Enchanting Ellora

The World Heritage Site of Ellora caves are located at about 30 Kms from the city of Aurangabad. The 34 caves belonging to three religious faiths – Buddhist, Hindu and Jain, excavated out of the Charanandri hills represent the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture.

We knew from our previous day’s excursion to Daulatabad that the buses plying to Kannad from the city Aurangabad would stop at the Ellora caves and likewise we went to the central bus stand in the morning after we had our breakfast. However, there were far too many people at the bus stand on that day, probably because it was in the morning and it became extremely difficult to board a Kannad bound bus. Although the buses were frequent, but no sooner than any one of them came, people from all directions were rushing in towards the gate and even ensuring seats by throwing luggage through the windows. On one occasion we even witnessed people letting small children into the bus through the windows. So even though I was amongst the first few persons who could board one of the buses after struggling at the gate, I found all the seats were already taken. Santu was able to capture two seats in one of the other buses but we had to persuade him to come down and wait for the next bus. Some touts approached us when we started looking for alternate transportation, but all the auto rickshaws and taxis around the bus stand were offering a packaged tour of Aurangabad, Daulatabad and Ellora which did not suit us since we were only looking for a drop at Ellora. Fortunately, two buses on the same route to Kannad came within a very short span of time and we were able to board the second one and got comfortable seats. However, when the bus ultimately started its journey it was packed to full house and the persons who were standing (including some middle aged ladies) argued that the two-seaters that we had got ourselves can be shared by three. Luckily the journey was not long and we reached our destination in just a little more than an hour.

We were looking for a guide at the entrance of the cave complex after buying tickets for ourselves. I had heard that there were not many guides available and one can only book the guide whose turn it is. Finally one guide arrived and told that the guide charge was Rs 700. But he had some conditions. He would only show us around 4 caves which we thought far too low. Though we knew that it might not be possible to visit all the caves, especially with the guide but we decided to at least cover the important ones and the number 4 seemed a lot less. Additionally, he informed that since he was booked for a large party of tourists which was scheduled to show up in a couple of hours, he could be with us only for an hour and a half. We took a call and decided to go solo without a guide. The choice proved to be proper afterwards since we spend more time than the guide allotted us for the entire tour, in the Kailash temple itself. An informative guide book purchased at much a lesser price served us well in our endeavour.



The first cave we visited was located just in front of the entrance beyond a lush green lawn. It was named cave 16 better known as the Kailash temple, the largest and most renowned of the caves of Ellora. This giant chariot shaped temple was carved out of one single rock and has no parallel in the whole world. It is an astounding fact that the artisan of that time only had chisel and hammer to carve out this outstanding piece of art. The creation of the temple which has a dominant Dravidian architectural style is credited to have started under Dantidurga (735 – 757) and major work was done during the reign of Krishna I (757 – 773), both belonging to the Rashtrakuta dynasty. It is believed to take more than 200 tears to complete the temple and required removal of 2 lac tons of rock.

A large and beautiful panel of Gajalaxmi seated on a lotus and surrounded by four elephants, symbolizing the prosperity of the Rashtrakutas, greeted us as we entered the temple.



As we started our tour of the temple from the left side, we went passed the panel of three river goddesses Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, symbolizing purity, devotion and knowledge respectively, and were taken to a wall adorned with minute carvings depicting stories of the Mahabharata.



Next we found a row of elephants and lions (resembling somewhat like the British symbol) but most of them were unfortunately worn out.




In the courtyard, on either side of the main temple, there are two elegantly carved lofty victory pillars or “Dhvajastambhas” (17 metres high) reflecting the supremacy and power of the Rashtrakutas and two giant elephants (with missing trunks) facing the pillars.



Next we strolled for a few minutes along the elevated corridors circumambulating the main temple and decorated with innumerous panels of delicately carved out structures. There was another set of panels even further up in the multistoried temple complex that we explored next. We also visited the panel depicting Ravana shaking Mount Kailash before we entered the main temple.






