ELEPHANTA ISLAND

Hindi Gharapuri (Fortress City), island located in Bombay Harbour of the Arabian Sea, about 6 miles (10 km) east of Bombay (Mumbai) city and 2 miles (3 km) west of the mainland coast of Maharashtra state, western India. Elephanta Island has an area of 46 square miles (1016 square km), varying with the tide. In the early 16th century Portuguese navigators named the island Ilha Elefante (Elephant Island) in reference to a large stone elephant that was found there; the statue was later moved to Victoria Gardens (now called Jijamata Udyan), Bombay. The island's Hindi name, Gharapuri, derives from a small village at its southern end. Elephanta's famous 8th- and 9th-century cave temples were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1987. Atop a large hill, they occupy some 54,800 square feet (5,000 square metres). The main temple is a long hall stretching 90 feet (27 metres); carved into the rock on the walls and ceiling of the cave are rows of columns and crossbeams. The plan of the temple is such that important points are laid out in the form of a mandala. A series of sculptured panels lining the walls of the cave portrays images from Indian mythology, the most celebrated of which is the 20-foot- (6-metre-) high Trimurti, a three-headed bust of Siva in the roles of destroyer, preserver, and creator emerging from a mountain. Other sculptures depict Siva crushing Ravana with his toe, the marriage of Siva and Parvati, Siva bringing the Ganges River to earth by letting her flow through his hair, and Siva as the embodiment of cosmic energy, dancing to drums. A linga (phallic symbol) is housed in a sanctuary at the western end of the temple. When the island was ceded to the Portuguese by the kings of Ahmadabad in the 16th century, it ceased to be a place of worship, and the caves and sculptures were damaged by Portuguese soldiers. In the 1970s the temples were restored and preserved, and the island became a popular tourist site.