That the cave-temple itself may have also been conceived of as a material samavasaraṇa is suggested further by the imagery carved on the façade of Ellora’s Choṭā Kailāsa (fig. 6). As its appellation suggests, this Jain temple resembles the more well-known Hindu monument at the site, the Kai-lāsanātha temple (fig. 19). The KaiKai-lāsanātha temple, created in the mid-eighth century, replicates a structural temple though it is carved entirely from the mountain. Though these two temples have some features in common, the Choṭā Kailāsa has two carvings on its façade that are unique to the Jain monument. Carved under the porch cornice on either side of the main entrance into the Choṭā Kailāsa are two over-life-sized reliefs of dancing Indra (figs. 20, 21). In both carvings, Indra is depicted as a crowned and bejeweled multi-armed figure; the relief on the left having eight arms and the relief on the right with twelve. As in Ellora’s painted representa-tions of this deity (fig. 16), Indra is adorned with a tall crown, circular ear-rings, a broad necklace, armlets, and bracelets. In the carved examples, Indra also wears a strand of twisted beads that drapes across his torso.33
Also in accordance with the paintings in J19 and J20, the two reliefs of Indra on the Choṭā Kailāsa present the deity surrounded by other figures, including musicians, dancers, and other celestials. Specific details paint-ed in J19—such as the dancing couples locatpaint-ed above Indra’s shoulders—
are replicated in the sculpted examples, suggesting that the artists carving the reliefs were familiar with the paintings. Although the Choṭā Kailāsa is an early ninth-century temple, the façade reliefs most likely date to the late ninth or early tenth century. The reliefs of Indra are incised deep into
33 This element is clearly seen in the Indra carved on the left side of the entrance.
the wall (especially evident around their heads) suggesting that they were carved after the initial excavation of the temple. This has resulted in their rather planar and sunken appearance which contrasts to the full-bodied dvārapālas (door guardians) and the flying figures carved elsewhere on the exterior of the monument.
Although the reliefs of dancing Indra command a strong presence on the façade of the temple, curiously, they have not been studied in any de-tail. The few scholars who have noted these sculptures simply identify them as Saudharmendra, the Indra of the first heaven.34 Their descrip-tions, however, do not go beyond standard issues of iconography to con-sider the role of these reliefs in defining the aesthetic character of the temple. K.V. Soundara Rajan (1988, 64-65), who has examined the archi-tectural and sculptural features of the Choṭā Kailāsa in great detail, only briefly discusses the figures of Indra. In his study, he questions the Jain affiliation of these images and suggests that the Choṭā Kailāsa may have initially been conceived of as a Brahmanical monument and only later transformed into a Jain temple.
While the subsequent addition of these reliefs to the façade of the Choṭā Kailāsa—not to mention their visual correspondence to the paint-ings in J19 and J20—negate any Śaivite association of the temple, these figures are, at first glance, similar to images of dancing Śiva carved else-where at Ellora. Large reliefs of dancing Śiva can be found in a number of mid-eighth and ninth-century Hindu caves, including: Cave 15, the gate-way preceding the Kailāsanātha temple, the northern wall of the Kailāsanātha’s Nandi pavilion, the ceiling of the Kailāsanātha temple, the exterior of the Kailāsanātha’s vimāna, and the ceiling and southeastern bay in the Laṅkeśvara temple.35 Although the images of dancing Indra and Śiva Naṭeśa exhibit some of the same mudrās—particularly evident in the left-side image of Indra and the Śiva carved in Cave 15—other simi-larities are superficial at best. In fact, upon close inspection, there are some significant elements that serve to differentiate the dancing figures.
These include the small, seated Jinas carved over the reliefs of Indra on the Choṭā Kailāsa and the various attributes and weapons held by most of the images of Śiva Naṭeśa.
34 See for example Dhavalikar (2003, 88), Nagarajaiah (2002, 24), Pereira (1977, 60 and 120-1), and Gupte and Mahajan (1962, 220).
35 For an illustration of the dancing Śiva on the gateway to the Kailāsanātha temple see Heston (1981-2, fig. 3). For images in the Laṅkeśvara Temple, see Soundara Rajan (1981, plates CIII A and CIV A).
