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Ellora (\e-ˈlȯr-ə\, IAST: Vērūḷ) (Marathi: वेरूळ) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, featuring Hinduism in particular and few Buddhist and Jain monuments with Artwork dating from the 600–1000 CE period.[1][2] Cave 16 features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailash temple, a chariot shaped monument dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Kailash temple excavation also features sculptures depicting the gods, goddesses found in Hinduism as well as relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu Epics.[3][4][5]

There are over 100 caves at the site, all excavated from the basalt cliffs in the Charanandri Hills, 34 of which are open to the public.[3] These consist of 17 Hindu (caves 13–29), 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves,[6][7] each group representing deities and mythologies prevalent in the 1st millennium CE, as well as monasteries of each respective religion.[6] They were built close to one another and illustrate the religious harmony that existed in ancient India.[2][8] All of the Ellora monuments were built during the Rashtrakuta dynasty, which constructed part of the Hindu and Buddhist caves, and the Yadava dynasty, which constructed a number of the Jain caves. Funding for the construction of the monuments was provided by royals, traders and the wealthy of the region.[3][9]

Although the caves served as temples and a rest stop for pilgrims,[7] the site's location on an ancient South Asian trade route also made it an important commercial centre in the Deccan region.[10] It is 29 kilometres (18 miles) north-west of Aurangabad, and about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east-northeast of Mumbai. Today, the Ellora Caves, along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, are a major tourist attraction in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India [ASI].[11]