Do you have a bucket list? You know, that list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket?” I’m really not a bucket list kind of gal, but there was one thing I really wanted to see in person: the Kailasa Temple in the Ellora Cave complex in India. I think it started with seeing a small black and white photo in the book entitled Buddhist Art and Architecture by Robert E. Fisher (Thames & Hudson 1993). Later I took an Asian art history class, and the textbook, History of Far Eastern Art by Sherman Lee (5th Edition, Prentice Hall 1994), had several pages about the temple.
The Scene
Ever since then I decided I needed to go to India to see it for myself. Last week, my dream came true. What a nondescript landscape. Who would have guessed that such magnificent work would be found here? Here I am in front of the temple.
The Scale
There is no way to depict the enormity. The court is 276’ x 154’ x 96’ tall. It was carved out of solid rock—from top to bottom, front to back with the majority of the work completed around 750-775 CE. No pillars were brought in; they’re just all part of the mountain.
The Epic
While there are Buddhist temples in Ellora, this one is dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Shiva. Intricately carved panels depict the Ramayana, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Click here to read more about it.
If you want to learn more about Kailasa, click here. To see an amazing video of Kailasa, click here.
3 responses to “Deb’s India Trip Part 1”
I am speechless. This is one great example for so many things: faith, smarts, putting people to work, telling a story that will last, come to mind. Good for you Deb!
I was speechless when I saw this place.
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