ELLORA By Deepanjana Klein & Arno Klein

[Manish Modi]

ELLORA
Cross-Fertilization of Style in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain Cave Temples
By Deepanjana Klein & Arno Klein
2026 • 30 × 25 cm • 260 colour plates • Hardcover • 1.5 kg
₹ 4950

For over four centuries, the basalt cliffs of Ellora echoed with the sound of hammer and chisel as generations of artists transformed a mountainside into one of humanity's greatest artistic achievements. Today, Ellora remains the world's only cave temple complex where Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments stand side by side, reflecting centuries of shared craftsmanship, artistic exchange and peaceful coexistence.

Ellora: Cross-Fertilization of Style in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain Cave Temples is the first book to explore this remarkable dialogue across the entire site. Instead of treating the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves as separate monuments, it reveals how their architecture, sculpture and artistic traditions continually influenced one another.

CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF ELLORA

Edited by Dr Deepanjana Klein, Special Advisor to the Chairperson and Director of Acquisitions and Development at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, together with Dr Arno Klein, Director of Innovative Technologies at the Child Mind Institute, New York, this landmark volume grew from a challenge posed by the renowned art historian Dr Pratapaditya Pal: to capture the true essence of Ellora.

Moving beyond chronology and iconography, the book explores the movement of artisans between caves, the sharing of architectural ideas across religious traditions, the reuse of sacred spaces, unfinished monuments, changing patterns of patronage, and the rich visual record that documents Ellora from the nineteenth century to the digital age.

A LANDMARK WORK OF SCHOLARSHIP

This richly illustrated volume examines every aspect of Ellora, the UNESCO World Heritage Site excavated between c. 600 and 1000 CE, including:

• The chronology and development of all 34 principal caves

• Artistic exchange between Buddhist, Hindu and Jain traditions

• Architecture, sculpture and iconography

• Patronage, monastic life and religious practice

• Unfinished caves and the process of excavation

• Ellora's relationship with neighbouring artistic centres

• Colonial documentation and modern digital recording

EXTRAORDINARY VISUAL DOCUMENTATION

Illustrated with 260 superb colour plates, the volume also includes:

• Detailed architectural plans

• Rare nineteenth-century aquatints by Thomas Daniell based on James Wales

• Pioneering photographs by Raja Lala Deen Dayal

• MF Pithawalla's exquisite watercolours

• James Burgess's original Archaeological Survey plans

• Extensive contemporary photography and digital documentation

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CONTENTS AT A GLANCE

• Foreword: Naman P. Ahuja

• Preface: Deepanjana Klein

• My Guru: Professor Walter Spink — Stanislaw J. Czuma

• Introduction — Deepanjana Klein

• Power, Prestige and the Greatest Hindu Myths at Ellora — Deepanjana Klein

• The Buddhist Cult of Images and the Business of Buddhist Monasticism — Nicolas Morrissey

• Through a Jain Lens: Artistic Process and Exchange at Ellora — Lisa N. Owen

• Unfinished Work at Ellora — Vidya Dehejia

• Ellora and its Neighbours: Religious and Artistic Cross-Pollination in Maharashtra — Pia Brancaccio

• Archival Documentation and the Colonial Gaze — Deepanjana Klein

• Glossary

• Bibliography

• Contributors' Biographies

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Beautifully produced and meticulously researched, Ellora offers a fresh perspective on one of India's greatest cultural treasures. Combining authoritative scholarship with outstanding photography, it is an essential addition to every library of Indian art, architecture and religion.

Now available from Hindi Granth Karyalay. Worldwide shipping available.

HOW TO ORDER
Available through our bookstore and mail-order service via email and WhatsApp.

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