With a ground plan the size of the Greek Parthenon and a structure half as tall again , this was the work of the eighth-century Deccan king Krishna I. In the process of shaping the temple and its shrines in an area 82 m ( 265 ft ) long and some 47 m ( 150 ft ) wide , leaving the back wall of the courtyard 30 m ( 97 ft ) high , an amazing 200,000 tons of rock were cut away from the face of the hill .
No more than eight tons of rock were cut away from the hill .