Ellora is one of the great cave temple sites of India, with thirty-four major Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain monuments of the late sixth to tenth centuries A. D. This book describes the Buddhist caves at Ellora and places them in the context of Buddhist art and iconography. Ellora's twelve Buddhist cave temples, dating from the early seventh to the early eighth centuries, preserve an unparalleled one-hundred-year sequence of architectural and iconographical development. They reveal the evolution of a Buddhist mandala at sites in other regions often considered "peripheral" to the heartland of Buddhism in eastern India. At Ellora, the mandala, ordinarily conceived as a two-dimensional diagram used to focus meditation, is unfolded into the three-dimensional program of the cave temples themselves, enabling devotees to walk through the mandala during worship. The mandala's development at Ellora is explained and its significance is considered for the evolution of Buddhist art and iconography elsewhere in India.

The Cave Temples of Ellora, 30 KMS, from Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state, India, is a heritage site for the World and a priced jewel of Indian Civilization, as at Ellora, one witnesses the harmonious co-existence of three major religions of the modern secular India, the Hinduism, the Buddhism and the Jainism. Like Ajanta Caves, Ellora was never discovered. It was always open for visit throughout the ancient and medieval ages. Even though the architectural activities here began in 5th Century A.D., it was only with the rise of the Chalukya-Rashtrakuta rulers in 7th Century to 10th Century A.D. that art and architecture blossomed at Ellora. The Hindu Rulers in ancient times were governed by certain religious injunctions and ethical codes which promoted them to donate the funds to the temple building as the same was considered essential for attainment of worldly power and spiritual salvation. The artists at Ellora were quick to respond to the urges and demands of their society. They rose to height of their creative dynamism. They acted out of passion and feelings, faith and sensibility. They drew themes from the mythology and then transformed the rock into a cavalcade of Gods and Goddesses. While doing so, they judiciously portrayed the feelings of compassion, emotions and the fury. The temple of Kailasa is an illustration of one of those rare occasions when men's mind, heart and hand, worked in unison to build this feat. The rocks cut monuments at Ellora, essentially represent the climax of the process of cutting shrine in direct rock and fashion them into the places of worship and residence embellished with beautiful and imposing sculptural and pictorial images. This practice started by Buddhism thousands of years ago, was eventually adopted by Hinduism and Jainism.The monuments [34 caves] are numbered in a continuous sequence. Buddhist monuments (Caves 1-12) occupy the southernmost part of the site, while Hindu monuments (Caves 13-29) are located in the middle and towards the north are a small number of five Jain excavations (Caves 30-34]. The infinite lithic representations at Ellora coordinate into the greatest concentration of the sculpture, wrought at a single site, in diverse styles that art history has ever witnessed. All the aspects related to daily life, Gods and goddesses, myths and rituals related to all the three dominant religions, are exhibited in Ellora through architecture and sculptures. In most of the caves, however, the focal points are centered round the figures of divinities - Buddha, Shiva and Jain Thirthankaras. Music, dancing and erotic plays of all the carved and painted creatures turn to the central figures of divinity. Gods and demi-gods, flying nymphs, musicians, kinnaras, dwarfs, makara, elephants, bulls, lion, peacocks or aquatic creatures- whether they are in the main hall, on the roofs and walls, in the side chambers, in porches, in balconies, in galleries, whether they are standing or flying, the entire attention of visitors and devotees is attracted to them and the divinities they surround by- Buddha, Shiva or Tirthankaras.

Some of the world's most beautiful frescos and sculptures- Buddhist, Hindu and Jain- are found here. Beautiful photographs capture the richness of an ancient ethos.

Drawing on art historical, epigraphical, and textual evidence, this book is the first full-scale reconstruction of medieval Jain activities at Ellora. It not only highlights the understudied Jain caves, but examines them in concert with Ellora's Hindu and Buddhist monuments.

- There are few books on this subject - Features stunning photographs Thirty-four places of worship (temples, monasteries, and shrines) were carved out of the rock between the fifth and tenth centuries over an area of around two square kilometres. All the sculpture at the site is testimony to the superb skill and sheer determination of the workforce involved, as well as being evidence of the religious harmony of the time. The monuments include all sorts of architectural and decorative features that display the utmost splendor and inventiveness: columns, staircases, reliefs, stuccos, and even surviving patches of painted decoration. In the past, the extraordinary work at the site has unfortunately been eclipsed by the exceptional nature of its surroundings. The architecture and sculpture are often immersed in darkness and this has made it impossible to create the kind of photographic record that would give their stunning quality the visibility it deserves. But now Iago Corazza, with his ultra-sensitive photographic equipment, is able at last to give lovers of Indian art and enthusiasts the chance to fully appreciate this wonderful, indeed unique, group of rock-cut temples. The task of explaining the meaning and significance of these works as they emerge from the dark is entrusted to the expertise of Gilles Béguin. Following the success of Khajuraho, readers have the chance to explore another treasure of Indian art accompanied by a distinguished guide, with the benefit of photos that at last do their marvelous subjects full justice.