'Do Tali'. Engraving by Thomas Daniell after James Wales from Plans of Hindoo Excavations in the Mountain of Ellora, published T Daniell, London, 1803

Plan of Do-Thal cave temple at Ellora, engraved by Thomas Daniell after the drawings of James Wales. This engraving is taken from the 'Hindoo Excavations in the Mountain of Ellora near Aurangabad,' published by Thomas Daniell in 1803.

Ellora is famous for its series of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cave temples excavated into the rocky façade of a basalt cliff under the patronage of the Kalachuri, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasties between the 6th and the 9th centuries. The Do-Thal or 'two-storeyed' cave is approached through a broad forecourt with superimposed halls extending deep into the cliff. The 'first floor' consists of a large hall with a single row of columns and five excavations. The 'second floor' has a porch leading to a long columned hall and two shrines. An additional floor below the ones shown in this plan was discovered in 1876. This lower floor has two cells and a central sanctuary. The presence of both Buddhist and Hindu sculptures in the Do-Thal cave indicates that it was later converted to Hindu worship.