Elephanta Caves

    Opening out from three sides, the temple lets in light from many angles making the sculptures seem to move with the changing angles of light Inside the temple is a large hall, with nine sculptured panels representing Lord Shiva in different moods. The framed caves lie about two thirds up the higher of the two hills. The architect sculptors Carved out the solid basalt rock to create a representation of the heavenly mountain residence of Lord Shiva, the temple plan is so symmetric with important focal points worked out in a geometric Mandala (the design that represents the energy field).A chugging ferry ride from Bombay, surpassing the fishing boats, large ships, little islands, occasionally leaping fishes, reminding in its way down the ever changing face time, takes us to the Elephanta in 15 minutes and is located 9 kms off the Gateway of India. The best time to visit Elephanta is between November and March. May might prove to be difficult to cross the sea.

    The antiquity of Elephanta caves is said to be of third century.This place, at one time was the capital of powerful coastal kingdom and the excavation of the caves in the 6th century added to the glory of the kingdom. Later the Portuguese took possession of the Island and as they first found a monolith elephant the island was named Elephanta. It is believed that the caves were used as target practise after they constructed a fort and put a flag to ward off pirates. What ever the cause may be, but many of the sculptures have been desecrated. From the Portuguese it came to Britisher who tried to find out who had build these caves but failed. The monolith elephant was earmarked to be taken to England but it was so heavy that they could not lift it and so it is now kept in a Bombay Museum.

    A flight of steps which can prove to be very daunting takes you to the caves, but one can hire chair to be carried up. Today caves can be easily approached but in early days, artisan used only the contours of the hill to reach the top and then chiselled out the basalt rocks to give it the shape of heavenly abode of Shiva. He has tried to create the cave in which Shiva resides in the Himalayas, besides this, the pillars inside the cave give an impression that roof is supported by them. Again the cross beams on the roof makes the visitor feel there is a ceiling of the caves. The pillars have been deliberately kept simple as to attract the attention towards the exquisite carvings on the panels which are nine in number.

    There are three opening to the caves which allows light to enter from various angles in different seasons giving an expression that the images are moving with transition of light. These caves are temples dedicated to Shiva. In Hindu Mythology the world is governed by three Gods: Brahma-- the creator, Vishnu-- the Preserver and Mahesha-- the Destroyer. Elephanta has a story that there was a pillar whose end could not be found, even the Gods failed to determine the length of the pillar. Then Lingobhava, lord Shiva emerged from the temple and hence every body accepted that Lord Shiva is infinite, the Greatest of them all.

    Temples in the caves and the carvings on the walls show Shiva in different moods and shapes, some practicing Yoga, some meditating with snakes coiled around his neck, and at places he is in company of his wife-- Parvati. Marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvati is represented in panel 6 with the rites being performed by Brahma and scores of other Gods attending the marriage. Panel 5 of the cave depictes the coming of Ganga from heaven to Earth. As the great force of Ganga might have destroyed the Earth, so, she lands in the hair locks of Shiva who then gently releases her. The wise and righteous Lord before whom the forces of evil and ignorance flee and are terrified into submission is carved on the 7th panel.

    Similarly other wall panels narrate the story of Shiva. On the western end is the sanctuary of Linga denoting the essence of creative power, in which lord Shiva is worshipped as the Lord of Fertility and procreation.Two smaller shrines flank the eastern and the western entrances to the main cave. The sculptures here are badly mutilated, not much is known of the artists who designed and carved these caves representing Shiva in his paradoxical nature in different forms and moods. These architects must have been genius who dared to construct something which was totally different from what was being constructed in those days.

Ellora Temple

    34 temples carved out of stones, 34 sculptured caves expressing Hindu, Buddhist and Jain themes, 34 priceless pages out of history. It took over five centuries for the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain monks to chiesl out these monastries, temples, chaples and decorate them with remarkable imagination and detail. These caves run North-South and take on the Golden Radiance of the late afternoon sun.

