The 'City of Caves', on an island in the Sea of Oman
close to Bombay, contains a collection of rock art linked to the cult of Shiva.
Here, Indian art has found one of its most perfect expressions, particularly
the huge high reliefs in the main cave.
The Elephanta Caves are located in Western India on
Elephanta Island (otherwise known as the Island of Gharapuri), which features
two hillocks separated by a narrow valley. The small island is dotted with
numerous ancient archaeological remains that are the sole testimonies to its
rich cultural past. These archaeological remains reveal evidence of occupation
from as early as the 2nd century BC. The rock-cut Elephanta Caves were
constructed about the mid-5th to 6th centuries AD. The most important among the
caves is the great Cave 1, which measures 39 metres from the front entrance to
the back. In plan, this cave in the western hill closely resembles Dumar Lena
cave at Ellora, in India. 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 7-metre-high masterpiece “Sadashiva” dominates the
entrance to Cave 1. The sculpture represents three aspects of Shiva: the
Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer, identified, respectively, with
Aghora or 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 also noteworthy for their forms, dimensions, themes,
representations, content, alignment and execution.
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, but demonstrate refreshing innovation. The combination of
aesthetic beauty and sculptural art, replete with respondent Rasas, reached an
apogee at the Elephanta Caves. Hindu spiritualistic beliefs and symbology are
finely utilized in the overall planning of the caves.
Description
The island of Elephanta, the glorious abode of Lord
Shiva and an epitome of Hindu cave culture, consists of seven caves on an
island in the Sea of Oman close to Mumbai which, with their decorated temples
and the images from Hindu mythology, bear a unique testimony to a civilization
that has disappeared. Here, Indian art has found one of its most perfect
expressions, particularly in the huge high reliefs in the main cave.
The island of Gharapuri, the 'City of Caves', situated
about 10 km from Mumbai on the east side of the harbour, owes its name to the
enormous stone elephant found there by Portuguese navigators. This elephant was
cut into pieces, removed to Mumbai and somehow put together again. It is today
the melancholy guardian of Victoria Gardens Zoo in Mumbai, the great metropolis
of Maharashtra State and India's second city population-wise.
The date of the famous Elephanta Caves is still very
much debated and varies from the 6th century to the 8th century according to
different specialists. They constitute one of the most striking collections of
rock-art in India. There are two groups of caves. To the east, Stupa Hill (thus
named because of a small brick Buddhist monument at the top) contains two
caves, one of which is unfinished, and several cisterns. To the west, the
larger group consists of five rock-cut Hindu shrines. The main cave is
universally famous for its carvings to the glory of Shiva, who is exalted in
various forms and act ions. The cave consists of a square plan mandapa whose
sides measure about 27 m.
The interior is divided up into smaller areas by rows
of supports. The whole shape carefully imitates a building; false profiled
beams have been carved in the roof of the cave and the supports, which are
complex structures, combine, from bottom to top, the shapes of the pillars, columns
and capitals found in bonded stone architecture. At the very entrance to the
cave, to the north of an esplanade reached by a steep flight of steps, the
pilgrim or visitor to this high place of Shivaism is greeted by two large
carved panels depicting, on the left, Shiva Yogisvara (Master of Yoga) and, on
the right, Shiva Nataraja (King of Dance), both treated in a monumental style
still close to that of the Gupta period. In a chapel on the right of the
entrance stands the cylindrical lingam, symbol of the Supreme Being and
principle of all energy.
This chapel has four doors, each flanked by colossal
figures of dvarapala, those mediator guardians whose task was to admit the
faithful and keep out ill-intentioned visitors. On each wall of the mandapa,
enormous high-reliefs (maximum height 5.70 m) present further pictures of
Shiva. Opposite the entrance, on the south wall, is the famous and
unforgettable three-headed bust of the Mahadeva, whose three faces are the
incarnation of three essential functions; to the east, Aghora or Bhairava,
terrifying destroyer; to the west, Vamadeva, creator of joy and beauty,
incarnated by a woman's head; and in the centre, Tatpurusha, master of positive
and negative principles of existence and preserver of their harmony.
On either side of this central figure there are two
other reliefs depicting, on the left, androgynous Shiva (Ardhanarisvara) and,
on the right, Shiva receiving the waters of the Ganges (Gangadhara). Ten other
reliefs, placed in each angle of the main hall and in the aisles to the east
and west, depict further episodes from the legend of Shiva, such as the
marriage of Shiva to Parvati, Shiva killing the devil Andhaka, etc. The 15
large reliefs surrounding the lingam chapel in the main Elephanta Cave not only
constitute one of the greatest examples of Indian art but also one of the most
important collections for the cult of Shiva.
(Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC)