While the reliefs of dancing Indra should not be mistaken for repre-sentations of Śiva, there are, nonetheless, other features of the Choṭā Kailāsa that are directly related to the site’s Hindu monuments, specifi-cally the Kailāsanātha temple. Both temples are monolithic and are cre-ated by carving three trenches into the mountain to isolate a large block of stone. In the case of the Kailāsanātha temple, the trenches create a courtyard measuring approximately 78 meters deep and 47 meters wide (Chatham 1997, 1). The Choṭā Kailāsa is excavated on a much smaller scale (approximately 40 x 24 meters) which has contributed to its modern nick-name as the “choṭā” or “little” Kailāsa. Work on both monuments proceed-ed from the top down, a technique which is clearly demonstratproceed-ed on the lower southeastern side of the Choṭā Kailāsa where parts of the temple are left unfinished. In addition to the similarities in their excavation pro-cess, these two temples feature some of the same architectural compo-nents: a rock-cut gateway, a main hall with three projecting porches, a squat, pyramidal vimāna over the main shrine, and subsidiary temples carved into the enclosure walls of the complex. Also linking these two monuments together are images of dvārapālas, flying celestials, gaṇas, makaras, and other divine figures that are carved on the temple exteriors.
Although the Choṭā Kailāsa resembles the larger Hindu temple in terms of its execution, architectural components, and some of its exterior imagery, it has simply been dismissed in most scholarship as a poorer, later imitation of its Hindu counterpart.36 Moreover, its general similarity to the mid-eighth-century Kailāsanātha temple has only been considered in terms of providing a ninth-century date for the majority of Ellora’s Jain monuments. Any inquiry into why some of the Kailāsanātha’s sculptural and architectural forms were appropriated by the Jains in this temple has yet to be conducted. This is unfortunate as some of the shared elements—
found in particular on the exterior of the monuments—actually shed light on how the imagery functions on the Choṭā Kailāsa, including the reliefs of Indra and their role in presenting the entire temple as a three-dimensional stone samavasaraṇa.
The strongest visual link between these two monuments lies in the ex-terior decoration of their maṇḍapas. Carved as a running frieze along the temples’ entablature, for example, is a band of frolicking gaṇas who hold an undulating garland (figs. 22, 23). Some of the gaṇas support the garland over their head, while others recline on it. The composition is
36 See for example the comment by Dehejia (1997, 134) that the Choṭā Kailāsa repre-sents an “anticlimax” at Ellora.
rhythmic and playful and serves to integrate the architectural and decora-tive features on the temples’ exterior. The gaṇa series on the Kailāsanātha temple even retains some pigment that was added in the eighteenth cen-tury. The red background combined with the alternating colors of green, yellow, and white on the garland certainly adds to the dynamism of the work and may provide some insight into the original appearance of these carvings when painted. Although gaṇas are a featured façade element in a number of caves at Ellora, including Hindu Caves 17 and 21, their presen-tation within a band that encircles the temple is found only on the Kailāsanātha and the Choṭā Kailāsa. Of significance, it does not appear on the other monolithic monuments at Ellora: the pavilion preceding Cave 15 and the temple in the Indra Sabhā courtyard (fig. 24) that enshrines a sarvatobhadra image (a single sculpture of four Jinas that are carved back-to-back and face four directions).
Another sculptural motif that is shared by the Choṭā Kailāsa and the Kailāsanātha temple is the carving of flying celestial figures, located par-ticularly on the northern and southern walls of the maṇḍapas. It is, how-ever, not the mere inclusion of such figures that draws comparison, but in the way they are presented on both temples. For example, the flying fig-ures are carved high up on the wall and are framed by pilasters. In both temples, the figures are somewhat isolated from other kinds of imagery, underscoring the plain surfaces of the temple walls. This presentation also reinforces the illusion that the celestials are actually flying through space. Interestingly, the Kailāsanātha temple has more individual flying figures than the Jain temple which tends to feature couples. Nonetheless, in both cases, the position of the limbs of these figures suggests rapid flight, usually towards an entrance into the main hall.
