To which period do the sites of Ellora and Elephanta belong?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Rashtrakoot (Rashtrakuta). Ellora's most celebrated monument, the monolithic Kailasa temple, was carved out of a single rock under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the 8th century CE — the peak achievement of Rashtrakuta rock-cut architecture. The nearby Elephanta caves, famous for their Sadashiva (Trimurti) sculpture, belong to the same broad era of western Deccan rock-cut cave activity, and both sites are conventionally grouped together under this period.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) The Gurjara-Pratiharas were a north/western-Indian dynasty (centred around Kannauj) known for temples like those at Osian, not for the Ellora-Elephanta cave complexes.  (b) The Chalukyas (of Badami) are associated with early Deccan cave temples at Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal — a related but distinct rock-cut tradition, not Ellora's Kailasa temple or Elephanta.  (d) The Hoysalas (12th-13th century, Karnataka) are known for star-shaped structural temples at Belur and Halebidu — free-standing built temples, not the earlier Ellora/Elephanta rock-cut caves.

Concept: Ellora (Maharashtra) has rock-cut caves of three faiths — Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain — carved over centuries. Its showpiece, the Kailasa temple, is a single monolithic structure excavated top-down from a hillside, sponsored by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I. Elephanta Island, near Mumbai, has Shaiva rock-cut caves famed for the colossal Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva) sculpture, and is usually placed in the same broad rock-cut-architecture period.

State PCS 2021 Q99 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q99 — History PYQ with Answer