Wonderful caves of Ellora and Ajanta
Source : Google photo of the Kailasha temple in Ellora
Synopsis : India represents one of the oldest civilizations in the world and has numerous World Heritage sites like Ellora to prove it. Anyone visiting India should see these scattered gems of temples, viharas and hand dug cave temples of Ellora , Ajanta and numerous other sites like Khajuraho that represent the very best of ancient India in all its glory.
There is a World Heritage site near Aurangabad in the Maharashtra state of India that boggles the mind because there is nothing like it anywhere in the world. It is called the Ellora cave complex among which is situated the most monolithic rock cut temple called Kailasha temple. It is larger than the Parthenon and in its sheer size, beauty and complexity it stupefies the visitors.
Ellora is known as the only such site in India and in the whole world where three major religions ie Hinduism, Jainism and the Buddhism come together in its clusters of rock cut temples, shrines and Vihars that show tolerance and celebration of the three religions together that makes it so unique. We were so impressed by what we saw that I made a power point on it that I will present in this blog.
I found the English narration of Ellora and the Kailasha temple that shows in detail in the subsequent videos the rock cut temples and the monasteries at Ellora that will open your mind and no doubt will leave you spellbound as it does anyone who has ever visited the site.
What is not known to the public is that there is a vast underground cave complex right under the Kailasha temple that is completely sealed off to the public by the authorities because no one has ever returned from it who ventured to investigate what lies there hidden. Some say that whatever lies hidden there emits radiation so it is harmful to humans. Other say that the temple was built by the Aliens using a technology unknown to humans who left their tools in the basement caves . Whatever is the truth is hidden now from the public because the government does not want anyone to venture into those labyrinthine caves because it is dangerous.
Aurangabad is a city known for its numerous monuments like the Bibi ka Maqbara, the grave of the Emperor Aurangjeb , the water powered grinding mills etc. but what lies just near the city is more astounding like the Daulatabad fort and the Ellora cave complex that attracts visitors from around the world. The caves are only about 31 kms from Aurangabad and the Daulatabad fort is about 12 kms from the city.
The 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff, not far from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life.
The caves at Ellora are man made and cut from the rocky hills some 1400 years ago starting in 600 AD and cover a period of over400 years. The Jain temples were added after the Hindu and the Buddhist temples to make a total of 34 caves, monasteries and the viharas that were hand dug over a period of centuries but the most astonishing fact is that the Kailasha temple was cut from the rock from top down. You can find some similarity of it from Ethiopia where there are rock cut churches cut from top down to bottom but there is no comparison because the Ethiopian churches are very crude and simple while the Kailasha temple is anything but.
Source : Google photo of rock cut church in Ethiopia
The scientists say that the sheer volume of rocks cut and removed to create the Kailasha temple that runs into hundreds of thousands of tons and done only in 12 short years is not possible unless some special technology was used that points to aliens. According to them ,the volume of rocks cut and removed would have taken thousands of workers more than 100 years so how could they do it only in 12 years ?’No one knows the answer that may lay hidden in deep underground caves that no one is allowed to enter.
The entire complex of Ellora that contains more than 34 caves were dug by hand by workers using only chisel and hammer over a period of more than 400 years . It became a major pilgrimage site for all three religions that still coexist peacefully in India making India so unique in the world.
You may have heard of another World Heritage site in Maharashtra called Ajanta caves that are some 102 kms from Aurangabad . They are all Buddhist caves unlike Ellora but are no less impressive. I will post a power point on Ajanta here as well for you to see and appreciate Ajanta.
Source : U tube video on the great Kailasha temple in English
Source : U tube video on Ellora ( in English )
Source : U tube video on Ellora ( in English )
Source : U tube video on Ellora in English
The power point below is on Ellora caves that I made after our visit.
https://1drv.ms/p/s!AmoX9W4gHulzgkOVWVFnOE_10dJ1?e=2Vv2aH
The power point below is on Ajanta caves in Maharashtra state of India that is also a very unique site of Buddhist cave temples that still have incredible paintings and statues of Buddha but are less intricate in carving details than Ellora Hindu and Jain temples. However, Ajanta caves are richly decorated with paintings showing the life of Buddha.
https://1drv.ms/p/s!AmoX9W4gHulzgkIJEfgoWS03bGAc?e=IigArd
These two videos are in English on Ajanta caves
Source : U tube video on Ajanta in English
Source : U tube video on Ajanta in English
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