Elephanta island off the Mumbai coast can be reached by ferries. Total travel time by ferry to the island is one hour.
After going around island by exploring the caves we took the last ferry at 5:30 p.m back to Mumbai.
The sunset over the sea was simply gorgeous.
In the backdrop one can see the skyline of Mumbai.
Elephanta is famous for the magnificent Great Cave. But there are also other caves here that are not in great shape. One among them is Cave No. 4 built anytime between 6th and 7th century A.D.
It has a portico in front of the cave with several entrances. On either side of central entrance there was probably a chapel or room with pillars in front. The central entrance on the portico leads to a damaged shrine.
The shrine door has door-keepers at each side, leaning on dwarfs, with door-keepers and demons on the jamb and architrave. The shrine is a plain room 6 m deep by 6 m wide with a low altar, holding a Shiva Linga.
The main cave, also called the Shiva cave, Cave 1, or the Great Cave at Elephanta is the most impressive structure on the island. Built anytime between 6th and 7th century, the cave is a sculptural marvel evolved Brahmanical rock-cut architecture.
It was a Hindu place of worship until Portuguese invaded the cave in 1534, after which the caves suffered severe damage. This cave was restored in the 1970s, but the damage done was too much. In the year 1987 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The cave has a main entrance on the north with two other openings on the east and west respectively. The central hall with six rows of pillared columns, six in each row. The roof of the hall has concealed beams supported by stone columns joined together by capitals.
In the center of northern wall is the gigantic figure of Shiva as Mahesha, the Supreme God combining in himself the qualities of creator, preserver and destroyer.
Each wall of the complex has large carvings of Shiva, each more than 16 ft in height. One such panel is Gangadhara image to the right of the Trimurti. The carving which is 13 ft wide and 17 ft high is an ensemble of divinities assembled around the central figures of Shiva and Parvati. In this image Shiva has the River Ganges as she descends from heaven.
The cave is also famous for the exquisite and vibrant sculptures. The most of the sculptures here are very huge some are as high as 5 meters tall. The central figure here is that of Ardhanarishvara where sculpture's left is female and the right is male.
The Elephanta Caves is on a small island Elephanta just 11 km north-east of the Apollo Bandar, Mumbai. This is a small round island which is 7 km in circumference. The island is named after a colossal elephant found in the island, which is popularly known as ‘Gharapuri’.
After reaching the island one can either walk by a narrow road or go by a narrow-gauge toy train from the boat area to the base of the steps leading up to the caves. As the caves are located on the top of a hillock one has to climb up a flight of 600 steps to reach the caves. The island consists of two groups of caves: the first is a large group of five Hindu caves, the second, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves. The caves we visited here are:
These caves hewn from solid basalt rock have been dated to between the 5th and 8th centuries. The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the god Shiva. The sculptures here not only huge, but also magnificent and beautiful. These caves have been declared a World Heritage Site.
The place is open from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. To reach this place one has to travel by ferry or boat from the Gateway of India in the Mumbai. The journey takes 1 hour to reach the island by sea.
