The Genius of Love

With divine love, nothing is impossible. How else do you explain the wonders of Ellora and Ajanta Caves? Carved out of the rock of the Deccan Plateau in India, these two cave complexes express absolute devotion, spirituality, and mythological wonder in myriad ways. Spanning the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions, the oldest caves date back as far as the 2nd Century AD. The most stunning creation among them, the Kailash Temple, took ten generations and over 200 years to build! What’s more, it was carved from a single, massive Basalt rock, with construction involving the removal of roughly 200,000 to 400,000 tons of rock.

*It took 200 years to dig Kailash Temple out of a single, massive rock. Imagine how it looked at the time of creation over 1,000 years ago!*

*View from the other side. Numerous sculptures decorate the interior regions and possess deep purpose and meaning.*

How do you even maintain the vision over 200 years? Continuity? Motivation? No wonder Paramahansa Yogananda cited these caves as “the most breath-taking display of architecture, sculpture, and painting in all India.” Others are left so speechless that they claim aliens helped build the temple, which only shows great disrespect to the immense skills of ancient Indian architects, as well as little understanding of what true devotion can accomplish.

Ellora caves consist of three sectors: Caves 1-12 which are Buddhist, Caves 13-29 which are Hindi, and Caves 30-34 which are Jain. I took a trolley to the Jain caves to begin the day, since the morning light was best at that location. Built in the 9th and 10th Centuries, these caves are the most recent creations and represent Jain philosophy with exquisite detail, focusing on asceticism, Tirthankaras, and spiritual liberation.

*Cave 30 represents a smaller version of the Kailash Temple*

I then worked my way back toward Kailash Temple, which stands at the center of the Ellora complex. I visited numerous Hindi Caves, each blowing me away with their intricately designed interiors, carvings and sculptures.

*Sometimes I just had to sit and feel the power of these creations*

I could spend hours in each one of these caves. Sometimes I just stood in awe with tears in my eyes. Other times I sat and meditated. Each rendering of Buddha, each carving that depicted some mythological scene left an impression on my soul.

I pushed all the way back to Kailash Temple and took a break for lunch before visiting the Buddhist Caves.

*Cave 14 is known as “Abode of Ravana” and features a carving of Ravana lifting Mount Kailash*

The Buddhist Caves revealed carvings of Buddha set at the center of the far wall, as well as along the sides. I spent all afternoon exploring these wondrous creations.

*A large portion of the Buddhist caves 1-12*

*I took so many pictures I forget which Buddhist cave this is, but it featured this long hall for assemblies as well as interior meditation chambers and ceremonial rooms* *off to the sides*

*Many renderings of Buddha engaged in various teachings or deep in meditation*

Needless to say, I was physically exhausted at the end of the day, yet spiritually invigorated and ready to visit Ajanta Caves tomorrow. I would have to drive over two hours to get to those caves, but every minute in the car would be worth it. Some closing photos: