The Yajnasala of Kailasa at Ellora and Identification of some of its Sculptures

Summary

In this article, R. Sengupta investigates a subsidiary shrine in the south wall of the great Kailāsa temple at Ellora, popularly called the Yajñaśālā or Hall of Sacrifice. Although local guides have long used this term, its significance has not been properly explored. Sengupta argues that the hall, which measures about 37 feet long and 15 feet wide and contains two square pillars and pilasters, was dedicated not to a generic sacrificial rite but specifically to the worship of the Mātṛkās, a group of mother goddesses. He bases this claim on a close reading of the sculptures carved on the hall’s walls. Nine goddesses are shown seated or standing, flanked by attendants, skeleton figures and animals. In the right wall panel a fierce‑looking Kāla, emaciated and naked, sits on a corpse and holds a dagger, accompanied by Kālī and an attendant; nearby a goddess with six arms holds a khaṭvāṅga and a bowl of blood. On the left wall, a female figure with a jackal gnawing at a corpse represents Cāmuṇḍā. Sengupta compares these depictions with panels in the Rāmeśvara and Rāvaṇa‑ka‑khāi caves and argues that the group should be identified as the Seven Mātṛkās accompanied by Kālī and Kālarātri. He notes that the Yajñaśālā’s sculptures differ from the more orderly Mātṛkā friezes elsewhere in Ellora, suggesting a local Rasṭrakūṭa innovation. The article also examines the nomenclature “Yajñaśālā,” noting that early visitors such as Fergusson and Burgess recorded the name as early as the nineteenth century. Sengupta proposes that the term may derive from a legendary sacrifice performed by a Rasṭrakūṭa king at Ellora to celebrate his victory or to propitiate the mother goddesses. Finally, he situates the hall within the wider iconographic programme of the Kailāsa temple. While the main shrine houses Śiva, subsidiary shrines enshrine other deities; the Yajñaśālā thus fits into a pattern of multifunctional worship spaces. Sengupta concludes that identifying the hall’s sculptures clarifies its function and enriches our understanding of Rasṭrakūṭa religious art.