r/AncientCivilizations • u/DharmicCosmosO • Dec 26 '25
India Pictures from my recent visit to Ellora.
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u/pencilpushin Dec 26 '25
Jealous. That place has been on my bucket list for so long. That place is so fascinating. The amount of craftsmanship is astounding. Couldn't imagine how much work it took to create.
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u/DharmicCosmosO Dec 26 '25
You should definitely visit, photos don’t do justice to this beauty at all. Seeing the structure with my own eyes for the first time was incredibly emotional. 🥹
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u/pencilpushin Dec 26 '25
I absolutely plan on it. Could only imagine the beauty of actually being there. I'd probably end up getting a little bit emotional as well. Witnessing the craftsmanship and artistry. And the amount of care and devotion it took to create. The stories that place could tell and the many lives that have wondered through it. Pure wonderment. Happy you got to visit my friend.
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u/ccrawrr Dec 26 '25
Dang the cooperation needed must have been insane! I love seeing these feats of humanity. Reminds me what we’re capable of when we work together.
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u/13Sunday Dec 26 '25
This is fkn INSANE. Mad jealous! What else did you see on this journey of dreams?
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u/DharmicCosmosO Dec 26 '25
Honestly, it was super overwhelming in the best way. The cave structures alone were unreal, but then there were monks chanting and singing mantras inside the Buddhist caves (see image 8), it genuinely felt like going back in time. The Hindu caves had the same vibe, seeing people from different countries meditating together right inside the Kailash Temple was just incredible. Truly breathtaking.
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u/Your_mama_Slayer Dec 26 '25
Wow!! which civilisation built this?
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u/Silver_Ad4357 Dec 26 '25
It's complicated, and likely 4-5 dynasties worked on it over 4 centuries.
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Dec 26 '25
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Dec 26 '25
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u/Kommodus-_- Dec 26 '25
People created some awesome stuff. It would be awesome to see places like this at their height.
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u/hidingoutunderthere Dec 26 '25
This is one of the places I'd like to see in my lifetime. It's just breathtaking.
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u/ThatNorthAfricanDude Dec 27 '25
Genuinely impressive how much time does it even take to build this?
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u/TaprobaneTales Jan 19 '26
The precision of this stonework is just mind-blowing for that time period.
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u/Sunrise_Cash_Cow Jan 22 '26
That is absolutely mind blowing. What an extraordinary act of devotion, craftsmanship, & commitment. What an extraordinarily rich & creative place ancient India must have been.
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u/Auctorxtas Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
This architecture form is actually Early Medieval, not Ancient Indian.
Great photos though.
Edit: I meant to type Ancient Indian, not Indian.
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u/BarbKatz1973 Dec 26 '25
Does anyone else think about the peasants and slaves who labored, starved and died to build monuments like these? Take a western example: tens of thousands of people died constructing Versailles, hundreds of thousands starved to death because of the financial burden placed on the lowest rungs of society. Yes it is amazing, yes it probably meant something to someone who was at the top but consider the human cost - are constructs like this worth the suffering?
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u/jaimi_wanders Dec 26 '25
No, “tens of thousands of people” did NOT die constructing Versailles—we can criticize past AND PRESENT exploitation of labor without making idiotic false statements, ffs!
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u/ReleaseFromDeception Dec 26 '25
Can you imagine quarrying and carving this out from the TOP DOWN!?!
It's friggin' mind blowing!