One of the greatest monuments of the Hindus is Cave XVI at Ellora, so-called Kailasa Temple, dated from the mid-8th and early 9th century. This monument dedicated to
Siva
is an enormous monolithic rock-carving with several secondary caves and a surrounding corridor. As the main monolithic part was copied from a Dravidian temple, the southern Indian influence is conspicuous in its style as well as iconography. The central Indian elements, however, should not be overlooked. On the walls are seen about 200 figures of gods and narrative scenes of both southern and central Indian iconographical traits. By supplementing an earlier identification of these scenes made by Prof. R. S. Gupte, this writer could clarify the subject-matters of these figures and scenes. As a result, it appears to me that there might have been established traditions for the arrangement of the figures. On the walls of the antechmaber of the shrine are not terrible aspects of
Siva
(samhara-murti) but mild aspects of this god (saumya-murti). Of seventeen single figures on the outer walls of the shrine, all but two, a Visnu and a female figure, are depictions of
Siva
. Terrible aspects of
Siva
and his consort are displayed on the outer walls of the mandapa and Nandin hall and there are also Visnu and Brahma. Active aspects of non-Sivaite gods are depicted, only on the walls of corridor and surrounding buildings. Entering through the gate on which walls are low-ranked gods including
Siva
, devotees go into the world of major gods and finally arrive at the shrine where the eternal form of
Siva
-the linga-is enshrined.
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