This transition is vividly illustrated in Cave 1 at Udayagiri, where the sanctum is excavated from living rock, while the porch in front is constructed with dressed masonry.
Cave 5, in particular, features a complex iconographic program aimed at legitimizing the royal patron as the conduit between humanity and the divine, represented by Vishnu in his boar form, while the cosmic waters threatening the human world fill the ground. Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
This interpretation could explain the use of brick in the temple of Bhitargaon, built in the 5th century, a period when one of the symbolic connotations of a temple consciously included the idea of an altar. Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
The worship of the living ascetic, a tradition deeply rooted in Indian culture, influenced early temple architecture. Cave 10 at Kondivate, where the Buddha is represented by a stupa, and housed inside a likeness of a hut in stone.