Scientific American Supplement, No. 643, April 28, 1888

by Various

The temples and monasteries of Ajunta, too, are of the highest interest. They consist of 27 grottoes, of which four only are churches or chaityas. The 23 other excavations compose the monasteries or viharas. Begun 100 B.C., they have remained since the tenth century of our era as we now see them. The subterranean monasteries are majestic in appearance. Sustained by superb columns with curiously sculptured capitals, they are ornamented with admirable frescoes which make us live over again the ancient Hindoo life. The paintings are unfortunately in a sad state, yet for the tourist they are an inexhaustible source of interesting observations.

The excavations, which have been made one after another in the wall of volcanic rock of the mountain, form, like the latter, a sort of semicircle. But the churches and monasteries have fronts whose richness of ornamentation is unequaled. The profusion of the sculptures and friezes, ornamented with the most artistic taste, strikes you with so much the more admiration in that in these places they offer a perfect and varied ensemble of the true type of the Buddhist religion during this long period of centuries. The picturesque landscape that surrounds these astonishing sculptures adds to the beauty of these various pictures.

The temples of Ellora are no less remarkable, but they do not offer the same artistic ensemble. The excavations may be divided into three series: ten of them belong to the religion of Buddha, fourteen to that of Brahma, and six to the Dravidian sect, which resembles that of Jaius, of which we still have numerous specimens in the Indies. Excavated in the same amygdaloid rock, the temples and monasteries differ in aspect from those of Ajunta, on account of the form of the mountain. Ajunta is a nearly vertical wall. At Ellora, the rock has a gentle slope, so that, in order to have the desired height for excavating the immense halls of the viharas or the naves of the chaityas, it became necessary to carve out a sort of forecourt in front of each excavation.

Some of the churches thus have their entrance ornamented with porticoes, and the immense monasteries (which are sometimes three stories high) with lateral entrances and facades. The mountain has also been excavated in other places, so as to form a relatively narrow entrance, which gives access to the internal court of one of these monasteries. It thus becomes nearly invisible to whoever passes along the road formed on the sloping side of the mountain. The greatest curiosity among the monuments of Ellora is the group of temples known by the name of Kylas (Fig. 2). The monks have excavated the rocky slope on three faces so as to isolate completely, in the center, an immense block, out of which they have carved an admirable temple (see T in the plan, Fig. 2), with its annexed chapels. These temples are thus roofless and are sculptured externally in the form of pagodas. Literally covered with sculptures composed with infinite art, they form a very unique collection. These temples seem to rest upon a fantastic base in which are carved in alto rilievo all the gods of Hindoo mythology, along with symbolic monsters and rows of elephants. These are so many caryatides of strange and mysterious aspect, certainly designed to strike the imagination of the ancient Indian population (Fig. 3).

Two flights of steps at S and S (Fig. 2) near the main entrance of Kylas lead to the top of this unique base and to the floor of the temples.

The interior of the central pagoda, ornamented with sixteen magnificent columns, formerly covered, like the walls, with paintings, and the central sanctuary that contains the great idol, are composed with a perfect understanding of architectural proportions.

Exit from this temple is effected through two doors at the sides. These open upon a platform where there are five pagodas of smaller size that equal the central temple in the beauty of their sculptures and the elegance of their proportions.

Around these temples great excavations have been made in the sides of the mountain. At A (Fig. 2), on a level with the ground, is seen a great cloister ornamented with a series of bass reliefs representing the principal gods of the Hindoo paradise. The side walls contain large, two-storied halls ornamented with superb sculptures of various divinities. Columns of squat proportions support the ceilings. A small stairway, X (Fig. 2), leads to one of these halls. Communication was formerly had with its counterpart by a stone bridge which is now broken. There still exist two (P) which lead from the floor of the central temple to the first story of the detached pavilion or mantapa, D, and to that of the entrance pavilion or gopura, C. At G we still see two sorts of obelisks ornamented with arabesques and designed for holding the fires during religious fetes. At E are seen two colossal elephants carved out of the rock. These structures, made upon a general plan of remarkable character, are truly without an equal in the entire world.