The Elephanta Caves are a group of cave temples mainly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. UNESCO has recognized them as a World Heritage Site. They are located on Elephanta Island, also known as Gharapuri, which means "the city of the caves," in Mumbai Harbour. The island is 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The island has five Hindu caves, some Buddhist stupa mounds from the 2nd century BCE, and two Buddhist caves with water tanks.
The Elephanta Caves contain large stone carvings, mostly in high relief, that show a mix of Hindu and Buddhist ideas. The caves were carved from solid basalt rock. Much of the artwork has been damaged or defaced, except for a few parts. The main temple and other temples are arranged in a mandala pattern. The carvings tell stories from Hindu legends, including a large statue of Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of the dance), and Yogishvara (Lord of Yogis).
These caves were built between the 5th and 9th centuries CE. Scholars believe they were created by different Hindu dynasties, most likely between the 5th and 7th centuries. Many experts think the caves were completed by about 550 CE.
The caves were named "Elefante," later becoming "Elephanta," by the Portuguese, who found elephant statues there. The Portuguese built a base on the island. Before the Portuguese arrived, the main cave (Cave 1, or the Great Cave) was a Hindu place of worship. After the Portuguese arrived, the island was no longer used for worship. In 1909, British officials began efforts to protect the caves from further damage. The Indian government restored the site in the 1970s. As of 2025, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is responsible for maintaining the site.
Geography
Elephanta Island, also known as Gharapuri, is located about 11 km (6.8 mi) east of the Gateway of India in Mumbai Harbour and less than 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The island covers approximately 10 km (3.9 sq mi) at high tide and expands to about 16 km (6.2 sq mi) at low tide. It was formed by volcanic activity from the Deccan Traps during the Cretaceous and Paleocene periods, about 66 to 65 million years ago. A small village called Gharapuri is located on the southern side of the island. Ferry services connect the Elephanta Caves to the Gateway of India in Mumbai daily from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., except on Mondays when the caves are closed. Mumbai has a major domestic and international airport and is connected to the Indian Railways.
The island is 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long and has two hills that rise to about 150 m (490 ft). A narrow, deep ravine separates the hills and runs from north to south. The western hill rises gently from the sea and extends east across the ravine, reaching a height of 173 m (568 ft). Forests with mango, tamarind, and karanj trees cover the hills, and scattered palm trees are also present. The shoreline consists of sand and mud, with mangrove bushes along the edges. Landing quays are located near three small villages: Set Bunder in the northwest, Mora Bunder in the northeast, and Gharapuri or Raj Bunder in the south.
Five rock-cut caves are found on the western hill, and a brick stupa is located on the eastern hill. The eastern hill also has two Buddhist mounds and is called the Stupa Hill. Near the western hill caves are Cave 6 and 7 on the eastern hill. The most visited cave, called Cave 1 or the Great Cave, is located on the western hill and requires a steep uphill walk of about one kilometre. Elephanta Island is a protected monument area under UNESCO. In 1985, the Indian government established a buffer zone that designates a "prohibited area" extending 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the shoreline.
Description
The island has two groups of rock-cut caves carved from solid basalt rock. The larger group, which includes five caves on the western hill, is famous for its Hindu sculptures. The main cave, called Cave 1, is about 1.0 km (0.62 mi) up a hillside, facing Mumbai Harbour. Caves 2 through 5 are near Cave 1, arranged in a row to the southeast. Caves 6 and 7 are about 200 m (660 ft) northeast of Cave 1 and 2, but located on the edge of the eastern hill.
The two hills are connected by a walkway. The eastern hill is called Stupa Hill, and the western hill is called Canon Hill. These names come from their history: Stupa Hill was named after an ancient religious structure, and Canon Hill was named after cannons used by the Portuguese.
All the caves are rock-cut temples covering an area of 5,600 m² (60,000 sq ft). At their most detailed, they have a main chamber, side chambers, courtyards, and smaller shrines, though not all are fully developed. Cave 1 is the largest, measuring 39 meters (128 ft) from the front entrance to the back. The temple complex is mainly dedicated to Shiva, shown in carvings that tell stories from Shaivism, Shaktism, and Vaishnavism traditions of Hinduism.
Cave 1, also called the Grand Cave or Great Cave, has a square layout with a hall (mandapa). Its design is similar to ancient Buddhist viharas built 500 to 600 years earlier in India. The main entrance is small and faces north, while two side entrances face east and west. This is unusual for a Shiva shrine, which typically faces east-west. Inside, a square shrine (garbha-griya) aligned east-west is located, opening toward sunrise.
