Let me take you a tour to western India to experience ancient (प्राचीन – Pracheen) but magnificent (भव्य – Bhavya) piece of ever evolving Indian civilization (सभ्यता – Sabhyata). Let me take you to Ellora with this post and let’s see what we find out there!

Ellora (एलोरा) is an ancient cave (गुफा – Guphaa) complex located around 29 km (18 miles) North-West of the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Ellora showcases some of the world’s finest rock-cut architecture. Many giant caves (गुफाएं – Guphaaein) structures were carved out vertically (top to bottom) from Charanandri hills. The caves are adorned (सुशोभित – Sushobhit) with exquisite crafted sculptures (मूर्तियां – Murtiyaan), painting (चित्रकारी – Chitrkaari) and carving with intricate detailing depicting the life and culture (संस्कृति – Sanskriti) prevalent during 5th and 9th centuries. Surely, the complex is a marvelous (अद्भुत – Addhbhut) feat of engineering and craftsmanship.

There are a total of 34 caves. Out of these, there are 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves. It is a fine example of the religious (धार्मिक – Dhaarmik) harmony prevalent during that period of Indian history. The whole complex was built between 5th to 9th century by the Kalachuri, Chalukya and Rashtrakuta dynasties though many believe that the complex is much older.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ILp_l10uw

Ellora is a World Heritage Site and are visited by thousands of visitors from across the world.