Kokasa was a craftsman, sculptor and architect from ancient India. Several Jain texts from the 5th century onwards mention legends about him, crediting him with building flying machines. Inscriptions from the 12th century onwards mention several sculptors and artists who describe themselves as descendants of Kokasa. Marathi-language legends from the 15th century onwards suggest that he was the architect of the Kailasha Temple at Ellora.
Overview of sources
Several historical literary texts and inscriptions mention Kokasa and his descendants. The earliest of these is the Jain text Vasudeva-hindi; this text is probably from the 5th century, but Dhammilla-hindi - the section that mentions Kokasa - is a later addition to the original text. The earliest surviving inscription to mention Kokasa is from 1159 CE.
Variants of Kokasa's name that appear in various sources include Kukkasa, Kukkāsa, Kokkasa, Kakkosa, and Kokkāsa. Pukvasa, mentioned in Budhasvamin's Brhat-katha-shloka-samgraha, appears to be another name for Kokasa. Different records associate Kokasa with different places, including western India (Sopara, Paithan, Ellora); central India (Ujjain, Alhaghat, Jabalpur, Jejakabhukti, Ratanpur); eastern India (Tosali and Tamralipti); and Yavana-desha beyond India.
In Jain texts
Kokasa finds a mention as a master craftsman in several Jain texts, including Vasudeva-hindi, Avashyaka-churni, Avashyaka-niryukti, Dasvaikalika Churni, Visheshavashyaka Bhashya, and Harisena's Brihat-Katha-Kosha.
According to the Dhammilla-hiṇḍi section of Vasudeva-hindi, Kokasa was a native of Tamalitti (Tamralipti), and his name derived from the word kukkusa ("husk"). He went to Yavana-desha (the land of the Greeks) with a caravan of traders that included Dhana-vasu, son of Dhana-pati. There, he learned woodcraft from a local carpenter. After returning to Tamralipti, he became a reputed artist, and gained the local king's attention when he built some mechanical doves. He then made an aerial car for the king, but because of the overweight queen, the car landed in Tosali. Kokasa then built flying machines for the king of Tosali. Kokkasa kept his knowledge secret, and when his father-in-law pressed him to divulge the information, he disappeared with his wife to an unknown place.
According to Avashyaka-churni (c. 6th century CE), Kokasa was a carpenter from Surparaka (Sopara). Using his knowledge of crafts (shilpa-vidya), he made mechanical pigeons and a mechanical garuda that could fly. Unlike the Vasudeva-hindi, this text does not mention the Yavanas, and Kokasa ("Kokkasa") learns his skill in Sopara.
In medieval Marathi literature
Kokasa appears as Kokas vadhai (or vāḍhiyā, "carpenter") in medieval Marathi texts such as Lila-charitra and Katha-Kalpataru. Shri-krishna-charitra, a Mahanubhava text, identifies him with the demon Margajasura who was killed by Krishna.
A legend in Katha-Kalpataru of Krishna Yajnavalki (c. 1470-1535 CE) suggests that Kokasa and his team of 7000 artisans built the Kailasha Temple at Ellora. According to this legend, the king Ela (or Yelurai) of Alajapura (modern Achalpur) suffered from a disease during night-time because of a sin that he had committed in his previous birth. His queen Manikavati prayed to god Ghrishneshwar at Elapura (Ellora) to cure her husband, promising to build a temple dedicated to Shiva, and vowing to observe a fast until she could see the shikhara (top) of the temple. The king was cured after he bathed at a tank at Mahisamala (modern Mhaismal) during a hunting expedition. To fulfill the queen's promise, the king summoned many artists, who declared that it would take at least 16 months to build a temple complete with a shikhara. Kokasa, a famous shilpi who lived in Pratishthana (modern Paithan), assured the king that the queen would be able to see the shikhara in a week's time. He began to carve out the shikhara of the rock temple from the top. The temple was named Manikeshwar after the queen, and a new settlement around the temple was named Elapura after the king.
Verul Mahatmya, a text glorifying Ellora (Verul), narrates the same legend with minor variations. The present form of this text was compiled a local Brahmin named Vinayakbuwa Topre in 1844, but it contains stories found in older texts. The text refers to Kokasa as the son of the divine architect Vishvakarma.