Finally we were in front of the main temple, cut out of a monolithic rock isolated from the surrounding rock, excavated from top to bottom and designed to resemble Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. The temple had been plastered and painted after its completion and although most of it is now worn out, the remaining white plaster especially at the top imparts increasing similarity to the snow capped Mount Kailash.

A flight of steps took us to the Nandi Mandap which is common to any Shiva temple.



After crossing a pillared hall and an antechamber we finally reached the sanctum of Shiva shrine. The parapet walls, plinth and ceilings of the sanctum, antechamber and hall are covered with intricate structures from the Hindu mythology.





We could have spent a further long time at this fascinating cave itself but we realized that we have already spent close to two hours exploring the Kailash temple and it was time to move on.

After coming out of cave 16, took the road in the left. The next important cave on that side was cave 21 also known as the Rameshwar temple. Here the Nandi bull is installed on high pedestal in front of the cave.



Two gracefully carved panels, one of Ganga and one of Yamuna are at two corners and the cave also has a panel depicting the episode of Ravana Shaking Mount Kailash. Most probably in this cave only we noticed a strange panel comprising a skeleton like structure.




Another important cave and the last of the Hindu caves is cave 29, also known as Dhumar-Lena or Sita-ki-Kahani after a beautifully cut figure of river goddess Yamuna mistakenly named as Sita. One of the imposing and finest of the Hindu caves, cave 29 stands out due to its sheer massiveness and giant sculptures with intricate details.

The main hall is divided in to a central nave and two aisles and can be entered through three porticos on three sides. Each entrance has a pair of seated lions on the steps.



Amongst the famous sculptures of this cave are undoubtedly the Marriage Ceremony of Shiva and Parvati and Ravana Shaking Mount Kailash.




There is a gorgeous waterfall on river Yelganga by the side of this cave and a flight of steps with a corridor running around it.



Caves 30-34 belong to the Jain faith and are located almost one and a half km apart from cave 29, the last of the Hindu caves. We had to speed up our pace since we were running late and the winding road was tiring us. On one occasion we even took a short cut to save some time and energy. The fact that we only had a few packs of biscuits as lunch and were running low on drinking water was not inspiring at all.

Cave 30 is known as Chhota Kailash but the excavation could not be completed. Cave 31 is also incomplete. So, the first of the Jain caves that we visited was Cave 32, also known as Indra-Sabha. This two storied cave temple dedicated to the Digambar sect of Jainism dates back to 10th-11th century and is so named because the Matanga (god of wealth) figure was mistakenly identified as Indra. There is a lofty pillar and a giant elephant at the entrance, which according to me resembled similar structures of the Kailash temple; so at first we mistook this cave to be the Chhota Kailash.





Cave 33, known as Jagannath-Sabha dates back to the same period as the earlier cave and is also dedicated to the Digambar sect of Jainism. The upper floor of the cave was skillfully carved with sculptures of Jain deities.




After completing visiting the last of the Jain caves, cave 34, we decided to proceed to the other end and start visiting the remaining caves starting from cave 1. We had to cover close to 2 Km to get to the other end, that too in brisk pace since the day was coming to the end. Thankfully, once we reached the main entrance near the Kailash temple we could rejuvenate ourselves with cold drinks from the hawkers plying around there.



The Buddhist caves are the oldest amongst the Ellora group of caves and many of them are simple monasteries without extravagant carvings. However, no one can ignore their architectural proficiency and engineering skill. For example in cave 5, the largest of the monasteries, the spacious hall has no columns supporting the ceiling and long benches are carved out of the floor for studying and dining purpose or caves 11 (Do Taal) and 12 (Teen Taal) resembling modern multistoried apartments. It is difficult to fathom the farsightedness of the architects of 8th century to come up with this kind of structural design. Interestingly although both the caves 11 and 12 are three storied, the ground floor of cave 11 was unknown for some period and hence the name Do Taal was popularized.




