#kailasa #temple #ellora

It may not be one of the best wonders of the world, but no one can deny the greatness of the Kailash Temple in Ellora. Situated bout 30 km from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, the rock-cave temple is the largest monolithic structure in the world.

As per the historical records, it was built in the 8th century...

...between the years 756 and 773 AD.

The temple was made by the Rashtrakuta dynasty...

...dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The temple signifies the involvement of Pallava and Chalukya artists.

Mughal ruler Aurangzeb tried to vandalize the Kailash Temple,

but he was unsuccessful.

All he could do was minor damage,

but not to the main structure.

The rock temple was cut in a 'U' shape,

and about 2, 00,000 tonnes of rock...

...was removed to give shape to it.

The archaeologists had calculated that...

...it would have taken more than 100 years...

to finish the construction.

But, in reality, it took only 18 years to complete it.

Interestingly, modern age engineers find it impossible...

...to finish the same temple using modern technology in 18 years.

It is also believed that the architects of Virupaksha temple…
…contributed to making the Kailash Temple.

And given the architects already had the design...

...it would have taken lesser efforts to build the temple of such magnitude.

The main shrine of the Kailasa Temple stands on a podium...

...that is divided into two parts.

The upper part Adhisthana

and the lower part Upapitha,

which is surrounded by a line of large sculpted elephants.

It is just jaw-dropping to imagine artists and craftsmen

cutting the rocks for decades.

They also softened its edges, giving it shape and form,

and leaving a lasting impression for posterity to figure out the past.

One of the biggest takeaways for our generation is...

...the environmental concern people of those days had,

which has been beautifully taken care of...

...during those times of rock-cut temples.

This temple was carved out in such a manner...

...that it blended in well with the scene of the area

with little or no harm to nature.

Plus, they worked with the rock

and ruled out the idea of building out of...

...some foreign material unavailable in the region.