The temple is carved from a single block of stone

That is the Kailasa temple in Maharashtra, India. One of the works considered the pinnacle of architecture carved from stone in India.

Kailasa Temple is carved from a rock face, 32.6 meters high above the ground. Although the rock face slopes down from the back of the temple to the front, archaeologists believe it was carved from a single rock. Kailasa Temple is the 16th structure in the complex of 34 temples and monasteries in Ellora cave.

The Kailasa temple in Maharashtra is considered the pinnacle of stone-carved architecture in India. (Photo: Pinterest)

In the Marathi legend of Maharashtra, the then reigning king was seriously ill, and the queen asked Shiva to cure him. The queen promised to build a temple in honor of Shiva and fasted until the construction work was completed. Then Lord Shiva accepted this request.

After that, an architect named Kokasa promised the queen that he could build the temple in a week so that she would not have to fast for so long that she would risk her health. Kokasa started carving from the top of the mountain down. From a giant rock, after completion, it turned into an exquisitely sculpted temple.

Image of Kailasa temple taken from above. (Photo: Pineterest)

According to experts, the temple is made from megalithic stone. The main architectural style is Dravidian. Kailasa Temple has a square pyramid shape with meticulously carved details, about 3 floors high. The temple consists of a horseshoe-shaped temple courtyard and a Gopuram tower at the entrance. On both sides of the main temple area are 30m high columns, on which are engraved images of many gods. The size of the temple yard is 82 x 46 m wide.

In the courtyard, there is a central worship area dedicated to Shiva – the supreme god symbolizing regeneration and destruction. In front of the main hall is a statue of the bull Nandi, the mount of the god Shiva. This temple is carved from a block of stone hidden in the ground.

Image inside the temple. (Photo: Pinterest)

Inside this architecture are pillars, windows, and rooms. In the center of the main hall there is a giant stone linga.

The deities carved to the left of the entrance are believed to be devotees of Shiva. Meanwhile, the gods on the right are followers of Vishnu – the god of protection, this is also one of the three most iconic gods of Hinduism besides Shiva and Brahman.

Statues of gods are carved on the walls of the temple. (Photo: Pinterest)

Next to Shiva are two large pillars and sculptures depicting stories related to this god. In addition, there are elephant sculptures at the base that make the temple look like it is being lifted on the backs of elephants… All the details are very delicate.

In the records, the ancients only recorded that the technique used to create Kailasa temple was carving from rock. According to research by archaeologists, to complete this project, the ancients needed to carve and transport 400,000 tons of rock and soil to other places. If creating this temple manually, it would take workers up to 20 years to complete the work. Thus, they will have to work continuously for 12 hours a day, each hour having to process 5 tons of soil and rock.

According to research by archaeologists, to complete this project, the ancients needed to carve and transport 400,000 tons of rock and soil to other places. (Photo: Pinterest)

Up to now, they still cannot explain how the ancients were able to separate giant boulders from a rocky mountain over 30 meters high in such a perfect proportion. Therefore, there are many rumors that Kailasa Temple is a structure built by aliens.

Archaeologists still believe that the Kailasa temple was built by King Rashtrakuta Krishna I (circa 756 to 773), with the completion of some elements later.

Up to now, archaeologists have still not been able to explain how the ancients were able to separate giant boulders from a rocky mountain over 30 meters high in such a perfect proportion. (Photo: Pinterest)

In addition, there is an interesting anecdote related to this temple. It was Muslim King Aurangzeb who hired thousands of people to destroy this temple. In 1682, he ordered all temples to be leveled.

However, thousands of workers were brought in to destroy it, but for three years they could not cause any major damage to the temple. They only broke a few statues, but the temple could not be completely destroyed. King Auranzeb finally had to give up this impossible task. Hindus believe that the temple was protected by the power of gods.

Kailasa Temple not only has architectural value but it is also a place to demonstrate the artistic and philosophical richness of ancient Indian civilization. (Photo: Pinterest)

Kailasa Temple not only has architectural value but it is also a place to demonstrate the artistic and philosophical richness of ancient Indian civilization. In particular, one of the temple’s stone slabs engraved the content of the epic epic Ramayana. To date, it is estimated that there are still about 32 million Sanskrit carvings here that have not been translated.