Earth and Space News: Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 Arranges Heaven Above and Hell Below Meru

Summary: Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 acts as last built, monikered and numbered Buddhist Ellora cavern in Maharashtra, India, and as map of heaven, hell and Meru.

Sculptures in Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 depict the seven last Buddhas with different foliage for each to represent their bodhivrikshas (sacred trees); Thursday, Sep. 20, 2018, 15:14: Abhideo21, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 accounts for one of three Buddhist Ellora cavern temples monikered in Maharashtra state, western peninsular India, and archives an artistic map of heaven and hell around Mount Meru.

Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 became the last of 12 Buddhist cavern temples to be built along the 1.24-mile- (2-kilometer-) long scarp of the basalt Ellora cliffs. Ellora Buddhist Caves 10, 11 and 12, as respectively fourth-last, second-last and last Buddhist Ellora Caves constructed, carry the respective nicknames Visvakarma, Do Taal and Teen Taal. Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 divulges a commodious open court to a roomy three-story monastery with huge stone sculptures on the uppermost level and with wall-carved idols.

Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 artistically exhibits a mandala (from Sanskrit मण्डल, "circle") expression of the Buddhist three-planed universe of hell below and heaven above Mount Meru.

Itinerant artisans finished Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 under eighth- to tenth-century Rashtrakuta (from Sanskrit राष्ट्रकूट, "country chieftain") and sixth- to 13th-century Chalukya (from Sanskrit चालुक्य) rulers.

Cavern numbers give geographic position of first through last cave temples but gauge chronological order only with vihara (from Sanskrit विहार, "walking [hall]") monasteries 11 and 12. Teen Taal (from Sanskrit त्रीणि, "three" and तल, "surface") honors on uppermost levels Siddhartha Gautama (from Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ, "successful" and गोतम, "darkness-dispelling light") in huge sculptures. It illustrates bodhisattva (from Sanskrit बोधि, "enlightenment" and सत्त्व, "sentient being") reincarnations before the 550th of Siddhartha Gautama (624?-544 B.C.E.?) into Buddha (from Sanskrit बुद्ध, "awakened").

An artistic map of the Buddhist universe Chakravala (from Sanskrit चक्रवाल, "cycle") joins such artwork as bodhisattva representations and Buddha sculptures in Ellora Buddhist Cave 12.

Hindu (from Sanskrit सिन्धु, "river, stream") mythology and mass-enlightening Mahayana (from Sanskrit महायान, "great vehicle") Buddhism kindled the Buddhist universe that Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 keeps cartographically.

The heavenly plane lauded artistically in Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 lies atop Mount Meru, the middle plane above the hellish, lower plane in the Buddhist universe. Avici (from Sanskrit अवीचि, "wavelessness"), lowest of 136 sin-specific hells, maintains anti-Buddhists 500 hell years, where one day makes up 50 earth years, before earthling rebirths. Animal, demon, human and ghostly, hungry, thirsty preta (from Sanskrit प्रेत, "deceased") worlds nestle around Mount Meru, whose peak nets the Heaven of Four Great Kings

Dhritarashtra, Virudhaka, Virupaksha and Kubera (from Sanskrit धृतराष्ट्र, "kingdom-holder"; विरूढक, "sprouting grain"; विरूपाक्ष, "deform-eyed"; and कुबेर, "bad-limbed) operate respectively as East, South, West and North guardians.

Chakravala places Hindu storm god Indra's (from Sanskrit इन्द्र, "raindrop-possessing") Heaven of the 33 Divinities, between the four kings and 24 self-radiant heavens for sense-prompted pleasure-seekers.

Dhyana-loka (from Sanskrit ध्यान, "contemplation" and लोक, "world") and Arupa-loka (from Sanskrit अरूप, "formless" and लोक, "world") queue up as 20 respectively abstract-meditating, respectively formless worlds. Arhat (from Sanskrit अर्हत्, "worthy") and Buddha mass-enlighteners reside in respectively formless Arupa and abstract Chyana heavens, where the latter receives a bodyguard and two doorkeepers. Kubera, Hindu lightning god Shiva (from Sanskrit शिव, "auspicious") and Shiva's spouse Parvati (from Sanskrit पर्वति, "stone") secure Buddha and doorways in Ellora Buddhist Cave 12.

Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 treasures king god Indra's heaven over Hindu death god Yama's (from Sanskrit यम, "twin-born"), as Dharmaraja (from Sanskrit धर्मराज, "justice king"), hells.

Center row in compartment of nine square panels on back wall of hall to the left of the antechamber in Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 presents Buddha in center flanked by Avalokitesvara and Manjusri; "Panel in Tin Taal" sketch by Scottish archaeologist James Burgess (Aug. 14, 1832-Oct. 3, 1916), Report on the Elura Cave Temples (1883), Plate XIX: via Internet Archive

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

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Marriner, Derdriu. 17 July 2020. "Ellora Hindu Cave 25 Artisans Adorned Its Ceiling With Sun God Surya." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 10 July 2020. "Ellora Hindu Cave 24 Aids Artists, Scientists Analyzing Water Features." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 3 July 2020. "Ellora Hindu Cave 23 Accepts Shiva as Fertility God and as Trimurti." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 26 June 2020. "Ellora Hindu Cave 22 Allows a Fertility Bull and a Fertility God." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 19 June 2020. "Ellora Hindu Cave 18 Appeals to Hearth and Sacrificial Fire God Agni." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 22 May 2020. "Ellora Hindu Cave 21 Acclaims Shiva and Alludes to Jumna and Krishna." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 24 April 2020. "Ellora Hindu Cave 28 Accesses Waterfall Rainbows Over Ellora Caves." Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 14 February 2020. "Are Grey Junglefowl Avoiding Artful Areas Around Ellora Caves? Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Earth and Space News

Friday, November 13, 2020

Ellora Buddhist Cave 12 Arranges Heaven Above and Hell Below Meru

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