Where is the most famous Kailash temple located among the cave temples?

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Correct — B, in the caves of Ellora. The Kailasa (Kailash) temple at Ellora — Cave 16 of the Ellora rock-cut complex in Maharashtra's Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) district — is a single, monolithic Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, carved top-down out of one basalt rock face on the orders of the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the 8th century CE. It is the most celebrated shrine at Ellora, a UNESCO World Heritage site that uniquely combines Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain excavations together — which is why it is 'the most famous Kailash temple among the cave temples.'

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Ajanta (also in Maharashtra) is an exclusively Buddhist rock-cut complex, famed for its Gupta-era paintings and viharas/chaityas — it has no Kailash temple.  (c) Elephanta, an island off Mumbai, is a separate rock-cut complex known for Shaivite sculpture including the Trimurti — not the site of the Kailasa/Kailash temple.  (d) Kanheri, near Mumbai, is a large Buddhist monastic cave complex of stupas and viharas — again a distinct site, with no Kailash temple.

Concept: Western India's Deccan basalt hosted several major rock-cut cave complexes — Ajanta, Ellora, Elephanta, and Kanheri chief among them. Ellora is unusual for combining Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain excavations at one site; its most celebrated shrine is the Kailasa (Kailash) temple (Cave 16) — a single monolithic Shiva temple cut top-down out of the rock face, commissioned by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I in the 8th century CE.

State PCS 2024 Q68 — Art & Culture PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2024 Q68 — Art & Culture PYQ with Answer