The type of imagery carved on the eaves of the porch roofs is also simi-lar in these two temples. Here, one invariably finds carvings of rich curls of foliage and cascades of water.37 Some of the motifs even incorporate makaras or semi-human aquatic beings within their turbulent designs.
One of the best-preserved examples of the latter can be found on the southern porch of the Kailāsanātha temple. In this particular sculpture, a male and female are immersed in a sea of vegetation. The lower parts of their bodies are literally composed of the same swirling mass that envel-ops them. The consistent occurrence of this type of imagery on the porch
37 Although some of the porch eaves on the Choṭā Kailāsa remain undecorated, they do have the matrix of stone left intact for such carvings. Their size and placement corre-sponds with the decorative elements carved on the porches of the Kailāsanātha temple.
eaves for both temples is interesting as the porches themselves can be viewed as extensions (or growths) that originate from the temple interior.
Thus the architectural and sculptural elements of the porches mutually reinforce themes of expansion, movement, and fecundity.
While the images of gaṇas, flying celestials, and aquatic/vegetal de-signs may be considered minor motifs, they are, nonetheless, important elements that define the aesthetic nature of these monuments. Their presence creates the appropriate environment for coming into contact with the main deity housed inside the shrine. Moreover, their inclusion on the exterior of the monument clearly contributes to the conception of the temple as a divine or celestial abode. In the case of the Kailāsanātha temple, the abode is undoubtedly Śiva’s residence on Mt. Kailāsa in the Himalayas. This is demonstrated in a number of ways within the temple complex. The most dramatic presentation is the sculpture of Śiva and Parvatī seated on Mt. Kailāsa carved on the south side of the temple.
While this sculptural tableau literally presents the god in his mountain abode, other carvings, such as images of Gaṅgādharamūrti and shrines dedicated to the river goddess Gaṅgā, also make specific reference to Himalayan topography.38 The metaphor of the Śaivite temple as Śiva’s mountain abode is also recorded in inscriptions dating from the eighth through tenth centuries. In Rāṣṭrakūṭa epigraphs, the tall, white-washed tower of a newly constructed Śiva temple is often compared to the snow-capped peak of Mt. Kailāsa.39 At Ellora, this metaphor is taken even fur-ther as the temple itself is literally part of the mountain.
The similar employment of gaṇas and flying figures on the exterior of the Choṭā Kailāsa also suggests that the temple is equated with a celestial abode. However, as all twenty-four Jinas exist in a state of perfected liber-ation at the apex of the universe (rather than in a heavenly realm),40 the Jain abode made visually manifest at Ellora is not the Jina’s residence per se but the celestial assembly hall, the samavasaraṇa. This is made clear not only through the reliefs of dancing Indra at the entrance to the tem-ple, but by a number of other celestials that are carved on the exterior. For example, musicians, amorous couples, and figures in gestures of homage
38 Walter Smith (1996) explores these and other aspects of the site as a recreation of the Himalayas.
39 In the Deoli and Karhad plates of Kṛṣṇarāja III, temples dedicated to Śiva are described as “white as clouds in autumn, by which the earth shines forever as if deco-rated by many Kailāsa mountains.” See R.G. Bhandarkar (1890-94, 245; 1896-97, 287).
40 The Jinas reside in a crescent-shaped abode known as īṣatprāgbhāra (literally “the slightly curving place”).
are carved in niches along the temple’s vimāna. Of significance, there are no images of Tīrthaṅkaras on the temple tower. This differs from the im-agery carved on the Kailāsanātha’s tower that invariably features repre-sentations of Śiva, Viṣṇu, and other recognizable Hindu deities. The overwhelming presence of musicians and other celestials on the exterior of the Choṭā Kailāsa therefore seems to present a more generic scene of heaven. However, when viewed in context with the large reliefs of danc-ing Indra, we realize that we are witnessdanc-ing some of the joyous activities commonly associated with the creation of the samavasaraṇa.
