Any visitor to Bombay (now Mumbai) will not ignore visiting the famous Elephanta caves. Actually, Elephanta is a beautiful island with an area of 5 miles and about 10 kms from the Apollo port which can be reached through a streamer or a boat. Elephanta is a modern name given to it in the 17th century.
In ancient times its original name was Sripuri, it was also called Gharapuri. The Mouryas ruled it in the early period. It was then a part of Konkana. When the great Karnataka emperor Pulakeshi II came to the throne, he defeated the Mouryas and this island including Maharashtra became a part of Karnataka.
Pulakeshi II appointed his own Governors who ruled this area which was a part of ancient Karnataka. Subsequently, the Rashtrakutas of Karnataka became the masters of this area including parts of Maharashtra. After the decline of Rashtrakutas, the Maharashtra area became a part of the Chalukyas of Kalyana. Even parts of Gujarat came under the rule of Chalukyas and they were known as Chalukyas.
After the decline of Chalukyas, Yadavas became the masters of Maharashtra. The Yadavas also called as the Sevunas, who were of Karnataka origin, exercised their control over Maharashtra. Thus, till about 14th century, Maharashtra and its many parts were under the rule of Karnataka.
Sadly, no book on history highlights this Karnataka supremacy over Maharashtra as our historians are highly modest and shy of the achievements of their own forefathers. They could not match the great historians like Attekar and Bhandarkar who dominated the scene then. That is how we have suffered. A time has come now to assert ourselves and rewrite our history by our own historians. That is a different matter to be discussed in another article.
The Portuguese occupied this island in the year 1673. They saw a huge elephant which was guarding one of the temples built in this island which was prominent by its presence. The old name had been forgotten and hence the Portuguese called it as the cave of Elephant which in course of time became Elephanta. Unfortunately, our Government which showed keen ness in changing Bombay into Mumbai has not thought of changing Elephanta into Sripuri, the ancient name of this place. This shows that we lack political and cultural will.
When the Portuguese occupied this area they used this cave as a cattleshed as it was dark inside. After some years, the Marathas defeated the Portuguese and occupied this Island. They realised the importance of the cave and made it tidy. The Marathas lost the power and it came under the British in 1774. The early East India Company officers, who had no respect for Indian culture, used it to store their ammunition. In the course of their control, Edward VII visited Bombay and as he liked the island, a dinner party was arranged here in 1875.
Subsequently, the Archaeological Department recognised its importance and declared it as a national monument and it is now the nation's pride.
Even though there are six caves and some minor monuments in this island, Elephanta cave is the most important and well known. This is a cave or a rock - cut structure with a length of 130 ft and height of 17 ft. It has an inner enclosure which contains huge decorated pillars and it is believed that this cave was excavated in about 8th century AD during the time of the Rashtrakutas.
The cave is ordinary, but still it has become great because of the very tall and elegant huge sculptures that are carved in this temple. The most important sculpture is the three - faced one which is 21 ft. broad and 18 ft. tall. Perhaps, this is the biggest single sculpture in India. It is carved on the back wall of the cave. Though technically it is alleviating, it gives the impression of a sculpture in the round. When it was first discovered, it was thought to be a sculpture of Trimurthi consisting of Brahma, Vishnu and Eshwara. It was considered like that for some time.
After more study and research, it came to be identified as three aspects of Siva himself called Mahesha. The central face facing straight is called Tatpurusha or Mahadeva. The chubby face, half - closed eyes in meditation and expressing divine grace, with broad shoulders and the tall crown make it one of the best sculptures. The minute decorations are especially noteworthy.
If we forget for a moment the other two faces, it would look like an independent sculpture. The face on the left represents Vamadeva, another aspect of Siva. It is connected with Parvathi and hence looks feminine in grace. With acute decorations and ornaments of different types, it is more graceful than the central face.
To the right is another face representing Aghora or Bhairava. The ferociousness of the face is easily visible and provides a contrast to the other two faces. His anger is easily shown by thick lips and the mustache and a mild beard. The locks of hair and the serpent he holds adds to his ferocious nature. Thus, the sculptor has been highly successful in portraying three different opposite moods in one sculpture.
In addition to this, there are some sculptural panels. The most beautiful one is Ravana shaking Kailasa. Though Siva is smiling, Parvathi out of fear hugs him. In another panel, Siva is shown as killing demon Andhaka. Others are Ardhanarishwara and Nataraja. Thus, the entire cave is full of Siva and his abode. Next time when you visit this cave, be proud that it was a contribution from Karnataka Kings and bow your head in reverence.
