File:Elephanta_Caves_Trimurti.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Elephanta Caves
Sign in to saveAlso known as Gharapuri Caves
Shiva cave temples and UNESCO world heritage site on a Mumbai harbor island
The Elephanta Caves are ancient Hindu temple caves dedicated to Shiva, located on an island in Mumbai harbor. They are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of their historical and artistic significance as examples of Indian rock-cut architecture.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
In the Vinony graph
Elephanta Caves appears in Vinony's UNESCO World Heritage collection — one of 3,384 entries.
Within Vinony's link graph, Elephanta Caves is referenced by 590 other articles, and connects out to Hindu temple, World Heritage Site and Shiva.
The entry is geolocated on the map in landmark, across 4 mapped points.
It is catalogued under topics including 1st-millennium establishments in India, Buddhist caves in Maharashtra and Caves around Mumbai.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- cave
- Country
- India
- Located in
- Raigad district
Show 3 more facts
- located in/on physical feature
- Elephanta Island
- Commons category
- Elephanta Caves
- Commons gallery
- Elephanta Caves
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
The Elephanta Caves form a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva; UNESCO has designated them as a World Heritage Site. They are located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally meaning "the city of the caves"), in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The island, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, features five Hindu caves, a few Buddhist stupa mounds that date back to the 2nd century BCE, and two Buddhist caves with water tanks.
The Elephanta Caves contain rock-cut stone sculptures, mostly in high relief, that show a syncretism of Hindu—Buddhist ideas and iconography. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. Apart from a few exceptions, much of the artwork has been defaced and damaged. The main temple's orientation as well as the relative location of other temples form a mandala pattern. The carvings narrate Hindu legends, with the large monolithic 5.45 metres (17.9 ft) Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of the dance) and Yogishvara (Lord of Yogis) being the most celebrated.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Elephanta Caves” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Gallery (12)
On the map
4 mapped locations