History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c34.s8.1

v3.c34.s8.1

A few miles from Bombay by sea, in an island in the wide creek of Thana and Panwel are these caves with many beautiful carvings in stone and also statues. There were two stone elephants at the entrance of the principal cave which were visible from the sea and this fact gave rise to the name Elephanta caves given by the Portuguese who first saw them. The town of Purī is now in ruins, but that there was once a great town which was then the capital of Konkan, was in fact, the Bombay of the 6th to 10th century A. D. is proved by the inscriptions of the Śilāhāras which always mention "Purī Konkan, 14 hundred" as the name of the country. The island of Purī must have attracted attention in ancient days as a suitable site for a capital, being at the entrance of a large creek which is the natural harbouring place for ships trading along the coast as well as with distant Arabia. There are some Budhhist remains also in this island but most of the structures are Brahmanical, and these appear to belong to the days of the Śilāhāra rule which began probably about the 8th century A. D. The style of the architecture and the beautiful figures carved, according to Bhagvanlal Indraji, belongs to the period of the Elora carvings and therefore may be dated from the 8th to the 9th century A. D. The Rāṣṭrakūṭa king Kṛṣṇa excavated the Elora temple and it is probable that the Śilāhāras excavated these figures in imitation of their overlords the Rāṣṭrakūṭas. And Purī was the capital of these earlier Śilāhāras from the 8th to the 10th centuries. It is possible that the Āryā Dvaipāyanī (island goddess) mentioned in the Bhāgavata as visited by Balarāma in his pilgrimage refers to the statue of the goddess of Pārvatī in one of the caves in this island, and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa may be held from this reference to belong to the 10th century. The most impressive Traimurti statue carved in the principal cave is, however, the most important work of art in the Elephanta caves and it is not known to which Śilāhāra king the credit of it belongs. Purī fell into ruin in consequence of the capital being removed to Thana which is a more inland and safe harbour. An account of the Śilāhāras of Thana would not be complete without this short description of Purī and the Elephanta caves and we have consequently given this short note on them.