7 Most Famous Rock-Cut-Architectural Wonders In India
India is world-famous for its rich cultural heritage and this history is depicted through top ancient monuments and wonderful temples. Also, its historical and ancient rock-cut-architectures of unprecedented richness and variety are amazing examples of the same. Rock-cut architecture is a type of Rock Art, in which a structure is created by carving it out of a solid rock where it naturally occurs; intensely laborious when using ancient tools and methods. The rock-cut structure occupies a very important place in the history of Indian Architecture as they present the most spectacular piece of ancient Indian art.
There are more than 1500 rock-cut temples in India, as well as other structures that were created 800 to 2300 years ago, adorned with unbelievable intricate stone carvings and sometimes paintings. These structures themselves represent amazing achievements of structural engineering, precision, and unbelievable skills of craftsmanship. Cave temples are also found in many parts of India.
Below are listed 7 of the most amazing historical rock-cut temples in India. Each of these landmarks represents an unbelievable achievement of ancient artists and artisans:
These caves belonging to the highest achievement of mankind, both regarding the engineering skills and arts, are located in the Aurangabad district in Maharashtra. Out of the 100 cave structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri Hills, only 34 are open to the public. Cave 16 features the largest monolithic rock excavations in the world, the ‘ Kailasha Temple ‘ dedicated to Lord Shiva. Listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites it is one of the largest rock-cut temple complexes in the world featuring Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist monuments with artwork dating from the period 600 -1000 BC.
Located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra this Buddhist temple group of 29 rock-cut Buddhist temples and monasteries made in the 2 nd century BC — 480 AD is a serious competitor of the Ellora Caves. These caves contain some of the richest and oldest Indian paintings and represent a phenomenal achievement of humanity. Also, an amazing achievement of engineering, some of the cave hall spaces without support is almost as large as a football field. Ajanta caves are among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Although not much is known about the amazing, tremendous, and outstanding art value, these caves tell a lot about the skill and genius of the ancient artists who created this wonder somewhere in the 5th century AD. Located on the Elephanta Island of Maharashtra are five rock-cut Hindu shrines and two Buddhist temples. In Hindu caves, one can see wonderful rock-cut stone sculptures of Lord Shiva, including the famous ‘Trimurti’ — a 6-meter high sculpture of 3 faces of Shiva.
This Panch Rathas monumental complex, home to the most amazing sculptures in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, is a group of five shrines and three large sculptures of animals — lion, elephant, and Nandi bull, all cut from a single stone in the late 7 the century. Each of these Rathas is named after the Pandavas and Draupadi including Draupadi Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Nakul & Sahdev Ratha, and Dharamraja Ratha. These Panch Rathas and the other historic monuments in the complex have led it to be listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Located in the Kangra Valley of Beas River in Himachal Pradesh, this is an early 8th century complex of rock-cut Hindu temples. Also known as the ‘Himalayan Pyramid’, this temple is a complex of 15 monolithic rock-cut monuments. One of the characteristic and stone ridges, it was shaped in a miraculous way. The sculptors cleaved away the cliff revealing 15 steep-sided pyramids covered with historic stone carvings. There is a 50-meter long lake known as Masroor Lake which is always filled with water and mirrors the amazing temple complex.
Located in the Badami town in Karnataka this is a complex of Hindu and Jain temples. In all, there are four cave temples- three Hindu deities and one Jain temple. The temples date back to the 6th century and the caves are important examples of Indian Rock-cut architecture. Representing some of the earliest known examples of Hindu temples, these temples transformed the Mallaprabha region into a cradle of architecture that influenced the components of later Hindu temples. Among the various sculptures of Hindu divinities and themes, a prominent carving is that of the ‘ Tandava’ dancing Shiva of ‘Natraja’.
It is a group of 22 caves dating back to the 2nd century BC located 400 feet above the village of Bhaja in the city of Pune, Maharashtra. These Buddhist cave temples are well known for their amazing, ornate facades. The caves belong to the ‘Hinayana’ Buddhism sect in Maharashtra. The most prominent and impressive cave is its Chaitya (Cave XII), a good example of the early development of this form of wooden architecture with a vaulted horseshoe arch.
Originally published at https://www.envigblogs.com on February 20, 2022.
