Inscriptions at Ellora

Several inscriptions at Ellora range from 6th century to 15th century. The best known of them is an inscription of Rashtrakuta Dantidurga (c. 753 57 A.D.) on the back wall of the front mandapa of Cave 15, which gives an account of his conquests. Inscriptions on the Kailash temple itself range from 9th to 15th century. Jain cave Jagannatha Sabha has 3 inscriptions that give the names of monks and donors. A Parshvanth temple on the hill has a 11th century inscription that gives the name of the donor from Vardhanapura.The Great Kailasa (Cave 16) is attributed to Krishna I (c. 757 83 A.D.), the successor and uncle of Dantidurga. A copper plate grant by Karka II (c. 812 13 A.D.) narrates that a great edifice was built on a hill by Krishnaraja at Elapura (Ellora).The Ellora caves, unlike Ajanta, were never lost. There have been several written records that indicate that these caves were visited regularly. The earliest is that of the Arab geographer Al Masudi of the 10th century A.D. In 1352 A.D. Sultan Hasan Gangu Bahmani, who camped at the site and visited the caves. The others are by Firishta, Thevenot (163367), Niccolao Manucci (1653 1708), Charles Warre Malet (1794), and Seely (1824)