Sunday, May 15, 2011

A TRIP TO ELLORA...


Last week I got an opportunity to roam in and around ellora caves .My words are inadequate to capture the beauty, the grandeur and the intricate art .Hence this photo blog .maharashtra is at its best during monsoon. The barren brown rocky terrain is not a welcome sight during these months of rising temperature, soaring mercury but the cool, semi dark chambers, the endless corridors, reverberating with the richness of our culture have such a balming impact that the outside world is forgotten .The present is pushed back to oblivion and the heart travels back to bygone days .The mythological references come alive and heart swells with pride for rich heritage.
Wandering in such historical monuments, I always feel sadness creeping in stealthily ,very slowly . I feel lost .Disconnected from present and unable to grip the past.
Come on lets get out of  this mood quickly and head towards city of aurangabad .The ellora caves are about 30 km.from aurangabad .Ellora caves epitomizes the wonders of rock cut sculpture .There are 34 caves in all .12 out of these are dedicated to buddhism-references of buddha's life ,monestries,chaitya hall etc.17 caves are steeped in hindu mythology -kailash temple ,shrine of lord shiva ,dasavatar,epics of mahabharta and ramayana carved in stone .Jainism is the subject of the remaining five caves. These caves are the structures cut from the vertical face of Charanandri hills .The temples ,the chambers ,the corridors ,the mandapam in all case the cutting was started from top and proceeded towards bottom .the caves were built in 5th to 10th century during the regime of Rastrakoot dynasty.


goddess lakshmi sitting on lotus ,below are lotus leaves......

piller near kailash temple .an identical pillar is on the other side of the temple


carving on the outer walls of temple


lord shiva carved on the ceiling of a cave

scenes from mahabharata....arjun on chariot ,abhimanyu in chakrayuh etc.


faces of shiva around shivling.....ravana trying to shake kailash parvat


the magnificent corridors.......dasavtar depicted on inner wall


the depth,the strength,the shadows of past......





scenes from ramayana ......can u trace vanar sena....ravana ...sita haran





ma kali with her khadag...mundmal


entrence to one of buddhist cave ...


chaitya hall....the ceiling is cut to make it look like wood...gautam buddha





all the photographs are clicked by my son shubham. it was a trip made by mother and son duo .sunder was busy on his desk hence son took over.                                                               MAY 2008
© namitasachan., all rights reserved.

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