Ellora Caves
Ancient cave temples of Hinduism, based on Vedic principles in Maharashtra, India / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ellora Caves are a multi-religious rock-cut cave complex with inscriptions dating from the period 6th century CE onwards, located in the Aurangabad District of Maharashtra, India.[1] They are also called verul caves.
Ellora Caves | |
---|---|
Type | Monolithic caves |
Location | Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India |
Coordinates | 20.0268°N 75.1771°E / 20.0268; 75.1771 |
Area | Indian |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, iii, vi |
Designated | 1983 (12th session) |
Reference no. | 243 |
UNESCO Region | Asia-Pacific |
There are over 100 caves at the site, all excavated from the basalt cliffs in the Charanandri Hills, 34 of which are open to public.[2]
These consist of 17 Hindu (caves 13–29), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves.[3][4] Each group represents deities and mythologies prevalent in the 1st millennium CE, as well as monasteries of each respective religion.[3] They were built close to one another and illustrate the religious harmony that existed in ancient India.[5][6] Because of their exceptional architecture of ancient India, the Ellora Caves were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983.[5]
All of the Ellora monuments were built during the Satavahana period, which constructed part of the Vedic Dynasty and much later Buddhist caves and the Jain caves, were named.[2][7]
Although the caves served as temples and a rest stop for pilgrims,[4] the site's location on an ancient South Asian trade route also made it an important commercial centre in the Deccan region.[8]
Ellora Caves are situated 29 kilometres (18 miles) north-west of Aurangabad, and about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east-northeast of Mumbai. Today, the Ellora Caves, along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, are a major tourist attraction in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and are a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).[9]