    The Hindu Expression - In terms of style, creative vision and execution skills, these caves exhibit a totally different league from the Jain and Buddhist temples. These temples were built top to bottom and the architecture of these caves show that it required several generation of planning and cordination to give it the final shape. Cave 14 was initially a Buddh Vihar but in 7th centutry it was dedicated as Shiva temple. Here Shiva is described as The Destroyers. The 16 cave in the group is one of the audacious feat in architecture ever achieved. The idea was to build Mt. Kailash from a single stone and hence it is named Kailasnath temple. The artist then tried to give the structure shape of a temple. The scale at which the work was undertaken is enormous. It covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and is 11/2 times high, and it entailed removing 200,000 tonnes of rock. It took 100 years to be completed. The Ramesvara cave has figurines of river Goddesses adorning its entrance. The Dumar Lena cave resembles the great cave shrine at Elephanta and is dedicated to lord Shiva.

    The Buddhist Expression -These sixteen caves are the oldest in the group and were carved in the 5th century. As one enters these caves, one crosses graceful angles and steps in a high ceilinged chamber where a 15 feet huge statute of Buddha is sitting in a preaching pose. In these caves the artist has tried an element of surprise by giving them expression of wood. Most of these 16 caves are viharas but cave number 10 is a chaitya. The style of carvings and sculplures in these caves indicate that initially the artist was going in for a simple decorations but later as in caves 11 and 12 he became more ambitious. The 10th cave has a impression of wooden beams on its ceiling and has a small decorated window which illuminates the sitting Buddha. These caves are rightly called the Vishvakarma caves. This cave is considered to be one of the finest in India. Here life and religion go hand in hand. The amorous couples play joyfully along the balustrade. Step out of this cave and you come across an upper gallery giving a view of the precisely carved Naga Queen, the harbinger of monsoon and the dwarfs who were the court entertainers. The Buddhists believe that Buddha returns after every five thousand years, thus the 12th cave has seven images of Budhha depicting his seven incarnations.

    The Jain Dedication - Each of the caves show the beliefs of the Jains, and their strict ascetism that embibed in them a spirit of non-violence towards all. These caves do not carry the high voltage drama of the Hindu or the Buddhist caves nor are they ambitious in size but they balance these with their exceptionally detailed work. The 32nd cave is a beautiful shrine with exquisite carvings of a lotus flower on the ceiling and an imposing yakshi seated on her lion under a mango-tree laden with fruit. The ceiling of this double-storied cave are also decorated with paintings.

Ajanta Caves

    When the echo of the chisel faded, the world forgot these cave temples. Till the 19th century these caves were hidden under thick forest growth. These caves are representation of Buddhist thoughts which were etched on walls of these caves. These caves were built between 2nd century B.C to 7th century A.D. The 30 Chaityas and Viharas have paintings which illustrate the life and incarnations of Buddha. The artist has lent his creativity in each work with an overwhelming sense of vitality. These paintings have survived time and till date the numerous paintings glowing on the walls leaves visitors spell bounded. The contours of these figures and positions of their hands made atmosphere very vibrant and alive. Ajanta caves were meant to provide seclusion to the Buddhist monks and their hammer & chisel offered a rich tapestry of images that speak of places, royalty, culture and tales of everyday life of ancient India.

    The artists' skill and creativity were contemplated by his keen sense of observation. Many of the panels of the caves hold depiction of the Jatakas and numerous images of Buddha, Nymphs and Princesses. The flying Apsara in cave 17, the preaching Buddha in cave 16 to the sculptured Nagaraja in a sitting posture with his consort and a female attendant are to name few of the popular caves. Some of these enigmatic caves are illuminated by the natural light at a particular time of the day. Ajanta also forms the base of a motif which was frequently used in the paintings, even in the 19th century Rajput miniature paintings. The motif of two lovers, a mithuna couple has been used in many of Ajanta paintings. One can spend days exploring, discovering and learning these caves but still the urge to see more hangs in the mind. The caves are so fascinating that one feels like coming here again and again.