 Kailash Temple is located at Ellora and it is believed that it had been constructed by excavating approx. 200,000 tones of rock and it is feasible the world's largest monolithic framework. Representing Shiva's Himalayan property, the temple is exquisitely sculpted and is regarded as as one of the most astonishing 'buildings' in the background of architecture.
A crowning glory of the art, Kailash temple at Ellora is indeed exclusive. Instead of carving down in to the deal with of a cliff and creating underground halls which had been the practice, the sculptors/architects set aside all convention and produced a full temple, identical in each and every detail into a structural, 'built-up' example, by carving vertically down in to the living rock.
Design & Construction
The scheme with the Kailash temple is basically divided into four main parts: the body with the temple itself, the entrance gateway, an intermediate nandi shrine and the cloisters surrounding the courtyard.
Much of the imposing character of the main shrine is due to its substantial plinth, which on first examination seems to be a floor by itself. Above and below this, the sub-structure is heavily molded, while the central space is occupied by a frieze of elephants and lions.
The Kailash temple is not only the solitary biggest work of artwork executed in India, but as an example of rock-cut architecture it stands unrivaled.
One gradually becomes aware with the stupendous labor that it involved (over a hundred years), and finally, the sculpture that adorns it. Standing within its walls, one cannot help but be aware of the spiritual energy that went into its creation - a jewel hewn out with the rock itself.
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