The Elephanta Caves

Elephanta is an island in Mumbai harbour, reached by an hour on an open ferry from the Gateway of India. The main cave was cut into the basalt hillside around the sixth century, a pillared hall with side chapels and, on the back wall, the Trimurti, a three-headed bust of Shiva some five and a half metres high, carved with a stillness that survives the damage around it. Other panels show Shiva as dancer, as ascetic and joined with Parvati, several of them battered by centuries of weather and neglect. Four smaller caves further along the hill are usually empty. Nothing about the island looks dramatic from the water; the interest is entirely inside the rock.

History

The island was probably settled by the 2nd century BC, when Hinayana Buddhists raised a large stupa here with seven smaller ones around it, and coins of the Western Satraps of the 4th century CE have been found. The date of the cave temples has long been disputed: colonial-era historians credited them to the Rashtrakutas of the 7th century or later, a theory since discredited, while the Archaeological Survey of India and UNESCO date them to the 5th-6th century, and contemporary scholars place their completion in the second quarter of the 6th century, attributing them to King Krishnaraja of the Kalachuri dynasty. Most of the artwork has been defaced and damaged, and the site is a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Elephanta Caves).

What you'll find

• The Trimurti - a three-headed Shiva carved in high relief on the rear wall of the main hall.
• The main pillared hall - rows of cut columns holding up a low ceiling of solid basalt.
• The side panels - large relief scenes of Shiva, some heavily damaged, ranged around the hall.
• The harbour crossing - the hour on deck past ships and cranes to the island jetty.

When to go

Ferries run from roughly nine in the morning until mid-afternoon and do not operate during the monsoon, from about June to September, when the harbour is rough. November to March is dry and cooler. Go on the first or second boat: the caves are quiet then, and the return sailings fill up badly in the afternoon.

Practical notes

The site is closed on Mondays, which strands people who did not check. From the jetty it is a long causeway walk and around a hundred and twenty steps up, lined with souvenir stalls the whole way, or a small toy train and then the steps anyway. Monkeys snatch food and loose bags. Much of the sculpture is damaged, and the caves are dim.

Nearby

The Gateway of India and the museums of Colaba are at the ferry pier in Mumbai.