The Kailasa Temple is a 8th century monolithic temple carved out of rock in Aurangabad, India. It was commissioned by King Krishna I and built in the Dravidian architecture style. The temple was carved out of a single rock formation, removing around 400,000 tons of rock. It is one of the largest monolithic structures in the world and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983 for its architectural and artistic achievements.

2. INTRODUCTION_________________________/
• Location - Aurangabad, Maharashtra
• Built in - 8th century by the Rashtrakuta
king Krishna I.
• Architects were from the south Indian Pallava
kingdom.
• Style - Dravidian Architecture

3. • It is a monolithic structure, notable for
its vertical excavation, carvers started at the top of
the original rock, and excavated downward. It is
estimated that about 400,000 tons of rocks was
scooped out over hundreds of years to construct it
out of a single rock.
• The ground plan of the Kailasa
approximates in area that of
the parthenon and it’s height is
1.5 times.

4. STRUCTURE______________________________/
• The first stage of work was simple.
It consisted in excavating out of the
hillside three huge trenches at right
angles, cut down vertically to the level
of the base of the hill, thus forming
a rectangle 300 feet by 175 feet.
• The main body of the temple occupies a
parallelogram approx. 150 feet by 100 feet
with sections of its sides projecting at
intervals, like transepts, to support
Corresponding projecting features above.

5. PARTS OF TEMPLE________________________/
The scheme of the Kailasa resolves into four main parts
1. Body of the temple
2. Entrance gateway
3. An intermediate nandi shrine
4. Cloisters surrounding the courtyard
• On each side of the courtyard supplementary chambers have been
excavated.
• There are two free-standing pillars, or
dhwajasthambhas, 51 feet high, one
on each side of the nandi shrine.

6. ELEMENTS______________________________/
• Plinth appears like ground story, which is 25 feet high.
• Above and below, the sub-structure is heavily moulded.
• Central space of the sides is occupied by a grand frieze of boldly
carved elephants and lions.
• There is no pronounced departure from the conventional
combination of the mandapa and the vimana.
• Architectural elements such as cornices, pilasters, niches,
and porticos have been assembled
orderly and artistic manner to form a
unified whole.

7. INTERIOR & COURTYARD______________/
• The interior consists of a pillared hall.
• This hall is a well-proportioned compartment measuring 70 feet
by 62 feet .
• Having 16 square piers in groups of 4 in each quarter.
• There is a nandi shrine standing
on a 25 feet square solid pavilion.
• A living rock bridge connects the
Nandi Mandap to the porch of the
temple.

8. • The walls of the temple tell the story of the epic Ramayana through
intricate, illustrative carvings.
• Apart from Lalibela, Ethiopia and
Mahabalipuram; it is the finest
example of free-standing carved-out,
rock-cut architecture in the world.
• One of the biggest monolithic
structure in the world.
• Awarded as a UNESCO World Heritage
site in 1983.