Kailasa temple
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The Hindu Kailasa Temple (also Kailash or Kailasanatha Temple ) of Ellora is the largest rock temple in India completely carved out of a natural ledge .
location
The Kailasa Temple is located in the center of a total of 34 buildings (including unfinished) comprehensive temple and cave complex of Ellora. Since all of Ellora's buildings are numbered from southeast to northwest, it bears the number 16.
history
A building inscription gives the name of the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I and the year 765; with an assumed construction time of around 20 to 30 years (some researchers even consider 100 years to be probable), this can be used as a clue for dating the entire building to the 2nd half of the 8th century. The Rashtrakutas were foreign rulers from southern India and had only recently conquered the area around Ellora. As a demonstrative sign of his presence in power, Krishna I had the Kailasa temple, unsurpassed in its kind, carved out of the rock. In the 13th century, some figure reliefs were destroyed by advancing Muslim troops, but overall large parts of the architectural jewelry have been preserved.
Consecration
The Kailasa temple is the Hindu -God Shiva consecrated place of residence - the notions of many, according to Hindus - the same mountain Kailash in the Himalayas is often featured in Indian religious ideas with the world axis ( axis mundi of the universe is equated) and the center. One of Shiva's surnames is "Lord of Kailash" ( kailasanatha ).
architecture
Alignment
The temple entrance is exactly to the west, i.e. H. oriented towards the setting sun: Such an orientation is quite common in Indian temple architecture, although orientations to the east predominate.
Construction engineering
The entire temple structure - around 90 m long and around 60 m wide with the surrounding area - was carved out of the natural rock by inclined driving and from top to bottom; It is estimated that around 150,000 to 200,000 tons (according to other information even 400,000 tons) stone material had to be removed. It is the same technique that was used in the earlier Buddhist and Hindu caves; However , the Kailasa Temple differs from most of the other temples in Ellora (exceptions: parts of Hindu Temple No. 15 and Jaina Cave No. 32) in that the finished structure is entirely free-standing.
Influences
The flat ceiling of the temple's broad vestibule ( mandapa ) with a large, three-tiered central lotus ornament with four lions pointing in all directions, small broad shrines on the long sides and the dome-like closure of the approximately 30 m high tower structure clearly reveal southern Indian influences recognize (e.g. Mamallapuram , Aihole , Badami and others). The courtyard enclosure hermetically enclosing the temple, including the portal facade, also suggests South Indian influences (e.g. Kanchipuram ).
Entrance hall
In front of the actual temple is an entrance hall - which looks like a facade to the outside - with the representations of the goddesses Ganga and Yamuna , who here - as in many (also Buddhist and Jainist) temples in India - are to be regarded as guardian figures as well as having purifying powers. Other deities ( Kubera , Ganesha , Durga as the slayer of the buffalo demon and Lakshmi ) and wise men ( Vyasa and Valmiki ) decorate the entrance area. The figures accompany those entering and give them protection; at the same time, the sanctity of the actual temple structure behind it is particularly emphasized. Inside the entrance porch two niches - divided by columns arranged in pairs - can be seen.
Lobbies
A staircase leads to another vestibule, which - as is common in many Shiva shrines all over India - houses a Nandi bull, Shiva's mount ( vahana ). A self-supporting bridge - and of course also carved out of the rock - leads to the upper area of the actual temple. Above the entrance to the square, almost pitch-dark vestibule ( mandapa ) supported by 16 narrow pillars arranged in groups of four, there are still some remains of stucco and painting, which suggest that the ceiling - and possibly also parts of the walls - was once also in decorated in the same way.
Sanctum
In the sanctum ( garbhagriha ) itself, which is surrounded by mighty “walls”, guarded by two large guardian figures ( dvarapalas ) and can only be entered by the Brahmins , a Shiva lingam stands in the center of a yoni - slightly raised compared to the ground level - which, in addition to their symbolic, also whole has practical functions: large parts of the pilgrims' offerings (water, coconut milk, ghee , sandalwood paste, etc.), with which the lingam had previously been poured or rubbed, were diverted to the outside through them . The Brahmins prepare a paste from other parts of the offerings, which is applied as a point on the forehead of the believers; A sweet-tasting dish ( prasad ) is prepared from other parts (coconut pulp, sugar) and distributed to the pilgrims. Today's offerings, on the other hand, rarely consist of natural products, but mainly of money, incense and flowers.
The sanctuary area is surrounded by five further shrines ( pancharatha ), which replicate the temple building in miniature form and thereby in a certain way emphasize its spiritual and religious significance, perhaps even universalizing it in all directions.
court
The front part of the inner courtyard is dominated by two elephants, which are to be interpreted as symbols of strength, power and dignity, and two approximately 16 m high monolithic pillars ( stambhas ) with a similar meaning - both remains of the former rock. In the front left corner of the courtyard there are three reliefs of the river goddesses Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati, who stand on their mounts ( vahanas ) and embody virtues such as purity, humility and wisdom; Ganga - as the most important of the three - is in the middle. When walking around the temple, one recognizes many details: For example, the entire building appears to be resting on the backs of hundreds of small elephants, which make the sovereign aspect of the building clear. There are also reliefs on which remains of stucco and painting can still be seen, so that one can assume that the outside of the temple was also once painted in color. Two extremely detailed reliefs with narrative scenes from the Mahabharata (southwest corner) and the Ramayana ( southeast corner) are particularly noteworthy.
Figure reliefs
Even if it must be stated that the figurative ornamentation of the Kailasa Temple is not of outstanding artistic quality, since the stones should be plastered and painted, the subjects presented are nevertheless of great diversity: They can be found in the wall niches on the north side the handling depictions of Shiva as a vina player, as Nataraja and - together with Parvati - playing dice. The figure reliefs on the south side of the gallery are primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and his incarnations ( Krishna , Narasimha, etc.).
literature
- KV Soundara Rajan: Cave Temples of the Deccan. Archaeological Survey of India , New Delhi, 1981
- Alistair Shearer: The Traveller's Key to Northern India. A Guide to the Sacred Places of Northern India. Harrap Columbus, London 1987 pp. 92ff ISBN 0-7471-0010-1
- Henri Stierlin: Hindu India. Temples and sanctuaries from Khajuraho to Madurai. Taschen-Verlag, Cologne 1998 p. 50ff ISBN 3-8228-7298-9
Web links
- Ellora Cave Temples - Plans + photos (Engl.)
- Ellora, Kailasa Temple Photos
- Ellora, Kailasa Temple - Short Video
- Ellora, Kailasa Temple - Short Video
- Ellora, Kailasa Temple - Photos + Text (Eng.)
Coordinates: 20 ° 1 ′ N , 75 ° 11 ′ E