Next was a temple to Ganesh (elephant god, brings good luck and prosperity). Interestingly this temple has three distinct styles incorporated into it: the top section is reminiscent of the stupa, the Buddist temple, the middle section is Dravidian, and the bottom has Roman pillars. Again, wholly carved from a single lump of rock.
This part of India has been in trading contact with almost the whole known world, including trading with Romans, Chinese, Indonesia, especially Bali (as evidenced by the Hindu influences there) and very many others.
Onto the Varaha cave, again a monolithic temple. This one has a now empty water pool in front of it, which would have required that you wash your feet to approach it. All these temples have been de-consecrated, so the same respect is not required
The first image is um, one of the gods with a pig-head, suckling on someone else, with his foot on a medusa of some kind.
And I think this was a goddess linked to fertility or something - anyway, you rub her thighs for luck. The breasts of her associates are just for those who like fondling stone breasts. Note the elephants behind her.
Here's is the eight-armed Shiva (?) - his eight arms represent him doing eight different things, not that he is actually multi-limbic.
Further along, we came to a massive (9m x 26m) open air bas relief sculpture, called Descent of the Ganges.
(More to come - it's pre-dinner drinks time)
Onto the Varaha cave, again a monolithic temple. This one has a now empty water pool in front of it, which would have required that you wash your feet to approach it. All these temples have been de-consecrated, so the same respect is not required
The first image is um, one of the gods with a pig-head, suckling on someone else, with his foot on a medusa of some kind.
And I think this was a goddess linked to fertility or something - anyway, you rub her thighs for luck. The breasts of her associates are just for those who like fondling stone breasts. Note the elephants behind her.
Here's is the eight-armed Shiva (?) - his eight arms represent him doing eight different things, not that he is actually multi-limbic.
Further along, we came to a massive (9m x 26m) open air bas relief sculpture, called Descent of the Ganges.
(More to come - it's pre-dinner drinks time)
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