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Sunday, June 23, 2019

Visiting Elephanta Caves


Visiting Elephanta Caves

The famed 'Gateway of India'& 'Taj Hotel' of Mumbai in one frame
             We had a full day to ourselves on the second day of visit to Mumbai, as for the half day on our first day of our visit, we had explored visiting Mumbai, which is detailed in my previous blog (titled ‘Visiting Mumba’).  We had planned a visit to the famed Elephanta Caves on the second day.  I tried to glean some information from the reception clerk of the Hotel regarding ferry timings from the famed ‘Gateway of India’, but he did not have much information, except for that the ferry ride starts at 10.00 A.M.  Since I too could not gather much information, I decided to start from the hotel at around 9.00 A.M.  However, the late serving of B’fast, despite my having instructed them on the previous day, delayed our scheduled visit by about 20 minutes and we started only around 9.20 A.M.  The weather was a bit sultry that day, but when I reached the famed ‘Gateway of India’, I found that there was no dearth of boats leaving for Elephanta Caves and there were a plethora of operators offering return trips from as low as Rs.140/- per person onwards to average of Rs.200/- per person, depending upon the size of the boat used for ferrying and the service starts from around 9.00 A.M onwards.

The ferry boats at Gateway of India jetty ready to ferry passengers to Elephanta Caves
All set to embark on the journey to Elephanta Caves
As the Sea Gulls fly alongwith the ferry boat
Waiting for the train ride at Gharapuri island
               Lovingly called the City of dreams, Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and is brimming with life 24X7.  One of the most famous monuments of Mumbai is the ‘Gateway of India’, which was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Many in 1924.  The monument is a huge gate like structure constructed in Indo-Saracenic architecture style, overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Mumbai harbor and it took four years to complete this structure.  The area is a sought after destination by both domestic as well as foreign tourists visiting Mumbai and being set with background of the famed Taj Hotel, a large number of instant photo makers will converge on you to get a photograph taken with either of the structures as background and do a brisk business.  Besides this there are hordes of other vendors pedaling their wares from balloons to food items, who will also bicker you to buy their products.  But the main thing that the tourists must be aware of is that being an overcrowded location, especially the ferry ticket counter area, it is infested with notorious pick pockets etc., therefore, visitors should be extra vigilant in this region.
As the climb for the Elephanta Caves begins 
            Since the mechanized boats ferrying passengers to the Elephanta Cave start the journey from the small jetty at the Gateway of India, there are a plethora of boats of all sizes, shapes and colour jostling along the jetty, waiting for their turn to pick up their load of passengers.  The Elephanta Caves are situated about 11 Kms from the Gateway of India on an island called Gharapuri, which is also called the ‘Island of the Caves’.  The journey from the Gateway of India to the island takes about 45 minutes to an hour depending upon the type of boat one has purchased tickets for and from the jetty of the island, it is another 1.5 to 2 Kms. trek to the base of the hills, wherefrom about a 100 odd stairs take you to the hill top.  However, there is a small train like contraption that ferries passengers from the jetty to the base of the hillock and it’s ticket costs Rs.10/- for a return journey and during the hot summer days it saves a person a lot of hard work and sweat, if one chooses to travel by it.  We immensely enjoyed our ferry ride from the Gateway of India to the Island of Caves, with the Sea Gulls flying around the sea breeze making the journey a pleasant & memorable one.  Occasional sighting of huge tankers or other ships, including a cruise ship was an added bonus during the trip through the Arabian Sea.
We finally reach the famed Elephanta Caves
The entry to Cave No.1
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside 
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (2)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (3)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (4)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (5)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (6)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (6)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (7)
Cave No.1 - The sculpture inside (8)
           Historically, the Elephanta caves date back to the 2nd Century B.C, wherein some relics related to Buddhist culture have been discovered.  The rock cut caves are attributed to medieval India and are dated back to 450 to 750 A.D.  Being an important trade route, this island remained under control of various Kings right from 400 AD and the rock hewn caves are attributed to have been constructed during the reign of Pulakesin-II of the Chalukya dynasty of Badami.  The most important amongst the caves is the great Cave 1, which measures 39 metres from the front entrance to the back and the main body of the cave, excluding the porticos on the three open sides and the back aisle, is 27 metres square and is supported by rows of six columns each.  The layout of the caves, including the pillar components, the placement and division of the caves into different parts, and the provision of a sanctum or Garbhagriha of sarvatobhadra plan, are important developments in rock-cut architecture. The Elephanta Caves emerged from a long artistic tradition and one will see some of the highest watermarks of medieval India's sculptural art.
Cave No.2 - The entry to the cave 
Cave No.2 - The sculpture inside (1)
Cave No.2 - The sculpture inside (2)
As we return back - the view of Gateway of India and Taj Hotel from the sea.
               The Cave number 1 is resplendent with various stone cut motifs and sculptures and the chief amongst them is the 7-metre-high masterpiece “Sadashiva” that dominates the entrance to Cave. The sculpture represents three aspects of Shiva: the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer, identified, respectively, with Aghoraor Bhairava (left half), Taptapurusha or Mahadeva (central full face), and Vamadeva or Uma (right half). Representations of Nataraja, Yogishvara, Andhakasuravadha, Ardhanarishwara, Kalyanasundaramurti, Gangadharamurti, and Ravanaanugrahamurti are the other forms that can be viewed in this gallery.  The details of the sculptures or motifs in Cave are detailed as follows –
Slaying of Andhakasura  : Depicting Shiva slaying a demon called Andhaka. One of the most animated panels in Elephanta. Shiva is represented with eight arms in this panel.
Kalyana Sundara : The more humanly theme of marriage depicted in this panel. Arguably, Parvathi is portrayed superbly than Shiva in this panel, with her her head slightly tilted towards him with a hint of coyness.
Shiva-Parvathi : One of the highly damaged panels in Elephanta. This depicts Shiva and Parvathi engaged in a game of dice. The divine couple tries to cheat each other in the game as much as possible, though Shiva loses in all the games. Shiva loses everything, the trident,moon, earrings, snake and even the loincloth.  The mythology is associated with a complex philosophy.
Nataraja  : Nataraja, literally translate as the king/lord of dance.
In mythology Shiva is considered as the cosmic dancer, who performs his divine dance to destroy the weary universe.
Ravana Shaking Kailasa  : Ravana, unsuccessfully tries to lift Kailash, the adobe of Shiva. There are popular mythical stories associated with the Demon king Ravana, the lord of Lanka and Lord Shiva.
Mahayogi Shiva  : A rare posture of Shiva meditating on a lotus. Considered as the aadiyogi ( or the first guru of Yoga) by the Yoga tradition,  Shiva is depicted as the original master of yoga.
Gangadhara: The story depicting Shiva bringing River Ganga to earth. The fall of the river is so powerful that Shiva has to make it fall on his matted hair first, before it further descends.
Mahesh Murthy : The three headed iconic image representing three aspects of Shiva. The masterpiece image of Elephanta. It's debatable to find a more spectacular sculptural expression created during or after the medieval period in India.
Ardhanarishvara : Probably the most mystical theme to narrate. Shiva and Parvathi as a single body, depicting the complex philosophical theme of male-female energy of the universe.
Here is a short video of the travel to the Island and the caves

N.B - Some of the details have been browsed from the UNESCO website
© S Roy Biswas

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