| Registration Classification | cultural heritage |
| Registration Criteria | (1),(3),(6) |
| Year of registration | 1983 |
In the village of Ellora on the Deccan Plateau in western India, there are more than 2 km of cave temples on basalt cliffs. 34 caves were excavated without interruption from the 7th to the 11th century, and sculptures and temples were dug there. The 34 caves became sanctuaries for Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism in different periods, and are a testament to the spirit of tolerance that existed in ancient India.
Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains why the Ellora Caves are a World Heritage Site in an easy-to-understand manner. Read this and you will definitely learn more about the Ellora Grottoes!
What are the Ellora Caves?
Elora, located 30 km from Aurangabad, the central city of Maharashtra, is home to world-class grotto temples, 34 of which were built in three phases from the 6th to 12th centuries, with architecture related to three religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Caves 1-12 are the earliest structures and are related to Mahayana Buddhism. Caves 13 to 29 are related to Hinduism, and the Kailasa Temple in Cave 16 is the largest temple in Ellora. It was carved out of a single large rock between the 7th and 10th centuries. Caves 30-34 are grottoes expressing the Jain philosophy.
The Ellora Caves are unique not only in their ancient Indian art, but also in the proximity of the architecture of each religion. The site also offers a glimpse into their lifestyle of “tolerance”.
Major Registered Monuments
Caves 1-12 (Buddhist Grottoes)
This is the oldest period grotto in Ellora, but it was built between the 5th and 7th centuries, the last of the Buddhist caves in India.Caves 10 to 12 are particularly famous, and Cave 10, which contains the Buddhist niche of the Chaitya Cave (a shrine where a statue of Buddha is placed for worship), is the symbolic one. The Buddhist niche is the newest of the Buddhist grottoes, with a seated statue of Buddha in front of the stupa.
Caves 12-29 (Hindu Grottoes)
Begun to be built around the 7th century, Cave 16, Kailasa Temple, is the representative grotto of Ellora. At 46 m wide, 34 m high, and 80 m deep, it is the largest structure in the grottoes, a huge temple carved out of a single basalt stone. The structure is a crystallization of Indian sculpting techniques, and is covered with sculptures of gods and imaginary animals, including a sculpture depicting Ravana about to lift Mount Kailas, the home of the supreme deity Shiva.
Caves 30-34 (Jain Grottoes)
Jain believers began building grottoes here around the 9th century.However, many of them ended up unfinished. However, Cave 32 had a large lotus on the ceiling, and Cave 34 had a goddess sitting on a lion, etc. dug in, and so on.
For what reason are the Ellora Caves on the World Heritage List?
The Ellora Grottoes were evaluated by
Registration Criteria (i)
In addition to the technical prowess of such temples as the Kailasa Temple, this is where the works of art of various religions are gathered and the creative talents of man can be seen.
Registration Criteria (iii)
It means that the caves were uninterrupted from the 7th to 11th century, and various sculptures and architectural structures were created in the caves, leaving the footprints of the ancient Indian civilization in the present.
Registration Criteria (vi)
That here the three religions of Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Jainism each existed in close proximity to each other, showing the spirit of “tolerance” in ancient India.
Conclusions and Impressions of a World Heritage Maniac
First of all, the number of grottoes and their scale are the most amazing thing about this site: they stretch for more than 2 km and are well preserved, so they still retain the appearance of their time. Another point to appreciate is the close proximity of the religious buildings, which have not been destroyed. Looking at examples from around the world, religious facilities are usually destroyed many times, such as a mosque destroyed to make a Christian church, or a Christian church destroyed to make a mosque, but this is not the case in Ellora, which is also unique.
Incidentally, the nearby Ajanta Caves are often compared to the Elora Caves…but the difference is that the Ajanta Caves are all Buddhist buildings, so this kind of diversity cannot be seen there.
*The contents here are considerations derived from the research of a World Heritage enthusiast. As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the medium.
