Ellora Caves Buddhist And Jain Caves

Ellora Caves Buddhist and Jain Caves

caves • Buddhist monuments (Caves 1-12) occupy the southernmost part of the site,( 12 caves) • while Hindu monuments (Caves 13-29) are located in the middle; (17 caves) • towards the north are a small number of Jain excavations (Caves 30-34). (5 caves)

Introduction • Ellora (also known as Elura and, in ancient times, as Elapura) is a sacred site in Maharastra, central India. The Ellora Caves are listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and is celebrated for its Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples and monuments which were carved from the local cliff rock in the 6th to 10th century CE. The most spectacular example is the 8th century CE Kailasa temple which, at 32 metres high, is the largest rock-cut monument in the world.

Buddhist cave

• The monuments at Ellora were carved over a period of three hundred and fifty years, from the sixth to the tenth centuries AD. The site has no early carvings of the Hinayana phase and may have begun with Brahamanical excavations with which the Mahayana Buddhist monuments at the site overlap chronologically.

Main hall of cave no 5

Time

Phase

Dynasty

Caves

1

Vakataka/ pre Kalacuri

27 &28

2

Kalacuri

1 to 10 , 18 to 26& 29

3

Pre imperial Rashtrakutas/ Chalukyan

11, 12, 14, 17

4

Imperial Rashtrakutas

15,16, 30-33

Cave 10 or Visvakarma cave main hall

Gavaksha pattern carved on the facade of Cave 9

• Cave 6 has a rectangular columned hall off which smaller halls open, each with two cells. The columns have large pot and foliage capitals. At the rear of the central hall is a columned antechamber leading to a small shrine. The walls of the antechamber are carved with Bodhisattva and goddess figures; the latter include Tara and Mahamayuri. The shrine doorway is guarded by large Bodhisattvas and river goddesses appear on the pilasters. In the Buddhist group, Cave 2 follows the pattern of a typical vihara as seen in Ajanta and Aurangabad. The columns of the square mandapa imitate those seen in late Ajanta caves. In place of sub-shrines seen at Aurangabad caves, here in Cave 2 we have niches with huge seated Buddha images. Cave 5 which looks more like a public residence is an oblong hall with cells on both sides . Experiments in decorative patterns can be seen in the Buddhist group, like the gavaksha pattern carved on the façade of Cave 9 .

Visvakarma (Cave 10) •

This is the last noteworthy chaitya hall of the Deccan cave-temple series . Like other Buddhist examples, this too dates from the seventh century and is named after the mythical architect of the gods. The hall is positioned at one end of an excavated court that is entered through a gateway. A portico on three sides is raised on a basement carved with animals. The columns have partly fluted shafts, pot and foliage capitals, and plain brackets. A long frieze depicting a hunting scene appears above. At the rear end of the court is an upper gallery with parapet wall embellished with amorous couples and scrollwork. The main verandah was intended to have subsidiary shrines at either end; the one to the left is incomplete. The antechamber walls to the right are carved with images of Buddha and goddesses. The hall itself is entered through three doorways at the rear of the verandah. Access to an upper gallery is provided by steps cut into the left side of the verandah. The facade behind this upper gallery consists of a doorway flanked by carvings of deities, while the side niches contain Bodhisattvas with female attendants . Both niches are capped with pyramidal pediments composed of archlike motifs. The pediment over the doorway is larger and contains a chaitya window between arched motifs. Flying celestial figures, naga deities with coiled bodies, and scrollwork adorn this scheme. Suspended over the facade is a ceiling with rock-cut beams.

Fig.13: View of the facade behind the upper gallery

Buddha in the company of Bodhisattvas, Intermediate floor, Cave 11

Uppermost level, Cave 11

Cave 12, uppermost level

Cave no 12 • Coming to Cave 12, the lowest floor consists of a long hall with three rows of columns. Small cells, some with stone beds, open off the side walls. An antechamber leading to the Buddha shrine is recessed into the rear wall. Steps from the south-west corner of the hall ascend to the intermediate level, which is similarly organized. The spacious uppermost level consists of a verandah, a hall with four rows of columns, and an antechamber and shrine. Carved onto each of the side walls of the hall are five large Buddhas; these are seated on thrones and flanked by attendant Bodhisattvas. Rows of seven Buddhas with flying figures above are placed on both sides of the antechamber entrance. The Buddhas on the left are in meditating posture (Fig.A), while those on the right display dharmachakra mudra or preaching gesture (Fig.B). Within the antechamber are twelve goddesses seated on double-petalled lotus flowers held by nagas (Fig.C).

Fig.A: Meditating Buddhas flanking shrine antechamber on the left

Fig.B: Preaching Buddha figures flanking the shrine antechamber on the right, uppermost floor Cave 12

Fig.C: Seated goddesses carved in the antechamber, Cave 12, uppermost level

Facade of Cave 2

• Plans of simpler sanctuaries at Ellora point to a consistent architectural development. The earliest sanctuaries have small halls without columns in front of the shrine. The door frames and columns are generally unadorned. In the next phase of development, Cave 2, for instance, porches are added with sub-shrines, or there are circumambulatory passageways around the main sanctum (Cave 8) . These more evolved schemes are accompanied by an increasingly ornate treatment of door frames and column shafts with ribbed, cushion-like capitals.

