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KAILASA TEMPLE

KAILASA TEMPLE

The Kailasha (IAST: Kailāśa) or Kailashanatha (IAST: Kailāśanātha) temple is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad district, Maharashtra of Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved from a cliff face, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world because of its size, architecture, and sculptural treatment. It has been called “the climax of the rock-cut phase of Indian architecture”.The top of the structure over the sanctuary is 32.6 metres (107 ft) above the level of the court below, and although the rock face slopes downwards from the rear of the temple to the front, archaeologists believe it was sculpted from a single rock.

The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is the largest of the 34 Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves, ranging for over two kilometres (1.2 mi) along the sloping basalt cliff at the site. Most of the excavation of the temple is generally attributed to the eighth century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (r. c. 756 – 773), with some elements completed later. The temple architecture shows traces of Pallava and Chalukya styles. The temple contains a number of relief and free-standing sculptures on a grand scale equal to the architecture, though only traces remain of the paintings which originally decorated it.

Kailasa (Kaliash) temple lacks a dedicatory inscription, but there is no doubt that it was commissioned by a Rashtrakuta ruler. 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):

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. Most scholars believe that this is a reference to the Kailasanatha Shiva temple at Ellora.
The Kadaba grant of Govinda Prabhutavarsha similarly appears to credit Krishnaraja with the construction of the temple.

However, the attribution of the temple to Krishna I is not completely certain because these epigraphs are not physically connected to the caves, and do not date Krishnaraja’s reign. Moreover, the land grants issued by Krishna’s successors do not contain any references to the Kailasa temple . The Kailasa temple features the use of multiple distinct architectural and sculptural styles. This, combined with its relatively large size, has led some scholars to believe that its construction spanned the reigns of multiple kings. Some of the temple reliefs feature the same style as the one used in the Dashavatara cave (Cave 15), which is located next to the temple. The Dashavatara cave contains an inscription of Krishna’s predecessor and nephew Dantidurga (c. 735–756 CE). Based on this, art historian Hermann Goetz (1952) theorized that the construction of the Kailasa temple began during the reign of Dantidurga. Krishna consecrated its first complete version, which was much smaller than the present-day temple. According to Goetz, Dantidurga’s role in the temple construction must have been deliberately suppressed, as Krishna sidelined Dantidurga’s sons to claim the throne after his death. Based on analysis of the different styles, Goetz further hypothesized that the later Rashtrakuta rulers also extended the temple. These rulers include Dhruva Dharavarsha, Govinda III, Amoghavarsha, and Krishna III. According to Goetz, the 11th century Paramara ruler Bhoja commissioned the elephant-lion frieze on the lower plinth during his invasion of Deccan, and added a new layer of paintings. Finally, Ahilyabai Holkar commissioned the last layer of paintings in the temple.

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SASBAHU TEMPLE

SASBAHU TEMPLE

Sasbahu Temple, also called the Sas-Bahu Mandir, Sas-Bahu Temples, Sahasrabahu Temple or Harisadanam temple, is an 11th-century twin temple in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. Near the Gwalior Fort and dedicated to Vishnu in his Padmanabha form, like most Hindu and Jain temples in this region, it is mostly in ruins and was badly damaged from numerous invasions and Hindu-Muslim wars in the region. It was built in 1093 by King Mahipala of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty, according to an inscription found in the larger of the twin temple. The twin temples are situated in the Gwalior Fort.

The temple’s tower and sanctum has been destroyed, but its architecture and damaged carvings can still be appreciated from the ruins. The jagati platform is 100 feet (30 m) long and 63 feet (19 m) wide, on a square plan. The temple was three-storeyed, which was one of its distinguishing features and sophistication. It followed a central cluster concept, states Adam Hardy. The surviving elements of the temple are the entrance porch and the mandapa. According to James Harle, though the prasada (tower, spire) no longer exists, the triple storey plan with a cruciform foundation and balconies suggests that it had a North Indian Bhumija style architecture. This style, states Harle, is marked by a well proportioned superstructure, its “regularly arranged little subordinate sikharas strung out like gigantic beaded garlands”.

