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Elephanta Caves

UNESCO World Heritage Site
The 5.45 metres (17.9 ft) high Trimurti sculpture
LocationElephanta Island, Maharashtra, India
CriteriaCultural: i, iii
Reference244
Inscription1987 (11th Session)
Coordinates18°57′48″N 72°55′53″E / 18.96333°N 72.93139°E / 18.96333; 72.93139
Elephanta Caves is located in Mumbai
Elephanta Caves
Location of Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves are a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, which have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1][2][3] They are on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally meaning "the city of caves"),[4] in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Mahārāshtra. The island, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, consists of five Hindu caves, a few Buddhist stupa mounds that date back to the 2nd century BCE,[5][6][7] and two Buddhist caves with water tanks.[8][9]

The Elephanta Caves contain rock-cut stone sculptures, mostly in high relief, that show syncretism of Hindu and Buddhist ideas and iconography.[7][10][11] The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. Except for a few exceptions, much of the artwork is defaced and damaged.[12] The main temple's orientation as well as the relative location of other temples are placed in a mandala pattern.[6] The carvings narrate Hindu mythologies, with the large monolithic 5.45 metres (17.9 ft) Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of dance) and Yogishvara (Lord of Yogis) being the most celebrated.[6][13][14]

These date to between the 5th and 9th centuries, and scholars attribute them to various Hindu dynasties.[2][6] They are most commonly placed between the 5th and 7th centuries. Many scholars consider them to have been completed by about 550 CE.[3][15][16]

They were named Elefante—which morphed to Elephanta—by the colonial Portuguese who found elephant statues on the caves. They established a base on the island. The main cave (Cave 1, or the Great Cave) was a Hindu place of worship until the Portuguese arrived, whereupon the island ceased to be an active place of worship.[6] The earliest attempts to prevent further damage to the caves were started by British India officials in 1909.[17] The monuments were restored in the 1970s.[6] It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).[10][11]

  1. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Elephanta Caves". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Trudy Ring; Robert M. Salkin; Sharon La Boda (1994). "Elephanta Island". International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania. Taylor & Francis. pp. 252–5. ISBN 978-1-884964-04-6.
  3. ^ a b Carmel Berkson; Wendy Doniger; George Michell (1999). Elephanta: The Cave of Śiva. Princeton University Press (Motilal Banarsidass, Reprint). pp. 3–5. ISBN 978-81-208-1284-0.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference EB1911 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Dhavalikar, M. K. (Madhukar Keshav) (2007). Elephanta. Archaeological Survey of India. p. 75. ISBN 9788190486606. There are remains of a brick built Buddhist stupa nearby which may belong to circa second century BC. Around it are seven smaller stupas, which may be votive.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Elephanta Island, Encyclopedia Britannica
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference geo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Brockman, Norbert (2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places. ABC-CLIO. p. 153. ISBN 9781598846546.
  9. ^ Brunn, Stanley D. (2015). The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics. Springer. p. 514. ISBN 9789401793766.
  10. ^ a b "Elephanta Caves" (PDF). Unesco. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Elephanta Caves". Works Heritage: Unesco.org. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kramrisch1988p443 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Constance Jones; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase. pp. 148–149. ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5.
  14. ^ Stella Kramrisch (1988). The Presence of Siva. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 443–459. ISBN 978-81-208-0491-3.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Michell2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Walter M. Spink (2005). Ajanta: The end of the Golden Age. BRILL Academic. pp. 182–183. ISBN 90-04-14832-9.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference collins25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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