The main cave has several entrances. The main entrance faces north, and the shrine inside has four entrances. Steps lead from the shrine’s doors into a sacred space with a linga in the mulavigraha style. Each doorway is guarded by a dvarapala, for a total of eight statues. These were damaged when the Portuguese handed control of the region to the British. The shrine is surrounded by a mandapa and a path for circumambulation (pradakshina-patha), like other Hindu temples.
The northern entrance has two damaged panels from the Gupta period showing Yogishvara (Shiva as the Lord of Yoga) and Nataraja (Shiva as the Lord of Dance). The Sadashiva sculpture is flanked by two large friezes: one of Ardhanarishvara (a half-Shiva, half-Parvati figure) and the other of Gangadhara (Shiva holding the Ganges River). The walls of the mandapa show other Shaivism legends.
Each wall has large carvings of Shiva-related stories, over 5 meters (16 ft) tall. The central Trimurti relief, called Sadashiva, is on the south wall opposite the main entrance. It is a 6.27-meter (20.6 ft) carving of a three-headed Shiva, representing creation, protection, and destruction. The three heads also symbolize compassion and wisdom. The right face shows Shiva holding a lotus, symbolizing life and creativity. The left face shows a young man with a mustache, representing the terrifying Aghora or Bhairava. The central face is calm and meditative, resembling Vishnu.
The Trimurti is flanked by Ardhanarisvara on its left and the Gangadhara legend on its right. The Gangadhara image shows Shiva and Parvati, with Shiva holding the Ganges River in his hair. The carving is 4 m (13 ft) wide and 5.207 m (17.08 ft) high. However, the lower half of Shiva and parts of Parvati are damaged.
Smaller shrines are located at the east and west ends of the caves. The eastern shrine shows iconography from the Shaktism tradition. The Trimurti is considered the most important sculpture in the caves, depicting Shiva’s three roles as creator, preserver, and destroyer.
History
The ancient history of the island is not mentioned in Hindu or Buddhist records. Archaeological studies have found many remains that suggest the small island had a rich cultural past, with evidence of human settlement as early as the 2nd century BC. The Elephanta site was first occupied by Hinayana Buddhists before the arrival of the Brahmans, who built a large stupa for the Buddha with seven smaller stupas around it, likely around the 2nd century BCE. Coins from the Kshatrapas (Western Satraps) dating to the 4th century CE were found on the island. The island's history is first recorded during the Gupta Empire era, but these records do not mention the caves. This has led to debates about when the Elephanta Caves were built. Scholars have suggested dates mostly between the late 5th and late 8th centuries AD, based on the dating of other cave temples in the Deccan region. Colonial-era historians believed the caves were built by the Rashtrakutas in the 7th century or later, but this idea has been questioned by later discoveries.
According to the Archaeological Survey of India and UNESCO, the site was settled in ancient times, and the cave temples were built between the 5th and 6th centuries. Modern scholars generally believe the temples were completed in the second quarter of the 6th century, continuing the artistic achievements of the Gupta Empire. These scholars attribute the caves to King Krishnaraja of the Kalachuri dynasty. This dating is based on evidence such as coins, inscriptions, construction styles, and the better-dated Ajanta Caves and the more precise dating of Dandin's Dasakumaracarita.
Charles Collins suggests that the significance of the Elephanta Caves is best understood by studying them alongside ancient and early medieval Hindu texts and other Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain cave temples on the Indian subcontinent. The artwork in the Elephanta Caves was inspired by stories and ideas from ancient Hindu texts about Rudra and later Shiva, as well as the epics, the Puranas, and the Pashupata Shaivism writings from the 5th century. The panels in the caves reflect ideas and stories that were widely known to Indian artists and architects by about 525 CE. These texts vary, and later additions have changed some details, but the Elephanta Cave panels represent the most important version of the story in the 6th century. The artwork shows the influence of Vedic and post-Vedic religious ideas on Hindu culture during the mid-1st millennium CE.
