It was a long office trip to Ahmadnagar (in Maharashtra) in the month of Nov-2015. Winter had just started establishing its feet.
It was an off day from official work, so we decided to have a trip to some nearby places.
I had read about Ellora caves on the internet and had seen pictures of the place. Apart from a pilgrimage trip, I decided to take a trip to the Ellora caves for a little adventure and history.
As I had guessed that most of the excursion was going to be on foot and under the open sky, it was better to plan in such a way that the sun does not become our enemy on the trip. So we started early in the morning.
We left our hotel at Ahmadnagar at sharp 6:00 AM in the car. We started on SH60 from Ahmadnagar to Aurangabad. Aurangabad is almost 100 km from Ahmadnagar, and the Ellora caves are 30 km from Aurangabad.
Our driver took 2.5 hours to reach the place. Before taking us straight to the caves, he took us to Bhadra Hanuman Mandir, which is on the way before the Ellora caves.
The temple is not so huge, but the campus is large. Generally, we would have seen a standing Hanuman statue carrying the "Himalaya Parvat", but here the idol of Hanuman is in a lay-down position, holding the mountain.
The pujari of the temple told us on asking that this is a very rare form, being one of only two such temples in existence.
He also narrated the story of the idol: when Hanuman was flying to Lanka taking the Himalaya along with the Sanjeevani boota, he flew over this place. A popular king of this region and a devotee of Lord Rama was singing bhajans in praise of Lord Rama. Hanuman listened to the bhajan sung by the king and came down. The voice of the king and the feeling of the bhajan were so mesmerizing to Hanuman that he got lost in the bhakti of his master Lord Rama and unconsciously came into a resting position while listening to the king's bhajan. When the bhajan ended, the king saw Hanumanji and requested that he stay here forever and bless the people of this area.
As Hanumanji was on the way to Lanka to deliver Sanjeevani to save Lakshmana, he declined the king's request. However, Hanuman blessed the king and his people that his presence would always remain here in the form of this idol. And since then, the laying-down idol of Hanumanji is worshipped here.
After having darshan and prasad, we headed forward. Just near the caves lies the 12th Jyotirlinga, named Grishneshwar Mahadev. We visited the temple and prayed to Lord Shiva.
Now it was time to enter the caves.
Our driver took us up to the parking area near the ticket counter at the caves and guided us to explore them on our own.
If you are taking your own car, the same can be used to visit the caves, as they are spread over a stretch of some 2 km. Hence, if you want to avoid excessive walking, you can bring your vehicle near the caves. You will be allowed to take your vehicle to three specific locations, as these three locations feature sets of caves that can be explored together on foot.
Alternatively, if you have arrived by bus or hired cabs, auto-rickshaws are available to hire. They will take you from point to point and wait at each location until you finish exploring that set of caves.
Rates are negotiable from ₹300 down to ₹150 per auto. We hired an auto and bargained down from ₹300 to ₹175.
Out of 34 caves, the biggest and most glorious is Cave 16, also known as the "Kailasha Temple". This cave is right in front of you near the ticket window, alongside a beautiful garden developed by the ASI department. The place is exceptionally well-maintained by the government.
However, our auto driver (who also acted as a free guide) took us first to Cave 29. When you first witness the cave entrances, many questions start haunting you: Why were these made? How were these made? How without any mega machinery and technology were these created out of single rocks?
The architecture and carving of the caves will make you rethink your pride in the achievements of modern technology.
The artwork is so grand and accurate that you will be forced to take out your camera and click away. The creators incorporated brilliant planning into their design—such as maximum utilization of natural daylight, water resource management, water bodies, and drainage systems—just like a state-of-the-art building design.
You will feel divine inside the caves as the ambiance is calm and cool. You will forget city life and feel a desire to stay there forever. This is when you realize why these caves were created here: so that monks could take their spiritual practices to new heights in the lap of pure nature, away from all manufactured distractions.
Carvings of Lord Shiva, his family, and celestial beings on the walls look so real and grand. In today’s time, it would take extensive paperwork, calculations, advanced software, and heavy tools to create such work out of solid rock. Just imagine HOW they achieved this ages ago!
I recommend bringing a good camera with a strong flash if you want to capture clear images of this sacred artwork, as the interiors are quite dark past the entrance. Tread carefully in shaded areas, avoid wearing tight clothes or high heels, and sports shoes are best recommended for the trip.
Most of the caves depict the life cycles of Lord Shiva and Buddha. A lot is documented online and readily available, and you can explore detailed virtual layouts at http://elloracaves.org/.
You will be surprised to discover that the caves feature multi-story construction complete with approach staircases, huge halls, beautifully carved columns, designer ceilings, and leveled floors. How did they do it?
Caves 1 to 16 can be visited entirely on foot starting from Cave 1. There is a beautiful waterfall and pond near Caves 4 to 6.
Cave 16 is truly huge and grand. It is not basically a cave, but a pure masterpiece of art exhibited by its creators. A massive life-sized rock-carved elephant and huge pillars representing Kailash Parvat will captivate you at first sight. Numerous carvings representing scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata can be found along the walls and pillars.
Take your time discovering epic tales by yourself; you will be amazed by your findings and the mastermind of the artists who shaped these wonders.
It took us around 4 hours to visit all the caves together, and by 12:30 PM we had wrapped up our tour before the afternoon sun grew intense. Plan your visit to soak in the beauty well ahead of peak midday heat.
Carrying magnificent images in our eyes, a piece of devotion and calmness in our hearts, and countless questions and praise for ancient architecture in our minds, we headed back to Ahmadnagar.
Visitors can also explore nearby attractions such as the Mughal garden (Banu Begum Garden, though not very well maintained), Sai Baba sites, and Daulatabad Fort.
It is truly amazing to witness how in such a compact region, Muslim gardens, forts, Shiva caves, and Buddhist caves all exist side by side in complete harmony across different faiths.
Thanks for reading...
From,
Samarpan