Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c22.20

c22.20

The final type of Brahmanical rock-cut architecture consists of one example only, the Kailasa (Siva's Paradise) at Ellora, which stands in a class by itself, as it is unique Instead of the underground halls which had hitherto been the practice, its creators threw aside all previous conventions and boldly undertook to reproduce in the virgin rock to a very large scale and in full detail a structural temple of the period Truly has it been said "the Indian artist had an extraordinarily developed plastic sense. No other people has ever dreamed of sculpting such great temples out of the solid rock as he has. Indeed, Indian architecture proceeds, not as ours, according to the principles of construction ; it is rather conceived as an object cut out of a solid material as an ivory figure might be."¹ When it is realized that the ground plan of the Kailasa approximates in area that of the Parthenon at Athens, and that its height is one and half times that of the same Greek masterpiece, some idea of the magnitude of the undertaking may be conceived. In its plan and general arrangements the Kailasa bears a certain resemblance to the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal (Chapter XIV), even then a recent building, and one which was no doubt at the time considered the last word in temple design But although the early Chalukyan example may have provided some inspiration, the Kailasa is more than twice its size, and is clearly an illustration of the normal development of the Dravidian temple-type, adapted to conform to the particular technique involved. It is only logical that each individual temple at this formative period of the art, should be a copy of its predecessor, but improved and enriched by the accumulation of previous experience Once the idea of the Kailasa was conceived, its production became a matter of time, patience, and skilled labour, all of which appear to have been readily forthcoming. That it was an expression of exalted religious emotion is obvious but even this condition could not have made such a consummation possible, had it not also had the patronage of a ruler with unlimited resources and who was at the same time moved by the loftiest ideals. This monarch has been identified as Krishna I (757-783) of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Malkhed. Having subjugated the Western Chalukyans and occupied their territory, the dynasty was at the fulness of its power towards the latter half of the eighth century, during which time the Kailasa was executed. (Plates XXVIII, Fig. 2 and LVII).