The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical factors of e-learning and examine the influence of these factors on learning success among undergraduate engineering students in India. Exploratory research is carried out to determine the critical success factors of e-learning. The data from 307 respondents was collected using an online survey with the snowball technique. The causal relationship between the factors of e-learning and the success of e-learning was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). The exploratory study identifies control, quality of education, platform design, online peer support, perceived usefulness, diversity of assessment, pricing, effort expectancy, and awareness as the critical success factors. The result indicates control, perceived usefulness, platform design, pricing, and quality of education support e-learning success. The theoretical model presented in this paper is the first of its kind and would enable researchers to understand e-learning from a holistic perspective. The factors developed would act as a guideline for future researchers who would like to analyse e-learning in different contextual settings. This study serves as a potential aid to higher education institutions that encourage e-learning in their curriculums.