Being a Kannadiga, what is the first thing we should be proud of ? Kannada is one of the oldest Dravidian language. Kannada was the official language of southern India for more than 3 thousand years. Literature , art and sculptures during this period were at its prime. Along with Sanskrit and Prakrit, it is regarded as one of the oldest language. 8 Jnanapeeta award, the highest number is from Kannada. Still I really think the art and sculptures which decorated the nation for thousands of years , comes on top. And Ellora comes on top of those list. Ellora which is currently in Maharashtra, is the architectural gift to the nation by Rashtrakootas, Kalachuris, Chalukyas. Open your eyes and enjoy the beauty of nature and some of the beautiful creations by man like Ellora.
Ellora caves will be open from 6 AM to 6 PM except Tuesday. We were bit late and waiting for bus to Ellora near our youth hostel in Aurangabad. Some body told in the bus stand that in the board Kannada will be written. We were suddenly surprised. How come it will be in Kannada in Maharashtra. Then came the bus and we realized that a place name is Kannad. Kannada has been converted to Kannad. We were really happy to know there is a place by name Kannad near Ellora. When we reached Ellora it was 10 AM. We had breakfast in front of the entrance. Poha and Puri were very tasty. We took water bottles and marched towards the entrance. We paid 10 Rs each for entrance and rushed to cave no 16 i.e Kailasha cave.
Kailasha cave
Probably the best experience I ever had during travel. Those 2-3 hours was a feeling of a heaven. Each monument and sculptures showed the artistic brilliance of the artist.
Most of the theme is mythology. You can take a guide if you want to know in detail. But I was able to co relate the sculptures to the story in mythology. Though the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva , the mythology stories related to Lord Vishnu can also be seen. On left side of temple you find stories related to Lord Shiva and on right side related to Lord Vishnu.
More I tried to understand those carvings, more I was into different world. Few took me to some mythological characters, few make me to think about the pain of the artists, few to the imagination of the artist.
Look at these pictures. Can you imagine this is carved out of single stone. They started carving from top and have given this shape. That is the beauty of this cave.
Cave no 21- Rameshvara
After Kailasha cave, most of them are looked simple, till we reached cave no 21, Rameshvara. In front of cave you have Nandi sitting on a strong platform. The sculptures on either side of the caves are one of the finest art. I really missed a guide here who can relate some of the things. The slanted sculptures on the pillars will catch your attention.
Cave number 30 - 34 are on extreme side and we need to walk around 1 km. There are autos available. But they will charge you around 100. We walked to reach cave 30-34. Before that we had vada pav in the canteen which comes on the way. That was our lunch along with some biscuits. Here Cave no 32 is one beautiful architecture you should not miss. All these 5 caves are Jaina caves and belongs to 9th and 10th century. These are built by Rashtrakootas.
Cave no 32 - Indra Sabha
One of the mystery cave. I was very much involved and was looking into each and every sculptures. As we entered the top floor, there were 2-3 inner caves and exit in another direction. I was in one direction and Arjun was in another direction and both were searching each other. Mobile network is a big problem here.
You find many sculptures related to Indra sabha. Yakshini, Indra and some of the sculptures are beautiful.
Cave no 29
Cave no 29 Dhumar lena is second most beautiful cave in Ellora. We have to walk a little from cave 30-34 range. It is said that it is very much similar to Elephanta caves. I liked below 3 sculptures specifically.
After cave no 29, we took auto to cave entrance and he charged us 100 Rs. We directly went to cave no 1. Cave no 1- 12 are Buddhist caves. These are the early caves built. We didn't find much importance in cave no 1-4. We liked the big prayer hall in cave no 5.
Cave no 5
Cave no 10
Cave no 10 is the most beautiful among Buddhist caves. The Buddha statue is a marvellous one.
Cave no 12
Cave no 12 is a beauty in its own way. Out of cave no 1 -15 I liked this cave. Because the several Buddha's statues on the walls looked like rhythmic music. I was in second floor and Arjun was in first floor. The silence and little darkness was very scary but some thing inside me wanted to enjoy that silence. And more than that it was a temple that made me feel that I am with Lord Buddha and nothing can happen to me.
Cave no 14
One sculpture which impressed us most is that of skelton shaped Ravana. We found in 2-3 caves such skeleton sculptures.
Cave no 15
We were already late when we covered the last cave i.e cave no 15. It was beautiful journey of sculptures , mythology, architecture and spirituality. Ellora will remain as the best memory in my life.
It was 6:30 and we had one more place to cover i.e. Grineshwara temple. It is one of the 12 Jyothirlingas. We stood in a queue. Before that we handed over our mobiles and camera in a separate counter. It was a spiritual environment all over and I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. After we came out it was almost 8. We had the Thali in Jain restaurant. Probably the best I had in hotels recently. When we finished it was already 9. We were waiting for bus and the same time one Trax Toofan came. And I must say that was the most memorable ride I had in my life. 21 people in one ride is not a joke. It was overloaded and was slight difficult to sit but still the beautiful ride :-D.
When we reached hostel it was too late. We were tired and went to bed. Then came the dream of flash backs. I went to Kruta yuga to Dhwapar Yuga. It still comes in my dream some times. I recommend Ellora for all kinds of people.
A walk with imagination is better than a walk with knowledge.
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