Inspiration from Abroad: Elaborate Ellora Caves

Bright eyed and bushy tailed from a relatively restful sardine-style head-to-toe-in-a-twin-bed nights sleep, we were off. After rallying the troops we checked out of the hotel and scurried outside to meet our driver at half past nine. Scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and toast made a happy wait (for our late driver) and we were soon full and on our way to the Ellora caves. (Only stopping along the way to buy two liters of water each to add to the liter we each had already. No dehydration today!)

There are 34 caves at Ellora which are spread out over a vast expanse of desert. A very strange site to take in, the landscape looked as though during monsoon season it is a lush tropical paradise with water running through it. On this day, however, it was a barren waste land blowing up dust storms and slowly killing the emaciated puppies and water buffalo inhabiting it.

Front Face of Cave 16

Unlike the Ajanta caves which are carefully carved caverns in a rocky cliff face, the Ellora caves do not have the same cave like feel. In fact, to call them caves is quite an injustice. The temples at Ellora are magnificent structures built into hills. Some are similar to the caves at Ajanta, but many are large compounds, completely open to the elements, with several levels and rooms. It is also interesting to note that while the Ajanta caves are all Buddhist monuments, the structures at Ellora were built to support three different beliefs. Caves 1-12 are Buddhist, caves 13-29 are Hindu, and caves 30-34 are Jain. This makes Ellora particularly fascinating because each set of caves have their similarities and their unique differences. Visiting these temples back to back in the way Ellora offers, helps you to learn and understand some of the religious differences you may have never noticed going to different complexes on different days.

Elephant Statue

Cave 16, a massive Hindu temple built into the hill, made for a fabulous start to Ellora. As the largest and most ornate temple we saw in Ellora, this was probably my favorite. You enter the cave through an enormous gateway leading you into a courtyard where you find yourself facing two enormous elephant sculptures just to the front and on opposite sides of an elaborate two story temple. As you look around you realize that the gateway you entered is actually one of the four walls surrounding the courtyard, each with two levels of stone sculpting to

Cave 16

enjoy. The carvings included stories of the Hindu gods and elephants everywhere (view pictures below) making your mind thirsty for the stories depicted in the walls. We were lucky to have a friend with us who could explain most of the stories as we wandered through the various parts of the temple, making for a more intellectually fulfilling experience.

View of central building at Cave 16

Once we had taken in all we could at cave 16, we continued on to temples 10, 12 and 14 which were all Buddhist temples. 10 was simply stunning and took your breathe away as the Ajanta caves had just the day before. You walk into a courtyard towards a two story temple with an open door. The sun is so bright that all you can see is a black hole in the entry way. Once you walk through the door, your eyes adjust to find a monumental cave complete with a cathedral style ceiling and a massive Buddha in the center. The cave was cool and the ceiling made the echos of the spiritual humming fill the cave making an overwhelming sense of tranquility descend upon the inner chamber. In this idyllic moment it was not hard to visualize how one could meditate in there for hours and we took a moment to just breathe and relax in this remarkable place. On our way out, the cave monitor offered to let us go out onto the locked balcony upstairs to look down into the temple. Obviously accepting quickly and graciously, he lead us up the steps and through the locked wooden door. Yet, another amazing view for our eyes to feast upon and our cameras quickly began snapping away.

Seated Buddha in Cave 10

We trekked back to the car, stopping along the way to buy some small gifts, before being driven to caves 30 - 34. These Jain temples were by far the most fun to explore as they were all intertwined via ornate tunnels within the cliffs. You had to be quite agile to make your way between these caves as some of the steps were very steep and you often found yourself climbing through interesting gaps. As someone who is somewhat afraid of the dark this maze of Jain temples was made particularly exhilarating by the pitch black hallway or jet black cavern you had to jump down into with a blinding light at the other end which was the way out on the other side. The smell of bat droppings was particularly pungent in these darker areas and I would stand and listen at the doorway for the location of the squeaking bats watching nonchalantly as others went through before me. Each passage brought you to new beautiful rooms devoted to various aspects of the Jain religion.

"window" in Cave 26

After quite sometime we headed back to the car which took us to caves 19 - 26. However, unfortunately for us due to a landslide we could only see 26. This was not a hardship as 26 was an immense Hindu temple with stunning views, gorgeous carvings, and a massive footprint. This temple was also blessed by squeaking bats in dark corners, adding to the mysticism of the place.One edge of the temple sat on the edge of a cliff featuring a balcony "window" where you could sit letting your legs dangle precariously over the edge while you took in the forbidden temples complete with the recent landslide alongside the barren Indian countryside. As we sat enjoying the view we watched a skin and bones water buffalo appear in the distance and walk ever so slowly through the lifeless desert to a stagnant pool of water just below us, where it waded in to the deepest point attempting to escape from the brutal heat of the day. It looks as though this pool is usually the beginning of a stream that flows through what one can only imagine as lush tropical fields, but still a few months from monsoon season, the landscape is struggling along with the wildlife that depend on it.

Water Buffalo in the last pool of water

Having successfully enjoyed as many of the caves as reasonably practical we headed back to Aurangabad to shower and freshen up for the sleeper bus back to Mumbai, where I would soon thereafter be catching a flight home. The little I was fortunate enough to see of this Southern part of India was absolutely brilliant and has definitely made me thirsty for more adventures in India!