A pleasant half an hour motor-boat ride from the hustle and
bustle of city life brings one to the vicinities of the famous
Elephanta caves located in the quiet island by the same name. This
island is home to a series of seven magnificient rock cut caves
which dates from the 4th-9th centuries A.D. These caves are situated
at a height of about 76metres above sea-level. The most impressive
of these caves has a 40 metre square main hall with two wide
columnades. At the western end of the hall, there is a lingam shrine
which stands guarded by stone doorkeepers leaning on dwarfs. The
lingam symbolic of lord Siva is still worshipped by devotees during
festivals. One of the most striking features of this cave is the 6m
high Maheshmurti, the three headed bust of lord Siva depicting his
three facets-creator, destroyer and protector. Besides, the cave
contains a series of nine massive sculptured panels which show
various incidents in the life of lord Siva and other dramatic
moments from Hindu mythology. These are chiselled with immense
artistic finesse.
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