ELEPHANTA CAVES
ELEPHANTA CAVES
Elephanta Caves area unit a network of carved caves placed on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the town of caves") in Mumbai Harbour, ten kilometres (6.2 mi) to the east of the town of Mumbai within the Indian state of geographic region. The island, placed on AN arm of the Arabian Sea, consists of 2 teams of caves—the 1st may be a massive cluster of 5 Hindu caves, the second, a smaller cluster of 2 Buddhist caves. The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the Lord Shiva.The rock cut design of the caves has been dated to between the fifth and eighth centuries, though the identity of the initial builders continues to be an issue of dialogue. The caves area unit hewn from solid volcanic rock rock. All the caves were conjointly originally painted within the past, however currently solely traces stay.The main cave (Cave one, or the nice Cave) was a Hindu place of worship till Portuguese rule began in 1534, when that the caves suffered severe injury. This cave was restored within the Seventies when years of neglect, and was selected a UNESCO World Heritage web site in 1987 to preserve the design. it's presently maintained by the anthropology Survey of India (ASI).Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, is regarding eleven klick (6.8 mi) east of the Phoebus Apollo Bunder (Bunder in Sanskritic language suggests that a "pier for going and disembarkment of passengers and goods") on the Mumbai Harbour and ten klick (6.2 mi) south of Pir Pal in Trombay. The island covers regarding ten km2 (3.9 sq mi) at high water and regarding sixteen km2 (6.2 sq mi) at tide.Gharapuri is little village on the side of the island. The Elephanta Caves is reached by a ferry from the entry of India, Mumbai, that has the closest flying field and depot.The cave is closed on weekday.The island is two.4 km (1.5 mi) long with 2 hills that rise to a height of regarding a hundred and fifty m (490 ft). A deep valley cuts through the center of the island from north to south.
On the west, the Hill rises gently from the ocean and stretches east across the valley and rises step by step to the intense east to a height of 173 m (568 ft). This hill is thought because the Stupa hill. Forest growth with clusters of mango, tamarind, and karanj trees cowl the hills with scattered palm trees. Rice fields area unit seen within the natural depression. The fore shore is formed of sand and dust with flowering tree bushes on the perimeter. Landing quays sit close to 3 tiny hamlets referred to as Set Bunder within the north-west, Mora Bunder within the northeast, and Gharapuri or rule Bunder within the south.The two hills of the island, the western and also the japanese, have 5 rock-cut caves within the western half and a brick stupa on the japanese hill on its prime composed of 2 caves with a number of rock-cut cisterns. one among the caves on the japanese hill is unfinished. it's a protected island with a buffer zone in line with a Notification issued in 1985, that conjointly includes "a prohibited area" that stretches one klick (0.62 mi) from the bound.Since no inscriptions on any of the island are discovered, the traditional history of the island is divinatory, at best. Pandavas, the heroes of the Indian epic religious writing, and Banasura, the demon lover of Shiva, area unit each attributable with building temples or cut caves to measure. native tradition holds that the caves don't seem to be synthetic.The Elephanta caves area unit "of unknown date and attribution".Art historians have dated the caves within the vary recently fifth to late eighth century AD. anthropology excavations have unearthed a number of Kshatrapa coins dated to fourth century AD. The notable history is derived solely to the defeat of Mauryan rulers of Konkan by the Badami Chalukyas emperor Pulakesi II (609–642) during a battle, in 635 AD. Elephanta was then known as Puri or Purika, and served because the capital of the Konkan Mauryas. Some historians attribute the caves to the Konkan Mauryas, geological dating them to the mid-6th century, tho' others refute this claim locution a comparatively tiny kingdom just like the Konkan Mauryas couldn't undertake "an nearly powerful excavation effort," that was required to carve the rock temples from solid rock and will not have the skillful labor to supply such "high quality" sculpture.Some other historians attribute the development to the Kalachuris (late fifth to sixth century), WHO might have had a social organisation relationship with the Konkan Mauryas.
In AN era wherever theism was rife, the Elephanta main cave dedicates the theism of the Pashupata Shaivism sect, a sect to that Kalachuris likewise as Konkan Mauryas belonged.The Chalukyas, WHO defeated the Kalachuris likewise because the Konkan Mauryas, also are believed by some to be creators of the most cave, within the mid-7th century. The Rashtrakutas area unit the last claimants to the creation of the most cave, approximated to the first seventh to late eighth century. The Elephanta Shiva cave resembles in some aspects the 8th-century Rashtrakuta rock-temple Kailash at Ellora. The triplet of Elephanta showing the 3 faces of Shiva is like the triplet of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva), that was the royal badge of the Rashtrakutas. The Nataraja and Ardhanarishvara sculptures also are attributed to the Rashtrakutas.Later, Elephanta was dominated by another Chalukyan phratry, then by Gujarat land, WHO given it to the Portuguese in 1534. By then, Elephanta was known as Gharapuri, that denotes a hill settlement. The name continues to be employed in the native Sanskritic language language. The Portuguese named the island "Elephanta Island" in honour of a large rock-cut black stone sculpture of AN elephant that was then put in on a mound, a brief distance east of Gharapuri village. The elephant currently sits within the Jijamata Udyaan zoological garden in Mumbai.Portuguese rule saw a decline within the Hindu population on the island and also the abandonment of the Shiva cave (main cave) as a daily Hindu place of worship, tho' worship on Mahashivratri, the competition of Shiva, continued and still will. The Portuguese did significant injury to the sanctuaries.
Portuguese troopers used the reliefs of Shiva within the main cave for practice, stinting solely the triplet sculpture. They conjointly removed AN inscription associated with the creation of the caves. whereas some historians exclusively blame the Portuguese for the destruction of the caves, others conjointly cite water-logging and dripping rain as further damaging factors. The Portuguese left in 1661 as per the wedding accord of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, girl of John IV of Portuguese Republic. This wedding shifted possession of the islands to the British Empire, as a part of Catherine's dower to Charles. tho' the most cave was rebuilt within the Seventies, alternative caves, together with 3 consisting of necessary sculptures, area unit still badly broken. The caves were selected a UNESCO World Heritage web site in 1987 as per the cultural criteria of UNESCO: the caves "represent a masterpiece of human artistic genius" and "bear a singular or a minimum of exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation that resides or that has disappeared".
No comments:
Post a Comment