Kailasanatha Temple

Wednesday9 am–5 pm

Thursday9 am–5 pm

Friday9 am–5 pm

Saturday9 am–5 pm

Sunday9 am–5 pm

Monday9 am–5 pm

TuesdayClosed

The opening to the temple yard encompasses a deep gopuram. Ample of the divinities at the left of the openings are Shaivite, whereas the ones on the right side are primarily Vaishnavite. A two-storeyed doorway directs to a U-shaped yard, bordered by a brightly carved columned walkway, three storeys tall. Originally, bridges of rock adjoined these hallways. Though, these have plunged in the current day.

The prominent shrine is devoted to Shiva and his mount Nandi. The sanctum sanctorum rooms a huge Shivalingam and accentuates a flat-roofed mandapa, supported by 16 pillars and a shikhara constructed in the Dravidian style. The shrine also shows various pillars, windows, inner and outer compartments, and meeting galleries, all engraved with the portrayals of deities, mithunas, and further pictures.

As always, the Nandi reclines on a stoop, right in front of the shrine. The Nandi mandapa and the primary shrine are each about 7 meters in size and are constructed on two storeys. The core of the temple is engraved, to indicate that elephants are carrying the structure over. A stone bridge attaches the Nandi mandapa to the main stoop of the shrine.

There are two Dhwajasthambas in the yard. One remarkable monument is that of Ravana attempting to lift Mount Kailasa.
One can also discover five separated shrines within the temple yard. Out of these, three are devoted to the Holy River Goddesses, Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati.

•The Kailasha temple is engraved out of a single rock. It stays a dilemma as to how workers during that time managed to attain that accomplishment and build a structure of that height.

•The whole temple was engraved from top to down. It is incredible to even attempt and comprehend how the crafters would have successfully completed this; that too, with only rudimentary tools like hammer, chisels and picks accessible to them at that time.

•The Kailasanatha temple has the biggest cantilevered rock roof in the world. And this was built in 700 AD; probably even before.

•Larger in area than the Pantheon in Greece, it is told that more than four hundred thousand tons of rock had been removed out to construct this temple!

•The temple was apparently formulated so as to mimic Mount Kailash. The pyramidal pattern of the primary shrine is thought to exemplify the real structure of Mount Kailash.

•It is speculated that work happened hardly 16 hours a day. Since there was no electricity in those days, the sun’s beams and the moonlight were reflected onto mirrors to help the crafters proceed with their work. Nonetheless, there are numerous internal parts of the building, where the sun’s rays cannot reach, no matter how many mirrors are used for the objective. It is amazing to speculate how the workers had managed extremely detailed carvings and monuments in those places.