The Ellora caves were carved into the sides of a basaltic rock of the Charanadari hill in Deccan, at Aurangabad. There are 34 caves at Ellora, covering a distance of about 2-km in length, of which 12 of the caves are of Buddhist most probably of 600 AD to 800 AD, 17 are of Hindus from the period of 600 AD - 900 AD and the rest are of Jain from 800 AD - 1000 AD.

The Buddhist caves are mainly situated to right to the curve of the Charanadari Hill, then there are the Hindu caves & finally, the Jain cave temples to the far left. These rock sculptures show the elements from the Vajrayana School of Buddhism that was permeated with primitive ideas of magic and mysticism. This can be noticed with the presence of the dwarapalas to each doorway; the gigantic Boddhisattavas and their consorts have a robust earthiness in appearance. It is the architectural skill rather than the sculptural aesthetics that makes presence of Ellora noted.