Article: Cave temples

Links

Exterior of Ellora caves

This 2010 photograph on Flickr shows the entrance to one of the five Jain caves at Ellora, Maharashtra. The elephant is a symbol of royalty, which underlines the exalted spiritual rank of the Jinas and other holy figures depicted inside the cave temples.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13289475@N05/4957589480/

Entrance to Jain cave temple

The portico of one of the Jain cave temples at Ellora, Maharashtra, is captured in this 2008 photograph on Flickr. There are 34 cave temples at this site, but only five Jain temples. The Jain caves are noted for their fine carving and impressive sculpted figures of Jinas and other holy figures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/graceandpoise/2835718601/

Ellora caves

The Ellora Caves website is part of an academic project to document the 34 cave temples at Ellora, Maharashtra. Most of the caves at this World Heritage Site are Buddhist and Hindu caves, with five belonging to the Jain faith. The earliest Digambara caves have been dated to the ninth century. They are famous for their detailed sculptures.

http://www.elloracaves.org/index.php

Interior of Jain caves at Ellora

This YouTube video uploaded in 2011 presents the Jain caves at Ellora, Maharashtra. The interiors of the five caves boast intricate carved pillars, detailed figures of Jinas and deities, and the remnants of rich frescoes and bright colours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbRbRYwCVek

Historical image of the Indra Sabha cave

The British Library website provides a 19th-century zoomable photograph of the Jain cave temple in the Ellora cave complex, Maharashtra.

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/other/019pho000000040u00140000.html

Yakṣa Mātanga

A large sculpture of the yakṣa Mātanga sitting on his elephant vehicle in the Ellora cave temple complex in Maharashtra. The Digambara statue wears an elaborate headdress and jewellery, and is flanked by attendants. This zoomable photograph is part of the Beyond the Taj: Architectural Traditions and Landscape Experience in South Asia project at Cornell University Library in the USA.

http://goo.gl/EyQJb

Kūṣmāṇḍinī at Ellora

A damaged figure of the yakṣī Kūṣmāṇḍinī or Ambikā beneath a mango tree in cave 32 of the Ellora temple complex in Maharashtra. Attended by servants, the Digambara statue wears an elaborate headdress and jewellery, and sits on her lion vehicle. Only half of the image of the small child sitting on her thigh has survived. This zoomable photograph is part of the Beyond the Taj: Architectural Traditions and Landscape Experience in South Asia project at Cornell University Library in the USA.

http://goo.gl/mW3DI

Cave 32 at Ellora

The five Jain caves at Ellora, Maharashtra, feature very fine examples of sculpture on the pillars and the walls, with deep reliefs depicting Jinas and other holy figures. This figure from cave 32, known as the Indra Sabha cave, is of a Jina, presented in the Digambara style. He is naked and standing in deep meditation. He is probably the 23rd Jina Pārśva, although his snakehood canopy is damaged, as this 2012 Flickr photograph shows.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29848963@N03/6791629028/

Cakreśvarī at Ellora

The Ellora Caves project presents this photograph of an early Digambara figure of the goddess Cakreśvarī, found in cave 30 of the cave temples at Ellora, Maharashtra. The yakṣī of the first Jina, Ṛṣabhanātha or Lord Ṛṣabha, Cakreśvarī's power is symbolised in the weapon of the disc – cakra – from which she gets her name.

http://elloracaves.org/caves.php?cmd=search&words=&cave_ID=30&plan_floor=1&image_ID=2656

Vallimalai cave entrance

This 2006 photograph on Flickr captures the opening to the Jain cave temple in Vallamalai in Tamil Nadu. Caves may have been the first Jain religious places but have remained popular for meditation and worship ever since the early ones, created long before the Common Era.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krsaurabh/4937052877

Vallamalai rock-cut figures

This 2006 photograph on Flickr shows some of the rock-cut sculptures in the Jain cave in Vallamalai, Tamil Nadu. Most of the figures represent the 24 Jinas but there are also statues of other holy figures. One example is the yakśī Padmāvatī, who is on the bottom right, holding the ankuśa, a noose, a lotus and a fruit in her four hands. She is a very popular goddess who is worshipped in her own right, especially in southern India.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/krsaurabh/4937639648

Vallimalai reliefs

Rock-cut figures of Jinas inside the Jain cave temple at Vallimalai in Tamil Nadu. The sculptures probably date from the ninth century. This 2005 photograph is provided by Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avanibhajana/1105066201

Thirumalai cave

This 2011 YouTube video explores the cave temple at Thirumalai, near Arni in Tamil Nadu. The temple contain statues and inscriptions on rocks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APCBSFjzg7E

Sittannavasal cave temple

The Archaeological Survey of India supplies historical and practical information about the rock-cut temple at Sittannavasal in Tamil Nadu.

http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_tn_rockjaintemple.asp

Sittanavasal temple

The HereNow4U website provides information about the Digambara site of Sittanavasal in Tamil Nadu. Famous for its colourful frescoes, the cave temple is also listed by the Archaeological Survey of India as a protected monument.

http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=75930

Kalugumalai sculptures

This 2012 YouTube video explores the cave temple at Kalugumalai in Tamil Nadu, which boasts striking examples of rock-cut sculptures of Jinas as well as a cave temple. Over one hundred figures are carved into the cliff face outside the cave temple, nearly all of whom are Jinas, who mostly sit in meditation. There are numerous other stone statues at the site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXG33KzA4uo

Information about Badami

The Digambar Jain Online website provides background information about the Badami cave temple in Karnataka.

http://www.digambarjainonline.com/pilgri/badami.htm

Badami Jain cave temple

This photograph on Flickr shows the exterior of the Jain cave temple at Badami in Karnataka. It is the only Jain temple of the four caves at the site, and may date back to the eighth century.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mukulb/5871919573/

Jina image at Badami

Image on Flickr of a standing Jina in meditation surrounded by smaller Jinas. The Jain cave at Badami, Karnataka, contains numerous figures of the 24 Jinas and other holy figures, such as Bāhubali and the divine attendants of the Jinas, the yakṣas and yakṣīs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rakche/5119590677/

Jain cave at Badami

This 2010 YouTube video shows the interior of the Jain cave temple at Badami in Karnataka, with details of the images of Jinas and deities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5gwPCcC-4

Bāhubali in Badami cave temple

Figure of the great Jain saint Bāhubali inside the Jain cave at Badami, northern Karnataka. The vines and creepers twining up his legs while he is deep in meditation are clearly visible. He is surrounded by attendants. Images of meditating Jinas are also set into niches in some of the ornately carved pillars within the cave.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jn/6437313643/

Chitral temple carvings

This 2009 photograph on Flickr captures the carvings on the Jain cave temple at Chitral in Tamil Nadu. The rock-cut sculptures of Jinas and other holy figures are in the Digambara style, as this part of India was a stronghold of Digambara Jainism.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/summer_flash/5509059148/

Bhagavati cave temple

Information about the Bhagavati cave temple in Tamil Nadu, provided by the Thrissur Circle Archaeological Survey of India.

http://www.asithrissurcircle.in/Monuments_Tamil.html#Bagawathi

Bhubaneshvar caves

This 2010 YouTube video briefly explores presents the Jain caves at Bhubaneshvar, the capital of Orissa state. Found on top of the twin hills known as Udaya-giri and Khanda-giri, the temples house wall reliefs and sculptures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAYcFHLx7x4