Ellora

Sorry to back track a bit, but I do want to share a bit about Ellora -- Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples carved from the rock between the 5th and 12th centuries.  Where Ajanta's caves were carved INTO the wall, Ellora's temples were cut from the TOP DOWN to the base...I'm no architect, but that seems like an amazing feat of skill and vision. 

Lord Shiva, shown here as Nataraja...Lord of the Dance

It was sunny, clear and already beginning to get hot when I arrived.  To walk from Temple 1-34 is to walk through the centuries...each temple showcasing the increasing skill of the carvers, demonstrating their dedication to the Buddha or the Hindu or Jain gods. Then, there was Kaliasa - a three-story complex of buildings dedicated to the Lord Shiva.  Beginning in the 8th-century, the work took 200 years to complete.  The final finished area is larger than the Parthenon and carved out of one SINGLE rock!  I'm not generally speechless, but I'm telling you, my jaw dropped when I walked in here.  


I'm not sure photos can do it justice, but here goes:

Notice the window/balcony?

ME in the Balcony Window

As at the other site, people were very interested in westerners and I was photographed a half dozen times by families who wanted to chat with me.  Behind us is the illustrated Mahabarata.

After a 2 km walk along this cliff, passing a few more Hindu temples I arrived at the Jain complex.   There were only five in all, one done in the style of Kaliasa, but much more modest in size.  What was interesting here was the level of detail was much greater, perhaps owing in part to more sophisticated knowledge about sculpting the rock.

If you'd like to read more about Ellora, click  here.