The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c20.35

c20.35

The names of the two temples and the orientation of their shrines indicate that, unlike most of the other shrines at Ellora, it was not the tâmasic aspect of the Trimûrti that was here invoked, but the blessings of the Rain-god, represented by Vishnu the Preserver and his sakti, Lakshmi, the bringer of prosperity. Only, as the temples belonged to the Jain sect, they appealed specially to their saints, the Tîrthankaras, to whom analogous divine powers were attributed. With this qualification the symbolism of the structure and ornament has the same significance as in Brahmanical and Buddhist temples.