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1. Mahesh-murti
or
Trimurti
of
Elephanta Island
Sachin Kr. Tiwary
“MasterpieceofGupta-ChalukyanArt’.

2. Mahesh-
murti
Location
Date
Material
Condition
Religion
Measurement
Nomenclature

4. Location
• Elephanta is an Island located 10 km. east of Mumbai,
• Also known as Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves"),
Date
• 500 to 900 CE contributed by various dynasties- Rashtrakut, Kalachuri.
Remains
• There are Brahmanical Caves and 02 Buddhist Stupas with water tank,
Material
• The rock is Basalt which is very hard and porous in nature,
Measurement-
Large monolithic 20 feet (6.1 m) Trimurti Sadashiva

7. The scene of Elephants Island along with Elephant image, Painting by WALES, James (1747-1795),
Source- Peter Anker Collection held in the Kulturhistorisk Museum at the University of Oslo, Norway
They were named Elefante – which morphed to Elephanta –
by the colonial Portuguese when they found elephant statues on it.

8. Nomenclature
Now the Elephant of the above painting is in the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo,
Mumbai City

9. Location of
Mahesh-murti/
Trimuri Image

10. Elephanta Main Cave no. 01 Plan.
The 600 CE temple follows a mandala design,
according to George Michell.
Location of
Mahesh-murti/
Trimuri Image

11. Trimurti Iconography
• It is carved in relief on the
south wall of the cave
facing the north entrance,
along the north-south
axis.
• It is also known
as Sadashiva and Mahesh
murti.
• The image, 6 m (20 ft) in
height, depicts a three-
headed Shiva,
representing Panchamukh
a Shiva.
• The three heads represent
three essential aspects of
Shiva:
 creation,
 protection, and
 destruction.

12. Source-
American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon
• The central bust wears a
decorative crown.
• The coils of matted hair are held
within this elegantly carved
crown.
• The chief element is
its kirtimukha decoration, a
typically Chalukyan element.
• The whole crown is adorned with
elaborate jewelry comprising of
pearls and diamonds.
• On the right side of the crown is
a half moon.
• Kirtimukha is a special emblem
of Shiva believed to be
guaranteeing the true devotee
with peace.
• The central face of the deity is
executed in very high relief.
• The other two side faces appear
to recede in the background
compared to it.
• The sculpture represents

13. • As per another version,
the three heads symbolize
compassion and wisdom.
• The right half-face (west
face) shows him holding a
lotus bud, depicting the
promise of life and
creativity.
• This face is symbolism for
Brahma, the creator
or Uma or Vamadeva, the
feminine side of Shiva and
creator.
• The left half-face (east
face) is that of a
moustached young man.
• This is Shiva as the
terrifying Aghora or
Bhairava, the chaos
creator and destroyer.
Trimurti Symbolism

14. • This is also known as Rudra-
Shiva, the Destroyer.
• The central face, benign and
meditative Tatpurusha,
resembles the
preserver Vishnu.
• This is the Shiva form as the
"master of positive and
negative principles of existence
and preserver of their
harmony”.
• The three-headed Shiva are his
creator, preserver and
destroyer aspects in Shaivism.
• They are equivalently
symbolism for Shiva, Vishnu,
and Brahma, they being
equivalent of the three aspects
found in Shaivism.
Symbolism

15. Date
Since no inscription now exists, the dating
of the Elephanta caves is purely
conjectural,
500 to 800 CE
James Burgess, James Fergusson, Stella Kramrisch
and Hirananda Sastri (they have however not
justified these dates),
Maurya dynasty
Dr. V.V. Mirashi, Dr. Walter Spink and Dr. Y.R. Gupte
have very lucidly discussed the dating and have
tried to logically prove their contention.
Gupta and Kalachuri dynasty
Dr. Mirashi accepts Gupte’s dating, but attributes
their excavation to the Kalachuris.
800-900 CE
Benjamin Rowland & James Burgess
750 CE
Fergusson
Rashtrakuta Dynasty
Stella Kramrisch
However, none of the above discuss the

16. Date Early half of the 7th cent
• Dr. Mirashi gives arguments which
are partly historical and partly those
of religious affiliation.
• He disputes Gupte’s contention that
the cave was excavated by the
Mauryas of the Konkan on the
grounds that since they were merely
feudatories of the Kalachuris, they
could not have commanded the
resources required for the excavation
of such a rock temple.
• He further contends that though the
Chalukyas of Badami conquered
Gharapuri in the second half of the
7th century A.D., the caves however
cannot be attributed to them as they
were devotees of Vishnu and
therefore could not have carved
Shiva temples.

17. Kalachuri dynasty
Walter Spink, in his The Great Cave at Elephanta: A Study of Sources, the
ownership of the caves has been attributed to the Kalachuri dynasty. Dr.
Shobhana Gokhale’s paper concluded that copper coins issued by King
Krishnaraja, the great Kalachuri ruler, have been found in fair numbers in western
India in the mid-6th century. Thousands of coins have turned up on the island of
Gharapur. With the logical support of coins discovered at Elephanta, Spink
contends that Elephanta is a mid-6th century Kalachuri monument sponsored by
the great king Krishnaraja.
Date

18. • Dr. Ramesh Gupte has categorically refuted both the arguments of Dr.
Mirashi as well as Dr. Spink and asserted strongly the influence of
Chalukyas due to the presence of maniyajnopavita (pearled sacred thread)
as the mani (pearl) and pushpa (flower) yajnopavita adorn all the sculptures
of Chalukyas such as those at the Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal temples.
• Other indications of Chalukya influence are the armlets (keyuras) with kirti-
mukha (Face of Glory), and also the presence of Saptamatrikas, Karttikeya
and Shiva, as it is well known that the Chalukyas were their followers.
• Furthermore, the Chalukyas in the 6th century A.D. had defeated the
Kalachuris.
• Later dynasties like the Rashtrakutas and the Gujarat Sultanate surrendered
Gharapuri to the Portuguese.
Date

19. Condition
During the rule of the Portuguese the caves were grossly vandalized by
them and damaged to a huge extent. They removed the valuable
inscription mentioned earlier from its place and used the sculptural
reliefs as target practice, thus marring a great number of sculptures.
https://trimurti-sadashiva-sculpture-in-the-cave-1-on-elephanta-island-mumbai-india.html

20. After looking the Elephants Percy Brown
described this as "the creation of a genius".
Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote in his book 'The
Discovery of India ‘,
"It is not some secret doctrine or esoteric
knowledge that has kept India vital and
going through these long ages, but a tender
humanity, a varied and tolerant culture and a
deep understanding of life and its mysterious
ways. Her abundant vitality flows out from
age to age in her magnificent literature and
art, though we have only a small part of it
with us and much lies hidden or has been
destroyed by nature or man's vandalism. The
Trimurti in the Elephanta caves might well be
the many-faced statue of India itself,
powerful, with compelling eyes, full of deep
knowledge and understanding, looking down
upon us."
The image of Lord Shiva with his closed
eyelids and in a deep contemplating
attitude would be the most satisfying
piece of art you would ever see in India.

21. Logo of -

22. Thank you
Any Question ?
Source-
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Elephanta_Caves#/media/File:Elephanta_
Elephant.jpg
https://www.sahapedia.org/elephanta-caves-overview