ELLORA CAVES--- BRAHMANICAL EXCAVATIONS

      ELLORA CAVES BRAHMANICAL          EXCAVATIONS


 Cave 5 is the largest cave. Twenty four pillars hold roof. The interior seems to indicate that  it was used either as a room for guests or as a class room for noviciates. there is the usual Buddha image in a chapel. Cave 6 is notable for its ante-chamber which has several intersting sculptures. Cave 10 is the only proper chaitya-hall at Ellora. A porch surmounted by a gallery inside the chapel. This cave temple is dedicated to Vishwakarma, the architect of the gods and the patron saint of many Indian artisans even today. Caves11 and 12 are by far the most important in this group. They are large, three storey structures alike in design and represent the peak of the earlier style at Ellora. Cave 12 is the bigger of  the two and more impressive.
   The Brahmanical series, excavated between the seventh and ninth centuries are glimpses of  a  world apart from the chaitya-halls and vihars. The familiar Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are gone. The motifs are still as religious as in Buddhist art, but the representations take other forms. The Brahmanical religion in India was based at the outset on the concept of one Supreme Being.But the representations take other forms.



                 Prof. John Kurakar