Main hall of cave no 8

• Buddhist Caves • The Buddhist caves are amongst the largest excavated anywhere and were carved later than the Hindu ones, probably between the 7th and 8th centuries CE. Their layouts are more complex and the capitals in the colonnades are either the vase and foliage or chamfered cushions type. Cave 5 is especially grand and unusually deep. It has 17 cells and a large rectangular hall with two rows of 10 columns between which are set stone benches in two rows. The function of these remains a mystery beyond the surmise that monks gathered there for assemblies of some sort. • The interior decoration of these caves displays figures of Buddha in his various guises and many Bodhisattvas, some being the earliest instances, for example of Tara. Several of the inner sanctums are flanked by a Bodhisattva figure. There are examples of Hindu influence in the depiction of four-armed figures, with the carving in Cave 8 being the earliest such example yet discovered.

• Cave 12 is the most ornate of the Buddhist caves while the Visvakarma cave (no. 10) has one of the largest seated Buddha figures. The latter cave was probably cut in c. 650 CE and, after a large open court space, presents a hugely impressive facade on two levels. The ground floor has a four-column facade while above is a veranda with a large central caitya window. On either side of this window, which leads to an interior barrel-vaulted gallery, is a deep and richly carved niche and relief panels.

Uppermost level, Cave 11

Do Tal (Cave 11) & Tin Tal (Cave 12) • Do Tal & Tin Tal are probably the last Buddhist caves carved at Ellora. Both are three storied structures and Cave 11 is erroneously named Do Tal or ‘two storeys’ because its ground floor was once buried. Both caves date to the seventh century, during the Chalukyan/ Pre Imperial Rashtrakuta era. Each is entered through a spacious excavated court reached by a passage cut through the front walls. The lowest level of Cave 11 has two cells and a central sanctuary; a Buddha image in teaching posture is positioned at the rear end of the verandah. A flight of steps at the north end of the verandah ascends to the intermediate level. This consists of five excavations, of which the first is incomplete and the last is a cell with a rock-cut bed. The remaining excavations have sanctuaries housing Buddha images attended by Bodhisattvas . The uppermost level has a porch leading to a long columned hall—in the middle of the rear wall is a Buddha shrine, while to the left is a second sanctuary. The images of goddess Durga and Ganesha carved on the wall of the hall indicate that this cave was later converted to Hindu worship.

Cave 12, uppermost level

Cave 12 • The lowest floor consists of a long hall with three rows of columns. Small cells, some with stone beds, open off the side walls. An antechamber leading to the Buddha shrine is recessed into the rear wall. Steps from the south-west corner of the hall ascend to the intermediate level, which is similarly organized. The spacious uppermost level consists of a verandah, a hall with four rows of columns, and an antechamber and shrine. Carved onto each of the side walls of the hall are five large Buddhas; these are seated on thrones and flanked by attendant Bodhisattvas. Rows of seven Buddhas with flying figures above are placed on both sides of the antechamber entrance. The Buddhas on the left are in meditating posture , while those on the right display dharmachakra mudra or preaching gesture . Within the antechamber are twelve goddesses seated on double-petalled lotus flowers held by nagas

Seated goddesses carved in the antechamber, Cave 12, uppermost level

Chhota Kailasa (Cave 30) & Indra Sabha (Cave 32) • These two Jain excavations are assigned to the early ninth century, within the Rashtrakuta period. While they in no way rival the Buddhist and Hindu monuments, they are of architectural and artistic interest in their own right. Chhota Kailasa (Cave 30) is actually a small-scale, incomplete replica of Kailasa, with a temple standing freely in the middle of a court. This monolith consists of a columned mandapa entered through a porch; balcony seating is adorned with friezes of pots, pilasters, and elephants. Carved ornamentation is mostly restricted to Jain saints and goddesses . Twenty-two seated Tirthankaras are located in the mandapa. The columns here have their shafts decorated with foliate motifs and garlands. An image of Mahavira seated on a lion throne is enshrined within the sanctuary at the rear of the mandapa.

Meditating Jina figures, Chhota Kailasa

Indra Sabha (Cave 32) • Indra Sabha (Cave 32) is the finest of the Jain series. A simple gateway leads to an open court in the middle of which stands a monolithic shrine . This has a pyramidal superstructure capped with an octagonal roof. Miniature Jain figures adorn the arched niches of the roof projections. A freestanding elephant and column are also positioned here. The sides of the court are adorned with lion and elephant friezes as well as with Tirthankaras.

Indra Sabha, Cave 32

• A double-storied temple is excavated into the rear side of the court of Cave 32. The lower level is an unfinished mandapa with incomplete cells. The columned mandapa of the upper level is more complete, with niches on three sides and within the sanctuary in the middle of the rear wall. Among the carved figures are repeated images, often damaged, of Ambika with a child seated on her lap, a lion beneath, and a spreading tree above. Other panels depict Mahavira, Bahubali, and Parshvanatha. Exuberant foliage and garland motifs are incised onto the fluted shafts and capitals of the columns. Jagannatha Sabha (Cave 33) and the adjoining Cave 34 are the last of the Jain series.

Jina figures, Cave 32

• Caves belonging to the Jain religion bring the history of the site of Ellora right into medieval period. The architecture in accordance to the spirit of the age is much complex and as intricate as it can be. The monolith in the centre court of Jain group introduces a new type of Sarvatobhadra shrines which will be extensively used in medieval Karnataka.