Jain Temples At Ellora Caves Editorial Photo

At the north end of Ellora are the five Jain caves belonging to the Digambara sect, which were excavated in the ninth and early tenth centuries.These caves are smaller than the Buddhist and Hindu caves but nonetheless feature highly detailed carvings. They, and the later-era Hindu caves, were built at a similar time and both share architectural and devotional ideas such as a pillared veranda, symmetric mandapa and puja (worship).[74] However, unlike the Hindu temples, emphasis is placed on the depiction of the twenty-four Jinas (spiritual conquerors who have gained liberation from the endless cycle of rebirths).[75] In addition to these Jinas, the works at the Jain temples include carvings of gods and goddesses, yaksa (male nature deity), yaksi (female nature deity) and human devotees prevalent in Jain mythology of 1st millennium CE.