The caves including the unfinished ones are thirty in number, of which five (9, 10, 19, 26 and 29) are chaitya-grihas and the rest are sangharamas or viharas (monasteries). After centuries of oblivion, these caves were discovered in AD 1819. They fall into two distinct phases with a break of nearly four centuries between them. All the caves of the earlier phase date between 2nd century BC. The caves of the second phase were excavated during the supremacy of the Vakatakas and Guptas. According to inscriptions, Varahadev, the minister of the Vakataka king, Harishena (475-500 AD), dedicated Cave 16 to the Buddhist sangha while Cave 17 was the gift of a prince. An inscription records that Buddha image in Cave 4 was the gift of some Abhayanandi who hailed from Mathura. A few paintings which survive on the walls of Caves 9 and 10 go back to the 2nd century BC. The second group of the paintings started in about the fifth century AD and continued for the next two centuries as noticeable in later caves. The themes are intensely religious in tone and centre around Buddha, Bodhisattvas, incidents from the life of Buddha and the Jatakas. The paintings are executed on a ground of mud-plaster in the tempera technique.
The magnificent group of rock-cut shrines of Ellora, representing three different faiths: Buddhist, Brahmins and Jains were excavated during the period from 5th to the 13th century AD. The Buddhist Caves (1 to 12) were excavated between the 5th and the 7th centuries AD, when the Mahayana sects were flourishing in the region. Important in this group are Caves 5, 10 and 12. Cave 10 is a chaitya-hall and is popularly known as ‘Visvakarma’. It has a highly ornamental facade provided within the gallery and inside the chaitya-hall a beautiful image of Buddha is set on the stupa. Among the viharas, Cave 5 is the largest. The most impressive vihara is the three – storied cave called ‘Tin – Tala’. It has a large open-court in front which provides access to the huge monastery.
The uppermost storey contains sculptures of Buddha. The Brahmin caves numbering 13 to 29 are mostly Saivite. Kailasa (Cave 16) is a remarkable example of rock-cut temples in India on account of its striking proportion; elaborate workmanship, architectural content and sculptural ornamentation. The whole temple consists of a shrine with linga at the rear of the hall with Dravidian sikhara, a flat-roofed mandapa supported by sixteen pillars, a separate porch for Nandi surrounded by an open-court entered through a low gopura. There are two dhvaja-stambhas or pillars with the flagstaff in the courtyard. The grand sculpture of Ravana attempting to lift mount Kailasa, the abode of Siva, with his full might is a landmark in Indian art. The Jain Caves (30 to 34) are massive, well-proportioned, decorated and mark the last phase of the activity at Ellora.
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