Cave 10 or the Vishwakarma cave is the only Chaitya-Griha (prayer hall) and the most renowned amongst the Buddhist caves and features the usual nave, apse and octagonal pillars of Buddhist caves that we were acquainted with in Nasik. The unique thing about the cave was the echo it was generating for even faint sounds.



Another important Buddhist cave is cave 6 which serves as a junction and the entrances of caves 5 to 1 and cave 9 are through this cave.

A group of monks from some South East Asian country were present in one of the other caves and while some of them were offering their prayers, others were looking around the awe inspiring artwork and were busy clicking snaps of the caves.



After completing our tour of the Buddhist caves we visited the remaining Hindu caves. Cave 14, also known as Ravaan-ki-Khai again depicts the sculpture of Ravana Shaking Mount Kailash, which is a popular theme at the Ellora caves. Cave 15, also known as Dashavatara cave, is also another important Hindu cave which is a double storied structure depicting various incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

After an exhilarating and demanding day’s tour we were looking forward to some good food and sound sleep. However, we were not that lucky as the previous day when we got hold of an empty shared auto from Daulatabad and had to opt for the crowded bus to Aurangabad. An elderly lady of foreign origin lost her shoes in one of the caves and was wandering around bare footed in search of a shop where she could buy herself a new pair of footwear. We caught a glimpse of Hotel Kailash, which is located just beside the cave complex and where unfortunately we could not stay as all the rooms were booked. It is here, where Feluda and Co. stayed in the Ray thriller Kailashe Kelenkari.

The bus ride back to Aurangabad was a pathetic experience. It was only I who got a seat for the entire journey, thanks to my friends. Still I was feeling claustrophobic with so many people in the bus and the fact that all the windows were closed, perhaps because the wind was a bit chilly in the evening. A gang of local boys were passing all kinds of weird comments mainly on the foreign tourists and one of the foulmouthed was even teasing a lady with the sleazy chartbuster “Sheela ki Jawani”. Santu was engaged in a brief altercation with the group and I was hoping back in the last seat to reach Aurangabad soon, so that we could escape this cacophony. Perhaps Aamir Khan should more often do the awareness campaign – “Aathiti Devo Bhava”.

Daunting Daulatabad

Dalutabad was a day trip from Aurangabad. We went to the central bus stand to take a bus to the Daulatabad Fort which is merely about 14 Kms away from the town of Aurangabad. We inquired some people and the information we got that none of the buses ply to Daulatabad. When were feeling a bit clueless, one of the bus conductors advised us to get into a bus headed for Kannad. Daulatabad would be on the way and we would have to explicitly tell the conductor of the bus to alert us when the bus reaches Daulatabad. We had to struggle a bit to get into the bus and while the others were busy acquiring seats, Santu stayed at the gate to talk to the bus conductor. After around three quarters of an hour, we reached Daulatabad. On the way, the bus stopped for a while at Khuldabad, where the tomb of Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb is situated.



The giant and imposing fort built on a 200 metre high canonical hill was founded by the Yadavas in the 12th century and the place was originally known as Devagiri (The hill of Gods). After various attacks, the fort was annexed by Alauddin Khilji and in 1328, Muhammad bin Tughluq, the then Sultan of Delhi, shifted his capital here and renamed the place as Daulatabad (The Abode of Wealth). The Daulatabad Fort has a long history after that and it changed hands in quick succession. It was controlled by the Bahamani rulers for a while before it was captured by the Nizam Shahis of Ahmednagar who made Daulatabad their capital. Mughal Emperor Akbar captured the fort in 16th century but it was surrendered again to Ahmed Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar and remained with them until 1607 when after the fall of the Nizam Shahi dynasty, the fort passed into the hands of Malik Amber but his successors were overthrown by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1633. After the death of Emperor Aurangazeb, the Nizam of Hyderabad too control over Daulatabad in 1724.



