Question

What are the characteristic of Mahishasurmardini at Kailash temple of Ellora.

Answer 1

The Kailasha (IAST: Kailāśa) or Kailashanatha(IAST: Kailāśanātha) temple is one of the largest Indian rock-cut ancient Hindu templeslocated in the Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved out of one single rock, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in India because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment.

The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is one of the 34 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the eighth century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I(r. c. 756 – 773). The temple architecture shows traces of Pallava and Chalukya styles.

The Kailasa temple lacks a dedicatory inscription, but there is no doubt that it was commissioned by a Rashtrakuta ruler.[2] Its construction is generally attributed to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (r. 756-773 CE), based on two epigraphs that link the temple to "Krishnaraja" (IAST Kṛṣṇarāja):[2][3]

The Vadodara copper-plate inscription (c. 812-813 CE) of Karkaraja II (a ruler of a Rashtrakuta branch of Gujarat) records the grant of a village in present-day Gujarat. It mentions Krishnaraja as the patron of Kailasanatha, and also mentions a Shiva temple at Elapura (Ellora). It states that the king constructed a temple so wondrous that even the gods and the architect were astonished.[3] Most scholars believe that this is a reference to the Kailasa Shiva temple at Elora.[4]