I'd been wanting to visit these caves since my childhood... But due to sheer laziness or lack of company, i was unable to visit Elephanta.. till my vagrant feet could hold on no longer..
How to get there??
Elephanta caves is located about 10 kms north east of Gateway of India. To reach the island, one has to catch the jetty from the gateway. Economical and luxury, both types are available. I took the economical one, costs about Rs.120 for a round trip.. and it takes about 1 hr to reach..
Once u reach the island, a path leads u to the bottom of the stairway.. and 120 odd rock cut steps flanked by small shops and restaurants, leads u to the top of a hill, where the caves are located.
There is a small diesel run mini train which ferries passengers from the jetty to the base of the steps.
Entry ticket for an adult is Rs 20.
The caves are open from 9 am to 530 pm and shut on mondays.
History:
Earlier, the island was known as "Gharapuri" (Ghara: shudra priests of the shaivite temple, Puri: town)
In 1534 AD, the Portuguese landed on this island. They saw a colossal statue of an elephant in the caves and named it Elephanta caves. The statue has been now shifted to Jijamata Udyan in Byculla.
Based on the Aiholi inscriptions datable to 7th century, it can be inferred that Elephanta was initially governed by the Konkan Mauryas, when it was taken over by the Chalukyas. Afterwards, Rashtrakutas defeated the Chalukyas and thereafter it went to the Chalukyas of Kalyani in the reign of TailaII (997 AD) and from them to the Yadavas.
Allaud-din Khilji overthrew the Yadavas in 1294 AD and remained in his possession upto the 16th century.
In 1594, the island passed into the hands of the portuguese and in 1682, to the marathas.
Finally, the British occupied it in dec 1774.
The sculptures depict that it belonged to the Gupta period in medieval India, when Hindu sculpture was at its zenith.In Hinduism, there are 2 sects, namely Saivism and Vaishnavism, in which Shiva and Vishnu are regarded as the supreme respectively. The sculptures in the elephanta caves portray Saivism.
The Caves:
There are in all 5 major caves in the complex.
The Main Cave:
(The Plan of the First cave)The main cave has 3 entrances, one each pn the north, east and the west. It has a central hall and 4 vestibules. It measures about 130 sq.feet, and is supported by 36 pillars. The temple faces the north from where one enters. The whole ceiling is having fresco paintings.
Innumerable sculptures depicting various forms of Lord Shiva are seen on each and every wall of the cave.
A] Nataraja Shiva: Nataraja, the king of dancers is shown performing his mystic dance of creation. This is known as the cosmic dance of Lalit Nrutya.He is shown as setting the whole universe in motion, but he himself remains unperturbed. The wild movements of his limbs and his legs, are markedly contrasted with the serenity and dispassionateness expressed on his face. The figure of Nataraja is shown with 8 arms, but many of them are broken. There are in all 108 postures of Tandava dance. Parvati is also shown participating in the dance. But Shiva performs the Urdhva Tandava posture, in which he touches one of his legs to his head, which Parvati is unable to perform, due to delicacy of womanhood. She surrenders and admits defeat. This sculpture can also be seen in Ellora cave no.16.
On the right side, we can see Shiva's sons, Ganesh and Kumar Kartika, and above this group, we can see lord Brahma and Vishnu.
B] Shiva Shrine: It consists of a cubical cell with 4 doors facing each principal direction. On either side of each of the door, we see the figures of 8 Dwarpala, i.e. God of directions, or door keepers, standing majestically. The main temple faces east. To the East is Lord Indra, to the south is Lord Yama, to the west is Lord Varun , and to the north is Lord Kuber. In the middle of the temple stands a pedestal in the centre of which is the Shiv Linga.
C] Kalyan Siva - Sunder murti , or the Marriage of Shiva and Parvati: We can see the handsome, benevolent face of Lord Shiva, full of serenity. Parvati can be seen at Shiva's right, indicating that the actual marriage has not taken place.After marriage, she is supposed to occupy the left side. Behind her is her father Himalaya, her mother Menaka with Chauri and her brother mountain Mainak with the holy water pot. Brahma to the right is seen acting as the main priest. Lord Vishnu is also seen attending the wedding.
D] Mahesh Murti (Trimurti): This sculpture is seen right in front of the north entrance. The total height of this sculpture is 8.3 metres. It has 3 faces of lord shiva.
