The Wounded Monolith: Aurangzeb’s Campaign Against Ellora’s Kailasa Temple" – emphasizes endurance amidst destruction.

The Ellora Caves, particularly the iconic Kailasa Temple (Cave 16), suffered targeted iconoclasm during the era of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the late 17th century, with idols and sculptures deliberately defaced as part of broader religious zealotry.

Historical Context

Ellora Caves feature intricate Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain rock-cut art from the 6th to 10th centuries, including the monolithic Kailasa Temple carved from a single basalt cliff.

Aurangzeb, ruling from 1658–1707, enforced strict Islamic policies in the Deccan region near Aurangabad, leading to desecration of anthropomorphic imagery deemed idolatrous.

Nature of Destruction

Aurangzeb reportedly ordered the demolition of Kailasa Temple around 1682, deploying thousands of laborers—accounts vary from 1,000 to 5,000—for up to three years to chip away at sculptures and paintings.

 Workers focused on breaking idols and faces, causing substantial damage to figurative art while leaving architectural elements and natural motifs largely intact, reflecting systematic iconoclasm rather than total obliteration.

Scale of Mercilessness

This effort exemplified ruthless fanaticism, as Muslim armies methodically targeted "offensive" religious icons across the Deccan from the 15th to 17th centuries, with Ellora's damage linked to Aurangzeb's campaigns.

 Despite prolonged siege-like labor, the temple's immense scale thwarted complete destruction, highlighting the cruelty of persistent, state-backed vandalism against irreplaceable heritage.

Lasting Impact

While natural weathering and neglect compounded the harm, the iconoclastic attacks erased much of the caves' vivid artistry, yet the structures endure as a UNESCO site.

 Medieval sources note even some Muslim contemporaries deplored such wanton violation of beauty.