ELEPHANTA CAVES – Places in Mumbai
ELEPHANTA CAVES – Places in Mumbai

The Elephanta Island is the site of the magnificent Elephanta caves, containing beautiful carvings, sculptures, and a temple to the Hindu God, Lord Shiva. These caves are located at a distance of 1 I-km from Mumbai and are now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The island of Elephanta, being a commercial, military and religions centre for centuries has traces of early Buddhist culture.

HISTORY

The Elephanta caves are thought to date back to the Silhara kings belonging to the period between 9th - 12th centuries. With the Brahminical resurgence during the reign of Gupta dynasty in 3rd century AD, these great caves dedicated to Lord Shiva exploded into existence at Elephanta. Legends and history suggest that the great warrior prince of Chalukya dynasty Pulkesin II raised the shrine to celebrate his victory. Some historians also suggest that these caves were built by the Kalchuri King Krishnaraja in 6th century AD.

As worship of the figure of the Buddha began to beencouraged with the rise of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism, ashrine was introduced to house Buddha’s image, replacing the cells atthe centre of the back wall.The Monasteries of Ajanta lead us directly to Elephanta. It appears that the same families of craftsmen and sculptors who were working on the Kailasa temple of Ellora and adjoining Buddhist caves at Ellora were employed at Elephanta.

AN EXQUISITE EXSAMPLE OF ROCK-CUT ARTISTRY

No doubt the cave was the creation of an unknown genius, a master architect, who having thoroughly absorbed and assimilated the magnificent contribution of his predecessors in the dual traditions of the independent free standing sculpture and rock-cut architecture, produced a monument which introduced a whole new world of form quite distinct from any previous achievement.

The island was the capital of the powerful coastal kingdom and the excavations of the coves in the 6th century added to the glory of the kingdom. Later the Portuguese took possession of the island and as they first found a monolith elephant, the island was named Elephanta.

It is believed that the caves were used as target practice after they constructed a fort and put a flag to ward off pirates. Whatever the cause may be, many of the sculptures have been desecrated. From the Portuguese, the Britishers captured the island and tried to find out who had built these caves, but failed. The Britishers planned to take the monolith elephant to England but they could not lift it. It is now kept in the Bombay Museum.

The island rises in two conical hillocks. The architectural sculpters carved out of solid basalt rock create a representation of the heavenly mountain residence of Lord Shiva. Opening out from three sides, the temple lets in light from many angles making the sculptures seem to move with the changing angles of light.

Inside the temple is a large hall, with nine sculptured panels representing Lord Shiva in different moods. The temple plan is so symmetric with important focal points worked out in a geometric Mandala (the design that represents the energy field). Flights of steps, which can prove to bevery daunting, take one to the caves. One can also hire a chair to be carried up. Today the caves can be easily approached, but think of the time when the artisan used only the contours of the hill to reach the top and then chiselled out the basalt rocks to give it the shape of heavenly abode of Shiva. He has tried to create the cave similar to the one in which Shiva resides in the Himalayas.

The pillars inside the cave give an impression that these pillars support the roof. Again the cross beams on the roof makes the visitor feel there is a ceiling of the caves. The pillars have been deliberately kept simple as to attract the attention towards the exquisite carvings on the panels, which are nine in number. There are three openings to the caves, which allow light to enter from various angles in different seasons giving an impression that the images are moving with transition of light.

HOW TO GET THERE - BOAT

The Elephanta Island is accessible only by boat from the Gateway of India, Mumbai. A chugging ferry ride from the Gateway of India, surpassing the fishing boats, large ships, little islands, occasionally leaping fishes, and it takes 15 minutes to reach the Elephanta Island.