Elora Ellora, Or Elouro, a decayed town of Hindostan, in the Nizam's dominions, 13 m. N. W. of Aurungabad, celebrated for its cave temples, excavated from the inner slope of a crescent-shaped hill of red granite and black and gray basalt, about a mile from the town. These caverns are sculptured over an extent 1 1/4 m. in length, and may be regarded as a Hindoo pantheon, since every divinity of India has there a shrine. Most of the caves are not less than 100 ft. in depth; 20 of them are consecrated to Siva, and two to the Trimurti, or Brahmanic trinity. They are all adorned with colossal statues and innumerable sculptures and bass-reliefs. The greatest and most remarkable of these monuments is the Kailasa, or paradise, dedicated to Siva, and designed to represent the court of that divinity where he receives those of his worshippers who, having escaped metempsychosis, come after death to enjoy eternal happiness. This does not, like the others, extend subterraneously, but rises to a lofty height in an excavation 401 ft. in depth and 185 in breadth. It is composed of a portico, a chapel, and a grand pagoda. The portico is sustained by pillars and flanked by curious sculptures.

Two obelisks, 41 ft. in height, 11 ft. square, beautifully carved, and two gigantic elephants, surround and support the chapel, which is likewise adorned on every side by statuary. The pagoda rises from the centre of the whole structure to the height of 100 ft., and is surrounded externally by mythological designs and sculptures representing lions, tigers, elephants, and fantastic animals of all sorts. Within are 42 colossal figures of Hindoo divinities, each one the centre of a group; and beyond this main temple may be seen others of smaller size and similar decorations. These gigantic works, which Elphinstone and others compare with the pyramids of Egypt as works of labor, and far surpassing them as specimens of art, are of unknown antiquity, and seem to have been executed by Buddhists as well as by Brahmans. The village of Ellora is small, and is resorted to by numerous pilgrims.

Temple of Kailasa.