 The Rashtrakutas contributed much to the architectural heritage of the Deccan . Art historian Adam Hardy categorizes their building activity into three schools : Ellora , around Badami , Aihole and Pattadakal , and at Sirval near Gulbarga . The Rashtrakuta contributions to art and architecture are reflected in the splendid rock @-@ cut cave temples at Ellora and Elephanta , areas also occupied by Jain monks , located in present @-@ day Maharashtra . The Ellora site was originally part of a complex of 34 Buddhist caves probably created in the first half of the 6th century whose structural details show Pandyan influence . Cave temples occupied by Hindus are from later periods . 
