Buddhist and Hindu sites at the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad (caves 1-15)




Located south of the Kailasa Temple, most of the places in the group caves 1 to 15 consists of Buddhist sites. They are quite similar to the Ajanta Caves but perhaps in a little more grandoise scale. A few of the group are Hindu sites. See also the Kailasa Temple and the Hindu and Jain (caves 17-34). 

Map of Ellora Caves


I. Entrance and Kailasa Temple (cave 16); II. Buddhist sites (caves 1-15 ); III. Hindu and Jain sites (caves 17-34).

Buddhist Caves (Caves 1–12)
A series of monastic viharas and chaitya halls, dating from the 5th–8th centuries CE, primarily Mahayana:

Cave 1 – Early vihara
Cave 2 – Vihara
Cave 3–9 – Viharas (smaller monastery cells)
Cave 10 – Visvakarma (“Carpenter’s Cave”), notable chaitya hall
Cave 11 – Vihara
Cave 12 – Teen-tala (“Three-storey vihara”), largest Buddhist cave

Hindu Caves (Caves 13–29)
Constructed between the 7th–10th centuries CE under Rashtrakuta patrons, these feature both temple-shrines and pillared halls:

Cave 13 – Smaller Shiva shrine
Cave 14 – “Ravana-ki-khai” (Smaller Shiva shrine)
Cave 15 – Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations of Vishnu)
Cave 16 – Kailasa Temple, the largest monolithic temple dedicated to Shiva
Caves 17–29 – Other numbered caves and several minor shrines, including:
Cave 21 – Ramesvara
Cave 29 – Dumar Lena

Jain Caves (Caves 30–34)
Later caves (9th–11th centuries CE), representing exquisite Jain craftsmanship:

Cave 30 – Chhota Kailash
Cave 31 – Unfinished four-pillared hall
Cave 32 – Indra Sabha (temple hall reminiscent of Kailasa scale)
Cave 33 – Jagannatha Sabha (two-storey shrine with five sanctuaries)
Cave 34 – Final cave with small Tirthankara shrine















































































































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