This temple mainly has three entrances from three different directions. In the fourth direction, there is a room which is currently closed. The entire temple is covered with carvings, notably 4 idols of Brahma, Vishnu and Saraswati above its entrance door. The pillar carvings show Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism related carvings. The larger temple ornamentation covers all the exterior walls and all surviving interior surfaces. The twin temple, like elsewhere in India, has locally been called Sasbahu temple. The word Sasbahu means “mother-in-law, bride” or “a mother with her daughter-in-law”, an association that implies their being together and interdependent. The Sas temple is typically the larger older temple of the twin. The Gwalior Sasbahu temple follows this style, but both temples are dedicated to Vishnu. Only the Sas temple has survived in some form, the Bahu temple is a shell structure of the original one storey with a highly ornate door frame and its defaced wall reliefs surviving. The remnants of the Bahu temple at Gwalior suggest that it may have been a smaller version of the Saas temple.

The Sas temple has a square sanctum attached to a rectangular two storey antarala and a closed three storey mandapa with three entrances. The temple main entrance porch has four carved Ruchaka ghatapallava-style pillars that are load-bearing. The walls and lintels are intricately carved, though much defaced. On the lintel of the entrances, friezes of Krishna-leela scenes are carved inside, while the outer side narrate legends from other Hindu texts. Above the lintel is Garuda, the vahana of Vishnu. The Bahu temple also has a square sanctum with 9.33 feet (2.84 m) side, with four central pillars. Its maha-mandapa is also a square with 23.33 feet (7.11 m) side, with twelve pillars. The temple, like most Malwa and Rajputana historic temples, provides multiple entrances to the devotee. The roof consists of two rotated squares that intersect to form an octagon capped by successive overlapping circles. The pillars have octagonal bases as well, with girls carved but these have been defaced and mutilated. The sanctum has an image of damaged Vishnu, next to whom stands Brahma holding the Vedas on one side and Shiva holding the trident on the other side.

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CHATTARPUR TEMPLE

CHATTARPUR TEMPLE

Chhatarpur Temple (Officially: Shri Aadya Katyayani Shakti Peetham) is a temple dedicated to the goddess Katyayani. The entire complex of the temple is spread over a wide area of 28 hectares (70 acres). It is located in Chhatarpur, on the southwestern outskirts of the New Delhi The temple was established in 1974, by Baba Sant Nagpal ji, who died in 1998. His samadhi shrine lies in the premises of the Shiv-Gauri Nageshwar Mandir within the temple complex.

It is the 2nd largest temple in Delhi, after the Akshardham Temple. This temple is constructed from marble and on all of the facets there is jaali (perforated stone or latticed screen) work. It can be classified a vesara style of architecture.
Surroundings are an important biodiversity area within the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor stretching from Sariska Tiger Reserve to Delhi. Historical place around sanctuary are Badkhal Lake (6km northeast), 10th century ancient Surajkund reservoir and Anangpur Dam, Damdama Lake, Tughlaqabad Fort and Adilabad ruins (both in Delhi). It is contiguous to the seasonal waterfalls in Pali-Dhuaj-Kot villages of Faridabad, the saсred Mangar Bani and the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. There are several dozen lakes formed in the abandoned open pit mines in the forested hilly area of Delhi Ridge.

The entire temple complex spread over 24 ha (60 acres), has over 20 small and large temples divided in three different complexes. The main deity in the temple is Goddess Katyayani, who is part of Navadurga, the nine forms of Hindu goddess Durga or Shakti, worshipped during the Navratri celebrations.

A side shrine within the main temple houses a shrine of Goddess Katyayani (Durga), which opens only during the bi-annual Navratri season, when thousands of people throng the premises for darshan. One nearby room has been made as living room with tables and chairs made in silver, and another regarded as the Shayan Kaksha (bedroom), where a bed, dressing table and table are carved in silver. This shrine opens to a large satsang or prayer hall, where religious discourses and bhajans, (religious songs) are held. At the entrance to the main temple stands an old tree, where devotees tie holy threads for wish fulfillment. Another shrine of Durga is open to devotees morning to evening, it lies above the shrines dedicated to Radha Krishna, and Ganesh.

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