!ELLORA Ellora is an Indian village in Aurungabad district of the state of Maharashtra, This site was earlier part of Hyderabad. It is famed for its Buddhist and Hindu cave and monolithic temples, the most magnificent of which is hewn out of a solid hill of red stone, the most beautiful being the Hindu temple of Kailás. It is 26 km north of Aurangabad, the district headquarters. The cave temples and monasteries at Ellora make this place a famous heritage site of India. Excavated out of the vertical face of an escarpment, the cave temples and monasteres including sculptures are said to be inspired by a mixture of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. The sculptors created elaborate rock carvings. Extending in a linear arrangement, the 34 caves contain Buddhist Chaityas or halls of worship, Viharas or monasteries and Hindu and Jain temples. These caves are dated back to a period of about 600 years between the 5th and 11th century AD. The earliest excavation here is of the Dhumar Lena. The most imposing excavation is that of the magnificent Kailasa Temple that is the largest monolithic structure in the world. In ancient days it was kown as Verul.