Photograph of a sculpture at the south end of the verandah of the Indra Sabha rock-cut temple at Ellora, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, taken by Henry Mack Nepean in 1868. The spectacular site of Ellora has a group of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cave temples which extend for over 2 km on the west face of a basalt cliff. Indra Sabha is the largest of the Jain series excavated under Rashtrakuta patronage in the 9th century. A simple gateway leads to a courtyard which contains a monolithic shrine with a pyramidal roof. The interior of this double storey cave has a columned mandapa or hall with niches on the three sides and the sanctuary in the middle of the back wall. This view shows a carved figure of the Jain goddess Ambika with a child seated on her lap and a lion beneath. The columns shafts are carved with elaborate foliate and garland motifs.
Source: British Library