Of course, the presence of celestial musicians and amorous couples is not strictly limited to the context of the samavasaraṇa as they also in-habit various celestial abodes, including that of Indra himself. In Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist literature, Indra’s heaven is often accorded a privi-leged place among celestial realms. Lengthy descriptions of this abode are found, for example, in Book Three of the Mahābhārata, where it is described as being full of musicians, apsarās, gandharvas, siddhas, cāraṇas, saints, royal seers, and heroes from battle (van Buitenen 1975, v. 2, 308-9). Heavenly music “that is unknown in the world of men” (Ibid., 310) fills the air while blossoming trees and flower-garlands perfume the air with fragrant breezes. Apsarās sing and dance in the spacious pillared halls of Indra’s numerous palaces while other deities spend their time re-laxing in the gardens. Indra’s heaven is a kind of celestial city where there are parks, pleasure grounds, lotus ponds and golden mansions. Of signifi-cance, these elements are recurrent features found in descriptions of oth-er types of celestial structures, including a Jina’s samavasaraṇa. According to Phyllis Granoff (1997, 177), who has examined a variety of Hindu and Jain Purāṇas,
... heaven is always a vast metropolis, with numerous concentric areas all crammed with buildings and peopled by gods and other creatures who have come to serve the main deity. The city is watered by a river, more often by two rivers. The [textual] descriptions all proceed from the outer-most precincts of this city inward. The city is surrounded by a series of walls with gateways that are carefully guarded. ... Indeed, every conceivable creature appears in heaven and it is this that is the most striking corre-spondence between our textual descriptions and actual temples: just as temple walls teem with all sorts of living beings, heavenly damsels, sages and their wives, sages practicing austerities, copulating couples, gods, incarnations of gods, animals and plants, so is heaven full to the brim with every conceivable life form.
Notions of heaven and the divine are not only established through the carvings on Ellora’s monolithic temples but through their overall de-sign—as these monuments form the center of their own sacred complex.
The subsidiary excavations carved in the northern and southern enclo-sure walls, as well as the gateways preceding the temples, create the sense that one is entering into a self-contained celestial abode. The excavation of both monuments deep into the mountain itself adds to this experience as many celestial cities are located at the summit of Mt. Meru, the Golden Peak—the beginning of the heavens. At Ellora, trees and other types of foliage grow along the edges of the enclosure walls of both temples, creat-ing the illusion that the monolithic structure emerges from beneath this vegetation. Furthermore, both temples have access to water—the life sus-taining and ritually purifying liquid that originates from the heavens.41 All of these elements—subsidiary shrines, enclosed courtyards, trees, and pools of water—are common features of celestial cities described in Purāṇic texts. Moreover, these elements correspond to the components of later structural medieval temples that further develop the conception of the temple as “heaven on Earth.”
While the architectural design and imagery carved on the Choṭā Kailāsa clearly presents the temple as a celestial abode, the over-life-sized reliefs of dancing Indra on its façade specify that the sacred structure is the Jina’s samavasaraṇa. As in the antechamber paintings of Indra in J19 and J20, the carvings flanking the entrance into the Choṭā Kailāsa may similarly demarcate the entrance into the gandhakuṭī—the very center of the samavasaraṇa. The imagery within the main hall of the Choṭā Kailāsa also seemingly confirms this association. In contrast to the exterior of the Choṭā Kailāsa that features celestials, the interior of the main hall is com-pletely covered with reliefs of enthroned Tīrthaṅkaras. The Jinas, carved in bays along the front and sidewalls of the temple, are presented in verti-cal tiers of three. With this arrangement, the entire wall space is filled with Jinas from ceiling to floor. The Jina images measure between 0.9 and 1.5 meters in height and nearly all of them exhibit the eight mahā prā-tihāryas. While the other Jain caves at Ellora are also carved with numer-ous Jina images, the imagery within the main hall of the Choṭā Kailāsa differs in that it contains only Jinas. In other words, there are no images of
41 The water tank for the Kailāsanātha temple is located next door in front of Cave 15, while the northwestern corner of the courtyard of the Choṭā Kailāsa has been carved at a lower level to retain rainwater. In addition, a narrow, dry streambed can be found between the Choṭā Kailāsa complex and the main group of Jain caves.
Jain deities (specifically yakṣas and yakṣīs) as in the other excavations.42
Jain deities (specifically yakṣas and yakṣīs) as in the other excavations.42