f.3 Cave 5, Ellora. 'The Dhurwaree Caves.'

Pencil and wash drawing of sculptures in the Dher Warra Cave at Ellora, from an Album of 83 drawings; 80 of landscapes and antiquities in the northem Deccan, 2 portraits and 1 flower study made during a tour chiefly to Ellora, Rauza, Daulatabad, Aurangabad and Ajanta. September to November 1849. Although the artist is unidentified, these drawings are of some interest since they show the state of the Ajanta and Ellora Caves soon after the Royal Asiatic Society had brought them to the Company's notice in 1844. Robert Gill had been deputed to make a record of Ajanta in 1846 and was presumably on the spot when these sketches were made.The spectacular site of Ellora, in Maharashtra, is famous for its series of Buddhist,Hindu and Jain cave temples excavated into the rocky façade of a cliff of basalt. Theworks were done under the patronage of the Kalachuri, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasties between the sixth and the ninth centuries. Dher Warra is a single-storey excavation in the southernmost group of the Buddhist caves which dates back to the 6th century. It consists of a long spacious hall or vihara which was used as a Buddhist monastery as it is indicated by the residential cells cut into the side walls. The two long lines of benches carved out of the floor were probably intended for the use of the monks when studying or dining. The hall is divided into three aisles by two rows of columns. This drawing depicts some figures carved in the cave.