Just after the entrance, near the Aam Khas gate, quite a number of cannons of different makes and sizes, made of both iron and bronze were displayed. A notice put up by the Archeological Survey of India mentioned that apart from the indigenous ones, a couple of cannons cast in Amsterdam were also found here.

The Daulatabad Fort comprising a rare combination of a land fort and a hill fort has a complex defense system. It has two moats, one dry around the fort and another wet around the citadel. The fort also boasts of three walls of fortification. The first, Amberkot, surrounding the old town was planned for the common people. Mahakot, the second line of defense, with four lines of enclosure walls and innumerous bastions and ramparts, served as the residential area of the higher class of the society. The gates were strategically built so that they were not opposite each other and hence the practice of breaking doors open by elephants would not work here. Kalakot, the third line of defense with double line of fortification, zigzag gateways and strategic positions of gun-turrets, was the royal residential area with a huge palace complex.



After walking a few minutes we came across a 110 feet high victory tower known as the Chand Minar. The pillar was constructed to commemorate the victory over Gujrat by Alauddin Bahamani in 1435. It served both as a watch tower and a place of call for prayer. Sadly, people are not allowed to climb the pillar any more.



Just after the Chand Minar was a large open courtyard with a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata.



Further up the way is located a double storied building called Chini Mahal. Once it was laid with blue and yellow enamelled tiles but now it is in a dilapidated state. The palace was used as a royal prison and it was here that Abdul Hasan Tanashah, the last and powerful ruler of Golkonda was imprisoned till his death by Emperor Aurangazeb.



We were moving more or less effortlessly up to this point but after some more time I was experiencing a little breathlessness and the legs seemed to be suddenly heavier. We came across a small bridge over the wet moat, which had become green with moss. It was disheartening to see the plastic waste thrown rampant into the water. We also noticed a cave like structure where a medieval saint Swami Janardhana Swami attained Samadhi.



On our way we passed through a dim lit passage infested with bats and emitting a strangely bad odour. There was yet another passage known as Andheri (Dark Passage) which was pitch dark and one could only step in with the help of a guide carrying a “mashal” (a crude kerosene-lighted torch). The labyrinthine passage couple with darkness was set as a trap for the enemy intruders and was virtually impassable.

After some more time I was breathing more heavily and decided to take rest for a while after every few steps. A group of local school children were merrily running around and I felt ashamed panting with exhaustion. The citadel at the top of the hill was visible from there and that helped me not to give up my pursuit. But none the less I was having serious thoughts about my fitness level. Hunger and dearth of drinking water was adding to the woes.



Finally, we reached the palace at the top and had the few packs of biscuits we were carrying. The drinking water had also finished by that time. The gentle breeze blowing at such a height was soothing our weary bodies and we rested there for a while. A group of squirrels were wandering around us in search of some food. It was surprising to see how close they came in contact with the human beings, since in the city or the campus of my alma mater college, where there were many squirrels, they always run away in fear whenever they see any human approaching. Perhaps, so far up in the hills they are still innocent and ignorant about the evil intensions of humans.



When I thought I had at last climbed to the top of the fort, we found that there was a flight of steps going further up. And when we reached that terrace above we found another narrow stairway going still further up. It seemed there was no end of going upwards in the massive fort. Given that we had come that far, we decided to go the last mile as well though our bodies were totally worn out by then. The steps were so narrow that only one person could use it at a time. Finally we were at the topmost point of the fort. It was probably the last strategic rampart adorned with huge cannon. We remained seated there for a while enjoying the magnificent view of the town from there until our hunger got better of us and we started climbing down (which was much easier) hoping to feast on a good meal when we reach the town.

