This winter break I went to India.
Not only did I enjoy seeing my grandparents but also seeing the Elephanta
Caves. The Elephanta Caves are located on a little island off Mumbai, on the Arabic
Ocean and is in a little town named Gharapuri. The Caves were built by Indians
sometime around the 6th century A.D. and they were discovered by the
Portuguese.
The reason the caves are called Elephanta Caves is because
the Portuguese found an elephant statue in front of the main cave. When the
Portuguese came to India they visited these caves and gave its official name.
These caves were built from a giant rock inside to outside and from bottom to
top. There are several columns which are only meant for beauty, not for
support. It has statues of nine
different forms of the Indian god of destruction, Lord Shiva. The Portuguese
used the statues for target practice. I even got to see a bullet in one of the
statues.
One pose has Lord Shiva meditating. Another is him destroying evil, and the last
one is him at his wedding. My favorite is the “Trimurti,” which is a structure
that has three heads . One of Lord Shiva the destroyer second Brahma the
creator and third Vishnu the maintainer. The locals believe the three gods keep the world
in balance.
This place is very beautiful. It has the ocean on one side and the mountains
on the other. It has been considered a
World Heritage Site by UNESCO. [United Nations Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organization.] But beware of
the monkeys. They can cause a lot of ruckus. They will snatch any food or drink
from your hand. One monkey snatched a water bottle from my dad and started
drinking from it. It was very funny. This was one of the best parts of my trip.
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