Central face- It is the calm face of Tatpurush, with its full sensuous lips rests on chest of mighty proportions which is adorned by rows of necklaces.One of the front hand holds a Citron,while the other is damaged which represents as a preserver of the universe.
Face on the Left- It represents shiva as Rudra i.e. Aghor, the destroyer of the universe with severe looks, cruel eyes and third bulging eye on the forehead.It also shows curling moustaches and beard.. and several snakes are seen wriggling out of his matted hair.
Face on the right- It represents Vamdeo, the beautiful God in a feminine look of creation with a calm and pacific expression. It is an ornamented statue. The left hand with bangles on the wrist
and lotus is another hand indicates creation.
E] Mahayogi Shiva: Shiva is shown as the lord of the Yogis i.e. Yogeshwara. Shiva is shown sitting on a lotus in a cross legged position, the stalk of which seems to spring out from primeval water, held by 2 Naga kings.The figure is badly damaged, but the powerful swelling chest and silent absorbed face, though damaged, exhibits great spiritual strength and calmness.
F] Andhakasura Vadh i.e. Shiva as the killer of the demons
G] Gangadhara Shiva - Descent of the Ganges : The main figure shows Shiva and his consort Parvati. Above the head of Shiva is Triveni, or the confluence of the three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.
H] Ardhanareshwar Shiva : In puranas, this form of shiva is known as Shiva- shakti. Here, half of his body is feminine and leans against the bull Nandi.
I] Shiva - Parvati laying a game of dice: Parvati here is depicted in a somewhat affectionately angry mood. Shiva has lost the game and has nothing left with him. She appears to be teasing him with a mild smile.
J] Ravana shaking Kailash : It is seen opposite to the Shiva parvati playing a game of dice.
(The entrance of the fourth cave)
(Inside the fourth cave)
(Fifth cave)
(A statue of a lion on top of the first cave)As we move ahead from the main cave, we come across 4 other caves with fluted pillars at their entrances. It has smaller caves within, which may have served to house the priests. Some caves have small shiv lingas.
The entire complex is very serene, especially on a weekday. From the edge of the hill, we can see the other hill in front. It is believed to be a home to various Buddhist caves and sculptures, like the one at Kanheri, but have been shut down for visitors. We can also see the port on the other side of the island.
Cannon Hill:
Once we get out of the complex, we come across a series of small rock cut steps leading further up to the top of the hillock above the caves. It is called as the Cannon Hill, as 2 huge iron cannons are installed over there. One is right when we reach the top , and the other one is on the other end of the hillock, a further 200-300 metres away. Monkeys are a major nuissance on this hillock. We can also see few ruins of storehouses on the way to the second cannon. One can trek down the hillock from the second cannon to reach the port on the other side of the island.
(The first Cannon)After a tiresome venturing and exploring the entire area, I relished on some cucumbers been sold by local women o the cannon hill. As for restaurants, there are plenty of them on either side of the stairway leading to the caves. MTDC restaurant is really good and the view it provides is simply amazing. On a clear day, we can even see the Mumbai shores.. and the sea provides a beautiful backdrop to enjoy a chilled mug of beer..!! (yes... they even serve Hard drinks!! ;)
As for company, no need to worry, as there are plenty of foreigners you can hook up with for an interesting conversation.And thats what i did. This guy called Nick and his girl friend Stephanie, both Australians, were having a stopover in Mumbai for 3 days before they flew back to UK, where they were working... Australians really do have an amazing beer drinking capacity!! :D
The local shops sell all sorts of memorabilia ranging from small statues to key chains and shells and post cards and books... The main occupation of the locals is fishing, but they do earn the extra bucks by this side business..
As the day began to end, I wearily made my way to the jetty... You have to pay Rs 10 extra to get to the top deck, and thats what i did.. Enjoying the cool sea breeze, the ferry moved swiftly thru the waters, passing through several Oil carriers and Navy ships nearby... And the sea gulls flying over our heads just made for an amazing view..
Finally, after an hr long journey, I reached the gateway.. it was the first time i saw the gateway and the Taj hotel from the otherside.. It was a pretty sight..
Waiting to go the Elephanta again sometime in the monsoon!! :)
View My entire Photo collection of Elephanta Caves at
http://picasaweb.google.com/Pyromaniaaac/ElephantaCaves
Bibliography : Guide to Elephanta by V. M. Wani