Amiable Aurangabad

Aurangabad was the second destination in our Maharashtra cave tour and the gateway for Ajanta and Ellora. We boarded the Tapovan Express from Nasik Road station around ten o’clock in the morning and reached Aurangabad just after one in the afternoon. There was a huge crowd at the station and we had to literally elbow our way out. We took an auto and proceeded to our hotel. The magnitude of tourists justified why there had been a paucity of hotels. The tourism hotels were already booked when we tried back in Kolkata. On the internet, a few private hotels were available but at exorbitant prices. On my persistence Santu had booked two rooms at the Gymkhana Club hotel at Rs. 2400 per room per night for the first night only. He was confident that we will find an alternative accommodation on the spot for the next two days, but I was a bit jittery.

In the end, it turned out to be a good decision that we did not book the Gymkhana Club for all the three days that we were scheduled to stay in Aurangabad. When we entered the hotel (located on the way to the airport), it looked awesome from the exterior. But when we checked in, our assessment was completely shattered. The were all kind of things in the corridors, there were dirt and loose ends of hairs everywhere inside the rooms, the couches and chairs were stained, there was no soap in the bathroom and I was even not sure if the toilet had been cleaned and disinfected before we checked in. I called up the room service to complain and their excuse was that the entire floor was booked the previous day for a wedding and hence the mess up. A couple of men arrived, a short while later, to clean up the rooms yet again but it did not improve the room condition by a great extent. We had breakfast in Nasik in the morning and did not have much to eat afterwards, so we were almost starving. It was distressing to know that lunch would not be served at that hour. All that we could have was some snacks and tea; that too was not very tasteful.

At four o’clock we left the hotel, took an auto and headed towards the Bibi Ka Maqbara. Aurangabad flourished under Malik Ambar, the Prime Minister of Murtaza Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar, who made it his capital in 1610. Before that it was a small place named Khadki. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb made it the Deccan capital in 1653. Our auto driver was an eccentric one who kept making wisecracks on the city and its people. He was entertaining us with his terrible singing and we felt as if we were in a karaoke show. He was wandering around in all directions and it even appeared to us that he was taking a lengthy route than required (though he did not charge much). Santu was giving him some competition with his equally bad singing. The dreadful part was that he was passing all kinds of comments to the female pedestrians and motor cyclists and was coming up with impromptu Bollywood songs on them. We feared that he might end up being beaten up for eve teasing and we were contemplating how we should escape in that case. Thankfully we reached our destination without any untoward incident. I can not help but mention the amusing photos he had put up inside his auto. In one of them he was standing smartly in between the two superstars Shahrukh Khan (in a stylish suit) and Salman Khan (in his signature topless avatar). The photograph was superimposed of course. The second one was more hilarious. It showed him in the middle blessing two other images of him on the two sides. It was proof enough of how much weird and crazy a man he was.




Bibi Ka Maqbara is the beautiful mausoleum believed to be constructed by Emperor Aurangzeb’s son, Prince Azam Shah, in memory of his mother Rabia-ul Durrani alias Dilras Banu Begum between 1651 and 1661. The mausoleum, designed and constructed by Ata-Ulla, an architect and Hanspat Rai, an engineer, is built at the centre of a high platform with four minarets at the corners and resembles the Taj Mahal of Agra. But unlike Taj Mahal, only the dome and lower body are made of pure marble and though there is some intricate ornamentation, it is no match for the majestic Taj Mahal in terms of artistic splendour. The pavement, pool and kiosk leading to the mausoleum also remind one of the Taj Mahal. The Mughal Garden was not preserved well and the mausoleum was undergoing some maintenance work and the rear side and the dome were enveloped with iron bars. The grave inside was simple, with a flight of stairs going down from the base platform to the grave (the entrance being guarded by a locked iron gate), and some people were throwing money inside.





We spent some more time in backyard watching the sun go down behind the walls of the complex before we bid good bye to the Taj of Deccan.



