DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9541#0465
Ohap. III. BRAHMANICAL ROCK-CUT TEMPLES.
441
Siva ;1 and the eighteen kings who assisted at this splendid quin-
quennial festival seem promiscuously to have honoured equally these
three divinities. With this toleration at head-quarters, we ought not to
be surprised if we find the temples of the three religions overlapping
one another to some extent.
The truth of the matter is, that one of the greatest difficulties an
antiquary experiences before the 8th century, is to ascertain to what
divinity any temple or a cave is dedicated. In the three caves, for
instance, at Badami, the sculptures are wholly Vaishnava, and no one
would doubt that they were dedicated to that deity, but in the sanc-
tuaries of all is the lingam or emblem of Siva. It has been suggested
that this may have been an afterthought, but if so the cave must have
been without meaning. There is no sinhasan or throne on which an
image of a deity could be placed, nor is the cell large enough for that
purpose.
Unfortunately there are no Buddhist buildings or caves so far
south as Badami, and we are consequently deprived of that means for
comparison ; and before anything very definite can be laid down, it
will require that some one familiar with the subject should go over
the whole of the western caves, and institute a rigid comparison of
their details. Meanwhile, however, the result of the translations of
the inscriptions gathered by Mr. Burgess, and of his plans and views,2
is that we must compress our history of the western caves within nar-
rower limits than originally seemed necessary.3 The buildings in the
Dharwar district seem all to be comprised between the years 500
and 750 a.d., with probably a slight extension either way, and those
at Ellora being certainly synchronous, must equally be limited to the
same period of time.
Pending a more complete investigation, which I hope may be
undertaken before long, I would propose the following as a tentative
chronology of the far-famed series of caves at Ellora :—
Buddhist :—Viswakanna to Das Avatara . . a.d. 500-600
Jaina:—Indra, Juganat, Subhas, &c. . . . 550-650
Hindu :—Rameswara to Dhunmar Lena . . 600-750
Dravidian :—Kylas...... 725-800
The cave at Elephants follows of course the date here given for
the Dhumnar Lena, and must thus date after the middle of the 8th
century.4
1 ' Histoire de Hiouen Thsaiig.'p. 255 : tuiies at my disposal. It now appeal's
' Vie et Voyages,' vol. i. p. 280. they must be blotted out as non-existent
2 ' Report on the District of Belguni lor any historical or artistic purpose,
and Kuladgi,' 1874. * This is the date given by Mr. Burgess
3 When I originally wrote on the sub- in his description in ' The Caves at
ject I thought I had the 9th and 10th cen- Elephant*,' Bombay. 1871, p. 5.
441
Siva ;1 and the eighteen kings who assisted at this splendid quin-
quennial festival seem promiscuously to have honoured equally these
three divinities. With this toleration at head-quarters, we ought not to
be surprised if we find the temples of the three religions overlapping
one another to some extent.
The truth of the matter is, that one of the greatest difficulties an
antiquary experiences before the 8th century, is to ascertain to what
divinity any temple or a cave is dedicated. In the three caves, for
instance, at Badami, the sculptures are wholly Vaishnava, and no one
would doubt that they were dedicated to that deity, but in the sanc-
tuaries of all is the lingam or emblem of Siva. It has been suggested
that this may have been an afterthought, but if so the cave must have
been without meaning. There is no sinhasan or throne on which an
image of a deity could be placed, nor is the cell large enough for that
purpose.
Unfortunately there are no Buddhist buildings or caves so far
south as Badami, and we are consequently deprived of that means for
comparison ; and before anything very definite can be laid down, it
will require that some one familiar with the subject should go over
the whole of the western caves, and institute a rigid comparison of
their details. Meanwhile, however, the result of the translations of
the inscriptions gathered by Mr. Burgess, and of his plans and views,2
is that we must compress our history of the western caves within nar-
rower limits than originally seemed necessary.3 The buildings in the
Dharwar district seem all to be comprised between the years 500
and 750 a.d., with probably a slight extension either way, and those
at Ellora being certainly synchronous, must equally be limited to the
same period of time.
Pending a more complete investigation, which I hope may be
undertaken before long, I would propose the following as a tentative
chronology of the far-famed series of caves at Ellora :—
Buddhist :—Viswakanna to Das Avatara . . a.d. 500-600
Jaina:—Indra, Juganat, Subhas, &c. . . . 550-650
Hindu :—Rameswara to Dhunmar Lena . . 600-750
Dravidian :—Kylas...... 725-800
The cave at Elephants follows of course the date here given for
the Dhumnar Lena, and must thus date after the middle of the 8th
century.4
1 ' Histoire de Hiouen Thsaiig.'p. 255 : tuiies at my disposal. It now appeal's
' Vie et Voyages,' vol. i. p. 280. they must be blotted out as non-existent
2 ' Report on the District of Belguni lor any historical or artistic purpose,
and Kuladgi,' 1874. * This is the date given by Mr. Burgess
3 When I originally wrote on the sub- in his description in ' The Caves at
ject I thought I had the 9th and 10th cen- Elephant*,' Bombay. 1871, p. 5.