Kailash temple at Ellora was built by the

Attributing a rock-cut or monolithic temple to a specific ruling dynasty rests on matching three threads together: the era the monument was carved in, the region under that dynasty's control at the time, and any inscriptional or art-historical evidence of patronage. Deccan rock architecture passed through several ruling houses over the centuries — the Chalukyas of Badami (6th-8th century CE), followed by the Rashtrakutas (8th-10th century CE) who took over the northern Deccan, while the Pallavas and later Cholas built in distant Tamil Nadu on a different timeline altogether.

The Kailasa (Kailash) temple at Ellora, in present-day Maharashtra, is dated to the mid-8th century CE and was carved top-down out of a single basalt outcrop — the largest monolithic rock-cut structure of its kind in the world. By this period, the Rashtrakutas had succeeded the Chalukyas as rulers of this exact region, and inscriptional and art-historical evidence attributes its commissioning specifically to King Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty (reigned c. 756-773 CE).

Checking the era and region against each option confirms the match and rules out the rest:

• Chalukyas: builders of the Badami cave temples and Pattadakal, but their hold over this part of the Deccan had already passed to another dynasty by the time this temple was carved.

• Cholas: a Tamil dynasty whose signature temple building (such as the Brihadeeswarar Temple) came two to three centuries later, and far to the south.

• Pallavas: known for the rock-cut rathas at Mahabalipuram, but centered on coastal Tamil Nadu, not the Deccan plateau.

• Rashtrakutas: ruled the northern Deccan, including this region, in the mid-8th century — matching both the location and dating exactly.

This convergence of era, region, and documented patronage confirms which dynasty commissioned the temple.