Kokasa sculpted the world’s only temple to have been cut from a rock, in reverse

By | Published: 4:15 pm

India is known for its remarkable temples for Lord Shiva. Kailasa Temple, one of the 32 caves that are collectively known as the Ellora caves has always been known as an artfully chiselled wonder. Unlike others, the temple is not cut like every other stone structure from bottom to top.

Instead, the monument is cut from a single rock, starting from the roof, to its pillars to its base and it is the only architectural masterpiece in the world to have been cut this way.

Medieval Maharashtrian legend has it, that the king’s ill health prompted the queen to pray to Shiva at Elapura (modern day Ellora) to heal her husband, and vowed to build a temple for the God if the deed was done.

She also pledged to fast until she could see the shikhara (the top) of the temple. The king’s recovery made her send word to architects who could build the temple in no time. But she was disheartened when multiple architects claimed, it would take months to complete the shikhara.

Then, a wise, illustrious architect by the name Kokasa, assured the queen that the temple would be built, shikhara first, within a week’s time; and he did, making the queen break her fast.

Initially named Manikeshwar after the queen, the construction of the temple has been theorised to have begun during the reign of the king, Dantidurga of the Rashtrakuta Empire. His successors extended the temple beyond its initial form later, which paved the way for varied architecture styles spanning multiple timelines which led to the final structure.