mentions Krishnaraj as the patron of Kailashnath and mentions of Shiva temple at Ellupa ( Ellora ). It states that the king constructed temple so wonderful that even Gods and architects were astonished. Most scholars believe that it is a reference to Kailash Shiva temple at Ellora. 

Whereas according to some the local king suffered from various diseases. His queen prayed to Lord Ghrishneshwar at Elapur to cure her husband. She vowed to construct a temple if the if her wish was granted and promises to observe fast until she could see the Shikhar ( TOP of Temple )

Once the king was cured, the queen requested the king to build the temple immediately, nut multiple architects declared that it would take months to construct up to Shikhar. One architect named Kokasa assured the king that the queen will be able to see the Shikhar of the Temple within a weeks time. He started carving the temple from the top and was able to complete the Shikhar within a weeks time enabling the queen to give up her fast. The temple was named Manikeshwar after the queen and Kokasa was the chief Architect. Multiple 11th and 13th-century inscriptions of central India mention architect born in the family of Kokasa.

Things that I observed 

1. It being a UNESCO world heritage site and still proper care is not taken of the caves.

2. Visitors behavoiur is vey vasual towards History.

3. People are much interested in taking selfies than exploring the place.

4. Most of the caves are locked, you cannot enter.

5. Try to visit Early morning, as the place is around 4 km. 

5. Temperature goes above 40C in summer. Monsson most preferred month to visit.

6. Visit Verul Shiva Temple also which is 1 km ahead. It is considered 12th lingam 12 jyotirlingam.

I visited it in the month of July. Being rainy season my car got very dirty. I couldn't resist taking a picture and sharing it with you guys.