32 THE ELLORA TEMPLES. 



matting. Here the road, passing through a wild 

 country, became execrable, and I leached my destina- 

 tion in a miserable plight, — my back felt broken, and 

 every bone in my body seemed to ache. How the 

 " boy " had managed to keep up with the conveyance,, 

 partly running, partly hanging on somehow, and that 

 for upwards of seventy miles, was a riddle to me, for 

 there he was, as fresh as evei', ready to pull me out 

 of the cart. I took up my quarters at the small 

 bungalow, had an excellent breakfast — curry of course, 

 although I should be sorry to guess its ingredients — 

 and spying an Indian long-chair under the verandah, 

 I ensconced myself comfortably in it, and enjoyed a 

 long siesta, until the heat had somewhat abated. I 

 then bestrode an active little Mahratta pony, and 

 made my way to the temples, about a mile from the 

 village. 



The Ellora temples, with the exception of the 

 Visarakarma, a Buddhist chaitya, or assembly hall, of 

 the fourth to sixth century, and the Indra cave, a 

 Jaina construction of the eighth century, are of Brah- 

 minical construction, belonging to the most brilliant 

 epoch of Hindu art, and exceed in magnificence any- 

 thing to be seen elsewhere in India ; they are very 



