MAGIC OF MAHARASHTRA

 MAGIC OF MAHARASHTRA 

Elora caves are one of the titled World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  It is located in Aurangabad district, part of the state of Maharashtra, India. The caves were built during the 600 to 1000 CE. The caves had deities, idols, paintings which portray the culture and strong foundation of basically three religions Hindu, Buddhist, and Jains. 

HISTORY

• It is difficult to specify the name of the architecture or those hardworking workers behind the building of this series of 34 magnificent rock-cut temples. 

But by analyzing the 17 Hindu caves, 12 Buddhist and five Jain caves with their artwork such as wall paintings, idols, carvings, etc it can be concluded that each religion had its own construction period. Basically divided into three parts-

1. early Hindu period -  550 to 600 CE, 

2. Buddhist period - 600 to 730 CE,

3. The last phase, of the Jain and Hindu, was from 730 to 950 CE.

• In total there are 100 temples out of that only 34 caves are opened for public visits.

• The first twelve caves portray Buddhist artworks.

• The caves from 13 to 29 ineffably portray the masterpieces carvings of the Hindu religion.

• The caves from 30 to 34 are the mirror to the Jain religion which depicts its mythology. 

• All these caves were constructed close to each other in order to reflect the message of harmony, unity, brotherhood, solidarity among various beliefs. It shows that it is crucial to maintain a sense of belonging and love for each other, irrespective of the difference in one's religion. As humanity is the only religion. 

HINDU CAVES

• They were the most complex and yet incredible work of art. The Hindu caves were built in the Kalachuris Period, in two phases. The early phase was centrally focused on Lord Shiva.

• Kailasha temple (Cave 16) was named after the Kailash mountains; being the home of Lord Shiva. It paints a picture where the lord Shiva's transformation from a man to Lion as to come over the devil can be seen. To make it more impactful, there is a depiction of the demon Ravana ( a ten-headed devil who was ironically known as a bhakht of Lord Shiva) that can be seen shaking the Kailasha mountains as proof of its strength and power. Along with that beyond the entrance the there is a figure of Nandi (Lord Shiva's bull).

BUDDHIST CAVES

• Were the simplest and easier to interpret as it was made of ornamentation. These caves were Situated in the south are believed to be built from 600 to 730 CE. Cave 6 was the earliest Buddhist cave, followed by Cave 11, which ended with cave 12 being the last. These caves were depictions of monasteries, shrines that highlighted the bodhisattvas along with carvings of Buddha.

• Vishvakarma Cave, Cave 10:  This was Built around 650 CE, is famous for the perfect finishing of rocks which resembles a wooden beam. Due to the same, it is known as Carpenter’s Cave. There lies a 15 ft statue of Buddha with an action of resting in a preaching pose. It is the dedicated prayer house out of all the caves. Thus, have eight cells and a portico.

JAIN TEMPLES consist of carvings of the Yaksa(god)and yaksi(goddesses).

 

Chota Kailasha, Cave 30: the temple was built in the 9th century. The temple has two huge statues of Indra in dancing pose, one an eight-armed and the other a 12-armed. The numbers of arms were to depict various Indra’s poses. The cave also illustrates the other deities and dancers.

                                                                                           BY-  ISHITA GUPTA