Elephanta Caves
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How it came to be
Elephanta, or Gharapuri, an island in Mumbai Harbour, was lived on from the 2nd century BC, and between the mid-5th and 6th centuries cave temples were cut into its basalt hills. The main caves are dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
Cave 1 runs 39 metres from its entrance to the back. Facing the entrance is a colossal Sadashiva showing three aspects of Shiva, creator, preserver and destroyer. Reliefs of Nataraja, the lord of dance, Yogishvara and others tell Shiva's stories.
In 1534 the Gujarat Sultanate ceded the island to the Portuguese. They named it Elephanta after a huge stone elephant used as a landmark for landing boats, and the caves ceased to be a place of worship. Officials of British India began protecting them in 1909, the Indian government restored them in the 1970s, and they were inscribed in 1987.
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