After the caves were completed in the 6th century, the island became known as Gharapuri (the village of caves), a name still used in the local Marathi language. It later became part of the Gujarat Sultanate, which gave it to the Portuguese in 1534. The Portuguese named the island "Elephanta Island" after the large stone elephant statue they saw, which they used as a landmark for their boats. The elephant statue was damaged during attempts to move it to England, later placed in the Victoria Gardens in 1864, and reassembled in 1914 by Cadell and Hewett. It now stands in the Jijamata Udyaan in Mumbai.
Scholars disagree about who caused the most damage to the Elephanta Caves. Macneil claims the caves were already damaged during the Sultanate period, based on a Persian inscription on a door leading to the grand cave. Others, like Ovington and Pyke, say the greater damage was done by Portuguese soldiers, who used the caves and statues as targets for practice. Macneil agrees the caves were damaged during the colonial period but blames the Portuguese authorities, not the soldiers. British records from the colonial era state the caves were "defaced by the zeal of Mahommedans and Portuguese."
The Portuguese gave the island to the British in 1661, but by then the caves had already suffered significant damage. The Portuguese also removed and lost an inscription stone from the caves. During British rule, many Europeans visited the caves and wrote about them. Some criticized the caves as lacking beauty or art, while others praised them as "enormous artwork of extraordinary genius."
The British relied on the port city of Bombay (now Mumbai), which grew into a major urban center and attracted Hindus seeking economic opportunities. The Elephanta Caves became a center of Hindu worship again, and British records show the government charged pilgrims a temple tax starting in 1872. In 1903, Hindus asked the government to remove this fee, which the British agreed to on three Shiva festival days if Hindus agreed. Otherwise, the caves remained in a ruined state.
In the late 1970s, the Indian government restored the main cave to make it a tourist and heritage site. The caves were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 because they "represent a masterpiece of human creative genius" and "bear a unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilization."
Preservation
The Elephanta Caves are located near Mumbai, which made them easier to visit compared to other places with less developed travel systems in India. Interest from people in the West who wanted to learn about India’s history helped make the caves famous in guidebooks and attracted many scholars in the 20th century. Early ideas and misunderstandings about the caves caused disagreements among experts but also led to more efforts to protect them. In 1871, James Burgess published drawings, descriptions, and interpretations of the caves, which increased public attention. In 1909, British officials in India began protecting the site by placing it under the care of the Indian Archaeological Department and including it in the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act. This helped keep the island safe and preserve the ruins.
More detailed laws to protect the Elephanta Island monuments were created in 1957 with the Elephanta Island (Protected Monument) Rules, which banned activities like mining and excavation near the site. Additional laws included the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972, a 1985 rule that made the entire island and a 1-kilometre area around it a "prohibited area," and environmental laws from the Maharashtra State Government. Other laws included the 1966 Regional and Town Planning Act and the 1995 Heritage Regulations for Greater Bombay. In the 1970s, active work began to restore and protect the caves. This included repairing parts of Cave 1 and broken pillars in other caves, as well as developing the island as a heritage site.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Mumbai Circle, is responsible for managing and maintaining the Elephanta Caves. It works to stabilize the rock faces, build supports for collapsed pillars, strengthen cave floors, and construct a wall around the site. It also maintains visitor facilities and a museum on-site. The caves receive about 1,000 visitors each day, with more visitors during special events like Shiva Ratri, dance festivals, World Heritage Day (18 April), and World Heritage Week (19–25 November).
After the caves were declared a World Heritage Site, UNESCO and the ASI have worked together to monitor the site and carry out regular conservation efforts.
3D Documentation and Virtual Tapestry Tour
In May 2023, CyArk worked with the India Study Centre (INSTUCEN) Trust to document Cave 1 (Main Cave) as part of Phase II of the Heritage on the Edge program, which was a partnership with Google Arts & Culture. The larger program was funded by Iron Mountain and supported by the Mumbai Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India. The project included taking 197 laser scans, over 6,500 photographs, and 180 panoramic images. Experts and local people were also interviewed to gather more information. After a preview in March 2024, a 3D interactive model and virtual tour of Elephanta's Main Cave were made available as an open-access Tapestry Tour in September 2024.
In literature
In her 1834 poem The Caves of Elephanta, based on an engraving of a painting by W. Purser, Letitia Elizabeth Landon expresses sadness about the loss of the original spiritual purpose of this large structure. She writes that now, "The mighty shrine, no longer honored as a sacred place, speaks only of power, and power alone, the least important quality of humans."
The Elephanta Caves are mentioned more than once in Herman Melville's Moby Dick and also appear in Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel The Razor's Edge.