The Kailash Temple - World's Largest Temple Made of Single Stone.

When we talk about the temples, forts and caves, India has so much to talk about. As we all know North India and Middle India are full of forts, on the other hand, South India is full of temples, and there is so much marvellous architecture.

The Kailash temples are one of them. It is not only India’s greatest monument but also the world’s largest monolithic structure made by humans in that era, carved from a single solid rock.

These ancient Hindu temples are located in Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India. It is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in India because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment.

The Kailash Temple is a group of sixteen caves and is one of the 32 cave temples and monasteries forming the magnanimous Ellora Caves. 

The temple was built in the 8th century by Rashtrakuta King Krishna I in AD 760 to represent Shiva’s Himalayan abode, Mt. Kailasa (Kailash).

There is a story in the 10th-century book named Katha Kalpa Taru, that gives important information related to the construction of this beautiful temple.

According to the story, in the 8th century, The queen of the Rashtrakuta ruler Elu prayed to Lord Shiva (Ghrishneshwar) at Elapura to cure her husband's illness, there she vowed to construct a temple if her wish was granted and also vowed that she would not eat till a magnificent temple was built to Lord Shiva and until she saw its amlaka (finial).

In order of completing the queen's vow the king invited many architects, but none of them was able to fulfil this vow. After a long time finally, an architect named Kokasa from Paithan came and completed the task in no time. This story is narrated by M. K. Dhavalikar in Ellora: Monumental Legacy.

This temple is a standalone, multi-storeyed temple complex, made to look like Mount Kailash (Kailash Parwat) - the Puranic home of Lord Shiva.

The rock temple was cut in a U shape about 50 metres in the back, and about 2,00,000 tonnes of rock were removed in order to give shape to this astonishing building. The archaeologists had calculated that it would have taken more than a hundred years to finish the temple construction. However, in reality, it took only 18 years to complete it. Interestingly, modern-age engineers find it impossible to finish the same temple using modern technology in 18 years! 

Isn't great. So much more to tell and talk about this beautiful temple, but words can describe its beauty.

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