Kailasa temple, Ellora

Kailasanatha temple
Shiva temple from top of rock
Geography
Coordinates	20°01′26″N 75°10′45″E / 20.02389°N 75.17917°E / 20.02389; 75.17917Coordinates: 20°01′26″N 75°10′45″E / 20.02389°N 75.17917°E / 20.02389; 75.17917
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Aurangabad, Maharashtra
Location	Ellora
Culture
Primary deity	Kailashanatha (Shiva)
History and governance
Date built	possibly 8th century
Creator	possibly Krishna I (756-773 CE)

The Kailash (IAST: Kailāśa) or Kailasanatha temple (Kailāsanātha) is one of the largest rock-cut ancient Hindu temples located in Ellora, Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved out of one single rock, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in India because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment.

The Kailasanatha temple (Cave 16) is one of the 34 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the 8th century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in 756-773 CE. The temple architecture shows traces of Pallava and Chalukya styles.

The Kailasa temple lacks a dedicatory inscription, but there is no doubt that it was commissioned by a Rashtrakuta ruler. Its construction is generally attributed to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (r. 756-773 CE), based on two epigraphs that link the temple to "Krishnaraja" (IAST Kṛṣṇarāja):

However, the attribution of the temple to Krishna I is not completely certain because these epigraphs are not physically connected to the caves, and do not date Krishnaraja's reign. Moreover, the land grants issued by Krishna's other successors do not contain any references to the Kailsa temple.

Kailasa temple features the use of multiple distinct architectural and sculptural styles. This, combined with its relatively large size, has led some scholars to believe that its construction spanned the reigns of multiple kings. Some of the temple reliefs feature the same style as the one used in the Dashavatara cave, which is located next to the temple. The Dashavatara cave contains an inscription of Krishna's predecessor and nephew Dantidurga (c. 735–756 CE). Based on this, H. Goetz (1952) theorized that the construction of the Kailasa temple began during the reign of Dantidurga. Krishna consecrated its first complete version, which was much smaller than the present-day temple. According to Gotez, Dantidurga's role in the temple construction must have been deliberately suppressed, as Krishna sidelined Dantidurga's sons to claim the throne after his death. Based on analysis of the different styles, Goetz further hypothesized that the later Rashtrakuta rulers also extended the temple. These rulers include Dhruva Dharavarsha, Govinda III, Amoghavarsha I, and Krishna III. According to Goetz, the 11th century Paramara ruler Bhoja commissioned the elephant-lion frieze on the lower plinth during his invasion of Deccan, and added a new layer of paintings. Finally, Ahilyabai Holkar commissioned the last layer of paintings in the temple.