KAUAI, HAWAII, May 30, 2024 (Hinduism Today, by Anne Petry): Monolithic rock religious constructions are found in only a few places in the world: the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia, the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt and the Kailasanatha Temple of Ellora in India. When a building is carved or excavated from solid rock, to which it remains attached at the base, it is termed “monolithic architecture.” The Kailasanatha Temple for God Siva is the largest such structure in the world.

The excavation of caves and their elaborate adornment are closely related skills. In India, the first excavations of rock caves date back to around the third century bce. The Lomas Rishi cave in Bihar is an example, and later, in the west of the country, caves at Karle and Bhaja, the famed Ajanta Caves and the Elephanta Caves off Mumbai. Through several distinct periods over time, techniques improved, new concepts emerged and the work was refined. Ellora, and the Kailasanatha Temple in particular, are the apogee of monolithic architecture—the culmination of centuries of evolution in Indian rock temple architecture, successfully synthesizing the long tradition of rock sculpture in Western India, Southern India and the Deccan Plateau.

Read more about the caves of Ellora, culminating in the famed free-standing Kailasanatha Temple, hand-carved from a mountain during a period of 400 years, at source.
https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/april-may-june-2024/ellora-caves-the-siva-temple-carved-out-of-solid-rock/

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