Twentynine Kilometers away from the City of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, India you can find 1200 years old Ancient Hindu Temple, Kailasa Temple. This majestic Lord Shiva temple is part of a set of thirty-four temples and monasteries popularly known as the Ellora Caves.
Kailasa Temple is a remarkable example of Dravidian architecture in the 8th century and is Carved from a single rock.
It was built by Krishna I, Rashtrakuta dynasty king. Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled over large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and tenth centuries.
This temple is estimated to have been built between 757 and 783 CE and built with a view to resemble Mount Kailash, where Shiva is believed to reside as per Hinduism.
Archeologists have come to the conclusion that three types of chisels were used to carve this temple, as observed by them from the chisel marks on these stone walls. This temple is believed to have been constructed vertically from the top down due to foreseen difficulties in carving out from the front onwards by the main architect who has religiously followed the construction according to the ground plan as seen in the below picture.
An estimated 400,000 tons of rocks were scooped out over a really long period of 20 years to construct this monolithic structure.
