Elephanta Caves

Elephanta Caves are located in the Uran Taluka in the district Raigad on island hills, at about 11 kilometers north-east of the Apollo Bandar, Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra in India. This is about 7 kilometers from the shore of the mainland, approximately covering an area of 7 km in circumference.

After these caves were carved out, it seems to have passed through different dynasties who held their sway over this island. They were the Konkan-Mauryas, Trikutakas, Chalukyas of Badami, Silaharas, Rashtrakutas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Yadavas of Deogiri, Muslim rulers of Ahmedabad and then by the Portuguese. The Marathas also had this island under their control for sometime and from them it was passed on to the control of the British.

The Elephanta Caves are known as Gharapurichi Leni in the native language. Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted caves situated on Elephanta Island also known as Gharapuri, mea‌ning literally  "the city of caves".
The Elphanta island is placed on an arm of the Arabian Sea which consists of two groups of caves, one is a large group of five Hindu caves and the other, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves.

The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the Lord Shiva. There are 7 cave excavations in the Elephanta group. The main cave or the Great Cave was a Hindu place of worship till the beginning of the Portuguese rule in 1534, after which the cave suffered severe damage. After many years of neglect the main / great Cave was renovated in the 1970s.

The Brahmanical rock cut architecture found in these caves have been dated to be in between 5th and 8th centuries.  No one is sure about the identity of the original builders and it is still a subject of debate. The caves are carved from solid basalt rock and were originally painted in the past but now only traces of those paints remain.  The cave is also famous for the exquisite and vibrant sculptures found in them.

Elephanta Caves were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 to preserve the artwork. It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)