TRAVERSE 152
heat , the dark innards a welcoming introduction . These were built in the tradition of the Mahayana form of Buddhism , the common in this area of the Charanandri hills . Then came the Brahmanical caves with their exquisite detail amongst giant single pieces of stone carved into numerous temples and shrines . The last section is of the Jaina faithful .
Voices echoed throughout the individual temples , yet all softly spoken , such was the acoustics of the complex , deliberately designed to allow the faithful outside to hear from the inner sanctum . My mind wandered yet again to the complexities of it all and how it was created .
“ He wants you take photograph him ,” a middle-aged man , of the Hindu faith approached me , his adult son in tow translating the conversation . “ This is his passion , and he wants you to document that he was here .”
With a shrug I snapped a few images , it unleashed a torrent of
Hindi that was so fast I couldn ’ t pick one word from . His son smiled and nodded in agreement to something I failed to comprehend .
“ He ’ s explaining the history of where we are ,” the son suggested . This was a history , not of the complex but of this particular temple .
This was Kailasa , cave sixteen , the largest of the monolithic structures , not only in the complex but perhaps the whole of India . Constructed of the Brahmic style it is one single piece of stone that was cut from
TRAVERSE 152