Caves Part I - Elephanta

This is Cave Part I in a three part series of posts.  About 9 km off the coast of Mumbai lies Elephanta Island.  It was named this by the Portuguese for when they landed on the small island there was a stone elephant in front.  The elephant has since been moved to the Mumbai Zoo. It's Hindu name is Gharapuri (place of caves) and it is a stone cave temple dedicated to Shiva. It's age is unknown, but believed to be built between the 5th and 8th centuries AD.

The island was about an hour boat ride from the Gateway to India in South Mumbai (Colaba)

This is the entrance to the caves from the east

I'm in front of one of several Shiva statues. Some of Shiva's arms and legs have broken off over the years; our tour guide claims it was due to target practice by the Portuguese when they first occupied the island.

More of the ornate stone work.

This last picture is of the focal point of the temple.  It shows three sides of Shiva's head to represent the three aspects of Shiva: creation faces front, protection is the face on the right, and destruction on the left. The carving is about 20 feet tall and the sight of it is breathtaking. We were fortunate to have a tour guide that explained all of the carvings to us, and some of the mythology behind them.

This has been one of the more awe inspiring sites we have seen thus far, but coming up we have the caves of Ellora and Ajanta!