Information of Kailasa Temple, Ellora, Aurangabad, Maharashtra

The temple of Kailasa also termed as the Kailashnath temple is a temple brought up as an honor to Lord Shiva. The temple was placed inside the Ellora caves. It is at a distance of 30 kilometres from the populous city of Aurangabad of Maharashtra. The total area of this temple is extended by a massive area of 2 kilometres. The site of the temple is one of the 34 monasteries dug out by the Archaeological Department of India. Though, the actual date of establishment of this ancient piece of architecture was not known. Sources suggested that the temple was related to the 8th century articrafts and was created by Krishna. He was the powerful Rashtrakuta ruler of that era.

Kailasa Temple Mythology & History

The Kailasa temple was regarded as the symbol of the prehistoric times of India. So, gathering details about its importance and features was almost impossible. However, some of the skillful archaeologists traced some meaningful features about this religious structure. Several sculptures relating to the epic stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata were found here. It signifies the relation between creations of the temple with them. According to some legends, evil king Ravana once visited here. He was always angry with the gods so he decided to uproot the whole mountain of Kailash by shuddering it. Mount Kailash was the residence of Lord Shiva.

Apart from that, some other stories were also heard about this temple. The temple was a creation of two different periods. It took almost 400 years for the completion of this sacred monument. While the first period was the period before Christ and it was belonged to the Buddhist of the Himalayas. However, the later was not a peaceful one. It started from the beginning of the 2nd century under the reign of the great Kanishka. It was when he divided the Buddhist religion into two segments.

Kailasa Temple Religious Significance

The Kailasa Temple of Ellora is often termed as the home of Lord Shiva. Devotees still believe that one make conversation directly with the Lord after worshipping him in full concentration and respect. For this reason, countless number of followers and devotees poured in here to witness a glimpse of this beautiful temple and the structure of Lord Shiva. The best time to visit this highly sacred place is the season of winter especially from the month of October to February. A massive cultural festival was observed every year in front of this temple in the month of December. It was popularly known as the Ellora festival. At that time every inch of this place was covered with visitors visiting here.

Kailasa Temple Architectural Significance

It was the architectural significance which acts as a magnetic force for the people visiting this holy place from all over the world. The creative Dravidian style of architecture was implemented for the designing of this enormous religious monument. The systematic structure of this place is divided into 4 prime sections. First comes the grand entrance gateway, after that the temple, it is followed by a huge structure of nandi (a cow described as the vehicle of Lord Shiva) and finally the attractive pathways surrounding the temple. It was believed that huge rocks were carved out for the establishment of this temple, which weights almost a total of 200,000 tons. Beautifully crafted bastions and handicrafts depicting the traditional history of India are also witnessed inside the temple. All these striking features made this temple one of the most religious and heritage sites of India.