In Ellora, Ravana-Ka-Ki Cave has a hall which is 54 feet by 55 ft-6 inches. This hall has 4 pillars in front and 1 inside the open hall. The sculptures are partially of Shiva and Vishnu. Dash Avatar is carved out of solid rock. It has two storeys. The lower is raised few feet above the level of the country yard. It has fourteen plain square pillars. The lending has eleven compartments, each 2 feet high with bass reliefs of Shiva, Parvathi and Ganesha, etc. The great hall above is approached by a flight of steps and is 95 feet by 105 feet inclusive of the Vestibule. There are 42 square columns in the hall in addition to the two in front of the vestibule. The pillars in front are richly carved. Between the pilasters in each side wall are deep recesses with large relief sculpture - on one side Vaishnav and on the other side Shaivit.
The Shaivit show Shiva, Parvathi and Ravana shaking Kailasha. The Vaishnav show Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma and Narasimha. An inscription in the front porch gives details of the genealogy of the Rashtrakuta which ruled over Deccan from AD 600 to the end of the 10th century. The flat roof has tigers or lions at the corners with three figures in between on each side is wonderful.
No comments:
Post a Comment