Now we were left with the big task of searching down a hotel accommodation for the next two days of our stay at Aurangabad. We took an auto from outside the Bibi Ka Maqbara and told the driver to show us some decent hotels in the heart of the city. We were prepared for enduring a tough time but the experience turned out to be more excruciating than we perceived. The first couple of hotels had rooms available but neither the rooms were good nor the room rents were acceptable. In another hotel, the reception clerk showed us a room which was already occupied by some people (who were not present at that time) and their things were scattered all over the place. We rejected that hotel primarily because of security concerns. After visiting a couple of more hotels we found one which was quite nice. It was located near the Anjali Talkies and there was a fine temple of Khadakeshwar (dedicated to Lord Shiva) in the vicinity (that we visited on a later day). Actually Santu inquired some local people in the streets and someone recommended this hotel. The manager of the hotel told us that he would confirm availability of rooms over phone in an hour. Perhaps he was trying to evade paying the auto driver money for bringing customers. However, he did not call up that day and when he finally called on the next day it was too late.



By this time the tout was showing to come out of our auto driver and he was desperate to book some hotel or other for us and he even admitted that he would end up making some extra money that way. The issue was that he was inclined to take us only to the hotels of his choice where probably he would make more money. And even in some circumstances when we asked him to wait outside, he would end up accompanying us into the hotel. I remember one hotel where there was a notice board in the reception area proclaiming that they do not indulge in bargaining like other hotels because they are confident that their services are much more superior to others. Later when we checked the rooms they were so poor that we could only laugh at their boasting of providing unparallel amenities. Shortly we paid off the auto driver who had started to nag and started on a wayward mission on foot. We came across some good hotels but there were no rooms available. Santu was primarily entrusted with the task of finding a decent hotel since it was he who was of the idea that we could book any hotel on the spot very easily. He and Srimanta knocked on all the hotels that we came across on our way while Anirban and I simply followed suit and even we lost them after some time. But no agreeable hotel, not even the star rated ones had any room available. By then our hunt for hotels had completed nearly three hours and it was taking its toll on us. We were physically exhausted apart from being terribly frustrated. Finally we booked two rooms at Hotel Venkateshwara at Rs 1200 per room per night. It was not very good to be honest but we were tired of searching any more and did not believe that we could get hold of any better room even if we continued our search. We had a pathetic dinner in a nearby restaurant and returned to the Gymkhana Club for a good night’s sleep after an arduous exercise which was no less than an exploration.

After breakfast we came back again to the hotel, checked into our rooms and started for the Aurangabad caves. Aurangabad has its own group of Buddhist caves which were curved out of the hills in the 6th and 7th century A.D. They are situated further away from Bibi Ka Maqbara but we could not visit them the previous day due to lack of time. The road leading to the caves bifurcates at a place with 5 caves on the left and the rest on the right side. The two groups of caves are almost half a km apart. We first visited caves numbered 1 to 5 which are located on the left side.






Although nothing much was mentioned in the tourism website about these caves, we were much impressed with their spectacular artwork. Our cave experience was getting better place by place and we were very excited about what Ajanta and Ellora would have in store for us. We were the only tourists who visited the caves at that hour so it was very peaceful. Even our auto driver bought his own ticket and accompanied us to the caves. Later he confessed that though he had lived in Aurangabad for some years he had not visited the caves up till then. One of the caves (probably Cave 3) is a Chaitya Griha (prayer hall) with the usual apse surrounded by the octagonal pillars.



In the second group, Cave 7 is the most elaborate and famous. In fact it is the only cave about which some information was put up by the Archeological Survey of India. The monastery has a pillared verandah and cells circumambulating the square sanctum in the centre. The immaculate sculptural panels include images of Avalokiteshvara and Padmapani and some dancing deities.

In one of the other caves (probably Cave 6) it was interesting to notice a Ganesh idol beside a Buddha figure.






We came out of the caves and spent a few moments capturing the barren beauty that surrounded the hills. On the other hand the hills themselves were not devoid of vegetation and we even noticed some cows roaming on the steep slopes of the hills and eating grass. It astonished us how they walked up to that height and how they were balancing themselves. A few more tourists were turning up and it was time for us to move on. The breakfast we had had a couple of hours earlier had been digested by then and we planned to have lunch first and then set out for Daulatabad.