If the Satavahanas planted the seed of Deccan Buddhist art, it was the Rashtrakutas who produced its most magnificent flowering. This dynasty, which controlled the Deccan from approximately 753 CE to 982 CE, was one of the most powerful empires in medieval Asia — defeating the Gurjara-Pratihara kings of north India, conquering the Pallavas of Tamil Nadu, and sending embassies to the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad.
Their cultural ambitions matched their political ones. The Kailasa Temple at Ellora — the largest monolithic structure in the world — was begun under King Krishna I (circa 756 CE) and continued under his successors. The inscription on the cave reads: when the architect saw the completed temple, he exclaimed "How was it possible? How was it possible?" — even he, who had built it, could not fully comprehend what had been achieved.
The Rashtrakutas were religiously pluralistic in the manner of many great dynasties — Hindu rulers who patronised Buddhist monasteries and allowed Jain temples to be built within sight of their own Hindu shrines. All three cave traditions at Ellora coexisted during the Rashtrakuta period, creating the extraordinary multi-faith complex that UNESCO recognised.
What drove such extraordinary architectural ambition? Partly competition — with the Chalukyas to the south, whose own rock-cut achievements at Badami and Aihole were well known. Partly genuine spiritual aspiration — the Kailasa Temple's dedication to Shiva reflects sincere devotion rather than mere political display. And partly the specific quality of the Deccan basalt, which allowed artists to execute their most ambitious imaginings without structural constraint.
The legacy of the Rashtrakutas is visible in every stone of the Kailasa Temple — still, after 1,300 years, the most extraordinary thing any human civilisation has ever done with a mountain.
