Ellora Jain Caves 30 to 34 Appear More Hindu and Jain than Buddhist

Summary: Ellora Jain Caves 30 to 34 assemble more Hindu and Jain aspects than Buddhist in the least ancient cave temples in the Ellora Caves of Maharashtra, India.

closeup of sculpture of historical Jain founder Mahavira, in padmasana (lotus pose), in Ellora Jain Cave 32; Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, 07:37: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

The ninth through 13th-century Ellora Jain Caves 30 to 34 are the least ancient cave temples among the 34 accessible Buddhist, Hindu and Jain Ellora Caves of Maharashtra state, western peninsular India.

The Ellora Jain Caves brandish Hindu mythology even as they broach Jain behaviors and beliefs that backtrack to the same places and times as Buddhism. The Buddhist conversion of the Jain Upali constituted a concurrent connection between northernmost Buddhist communities and easterly Jain communities whose geographical contexts converged in northern India. Ellora Buddhist Caves 1 through 12 and Ellora Jain Caves 30 through 34 display architectural, artistic, sculpted devotions to Hindu mythology rather than to one another.

Perhaps the same itinerant artisans and monks excavated the later of 1,300- to 2,300-year-old Ajanta Caves and first of 100-plus 800- to 1,600-year-old Ellora Caves.

Deepak Kennal and Jayaram Poduval find basic Hindu temple architecture, artistry and sculpture in the final Buddhist Ajanta Caves and in the first Hindu Ellora Caves.

Perhaps Hindu cave temple guidelines gave collateral and direct descendants of itinerant artisans and monks architectural, artistic, sculptural gauges for ninth- to 13th-century Ellora Jain Caves. Perhaps they hindered herding Buddhist and Jain genialities into the sixth- through ninth-century Ellora Buddhist Caves and the Ellora Jain Caves 60 miles (96.56 kilometers) away. Prince Siddhartha Gautama (from Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ, "successful" and गोतम, "light [dispels] darkness"), as the enlightened Gautama Buddha (from Sanskrit बुद्ध, "awakened"), inspired the Jain disciple Upali.

The Ellora Jain Caves juxtapose no such Buddhist and Jain journeys as that of Upali, Nalanda householder and judicious disciple of Vardhamana (599/539?-527/467? B.C.E.) enlightened as Mahavira.

Upali keeping up alms-giving to Jain communities and alms-earning for Buddhist communities kindled nothing architecturally, artistically, sculpturally in the cavern temples of the Ellora Jain Caves.

Jain founder Mahavira lost his foremost disciple, Upali, during Buddhist and Jain debates between Gautama Buddha and Jain ascetic Digha Tapassi over mental versus physical karma. Tapassi mentioned kayadanda (from Sanskrit कायदण्ड, "bodily action") as "the rod that is the body" and the most reprehensible in karma (from Sanskrit कार्म, "deed, work"). Gautama Buddha noted that the mental acts, not the physical actions, of ever-increasing numbers of respectively Buddhist and Jain practitioners nurture nourishing forests from nullified cities.

Gautama Buddha opining four observations about mental acts, three obstacles to conversion and lifelong offerings to Jain communities occasioned Upali Gahapati's conversion, not the Ellora Jain Caves.

Architectural, artistic, sculpted presentations of one boy and two men who passed from Hinduism into Buddhism under the name Upali never prettify the Ellora Jain Caves.

Upali Gahapati, Upali Thera and nephew Upali of the Sakya (from Sanskrit शक्य, "possible") kingdom's Kshatriya (from Sanskrit क्षत्रिय, "gentle people's defender") queued among Buddhist converts. Upali of Rajagaha ranked among the boy converts from the ancient Hindu religion to the new-formed Buddhism and reached the rank of Sangha monastic community member. Upali Thera the elder stored oral and written standards of Gautama Buddha's Vinaya (from Sanskrit विनय, "discipline") teachings for the Buddhist sangha (from Sanskrit संघ, "multitude").

The Ellora Jain Caves never trip up on which Upali turned from Hinduism to Jainism to Buddhism because they transmit nothing about Buddhist and Jain interfaces.

sculpture of historical Jain founder Mahavira, in padmasana (lotus pose), in Ellora Jain Cave 32; Saturday, June 27, 2015, 16:04: Shreyans69, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of sculpture of historical Jain founder Mahavira, in padmasana (lotus pose), in Ellora Jain Cave 32; Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, 07:37: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2_Mahavira_dans_la_grotte_Jain_Indra_Sabha_Ellora_cave_India.jpg; Jean-Pierre Dalbéra (dalbera), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/17265356615/

sculpture of historical Jain founder Mahavira, in padmasana (lotus pose), in Ellora Jain Cave 32; Saturday, June 27, 2015, 16:04: Shreyans69, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellora_-_Cave_32_-_Lord_Mahavira_Temple_Carvings.jpg

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