With the Kailashnath temple at Ellora the rock cut architecture of the Deccan reached the zenith of creativity and ambitious design. Till then caves had been excavated into the hillside and then the walls, ceiling and façade embellished with carvings. At Kailashnanth a whole temple with a plinth, walls, shikhara and subsidiary shrines was carved out of a hillside between the 8th and 9th centuries. The main shrine has the mahamandapa, antarala and the garbha griha. The pretty toranas lead into the temple where the walls aer covered with a profusion of animals, humans, celestial apsaras, demons, dwarfs and deities. The high plinth is ornamented by a frieze of elephants and lions. Shiva is worshiped as a giant lingam in the garbha griha. The Ellora caves, locally known as ‘Verul Leni’ is located on the Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road at a distance of 30 km north-northwest of Aurangabad, the district headquarters in Maharashtra, India. The name Ellora itself inspires everyone as it represents one of the largest rock-hewn monastic-temple complexes in the entire world. Ellora is also world famous for the largest single monolithic excavation in the world, the great Kailasa Cave 16. The visit to these caves is enjoyed maximum during monsoon, when every stream is filled with rainwater, and the entire environ is lush green. The monsoon is not only a season of rains in this part, the local visitors are attracted to visit these ideal locations to have a glimpse of the mother nature in full bloom.
