A Day at Elephanta Caves

On a sunny Sunday, Shantanu and I were looking for a place where we could spend few hours, we already sat 3 hrs in barista and now there was no place to go. Two years of affair and I think we tried all the frapes, sandwiches and coffees in barista and café coffee day. Our regular routine on those days were to calculate how much we have spend on a single weekend. Every week the budget was going higher, as we used the malls, restaurants, bus stops just to spend some time together.

As we walked towards gateway, we saw a huge crowd around, we noticed that the crowd has taken a shape of queue and wondered where is it going, enquired and we found out it’s a ticket for Elephanta caves, 30 minutes of struggle in the queue and we were off to Elephanta.

It was a pleasant hour and 15 minutes of ferry ride, as we left the shore and moved in the Arabian Sea, the color of the sea was getting darker and the waves were going higher, as if they are trying to touch us. Everyone in the boat was very excited, honestly even I was quite excited as this was my first ride on sea.

As you reach there a small toy trains(not in a very nice shape) welcomes you, you can explore the island all on your own or take a small ride in it and then start walking. The island is famous for its caves dedicated to lord Shiva. Covered with lots of trees the island is an amazing way to spend your day in the arms of history.

They say that the great warrior prince of Chalukya Dynasty Pulkesin II, raised the shrin to celebrate his victory. The entire cave temple complex covers an area of about 60,000 square feet. The beauty of these caves is the temples in these caves and the carvings on the walls show Shiva in different moods and shapes, Lord Shiva practicing Yoga, Lord Shiva meditating with snakes coiled around his neck, and at places Shiva is in the company of his wife Parvati. One of the caves represents the marriage of Shiva with Parvati with the rites being performed by Brahma and scores of other Gods attending the marriage. The Trimurti of Elephanta showing the three faces of Shiva almost akin to the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh is another beautiful sculpture

Most of the sculptures here were defaced by the Portuguese, who used the sculptures as target practice in the 17th century. Made in the 6th century AD, the caves are in complete wreck, and surprisingly even after being a protected zone under ASI and Ministry of Environment it’s in bad shape.

I suggest even if you are not interested in the history, do make a visit to Elephanta caves, it gives you an ecstatic view of sea, an amazing boat ride and an island to yourself for a whole day, night stay is not allowed in the island.