The temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the four most important temples across India. Sometimes called the Char Dham – Badrinath in the north, Rameswaram in the South, Dwarka in the west, and Puri in the east – these temples mark four corners of our country, and each of these temples has a connection to Adi Shankara. He is said to have travelled to each of them, thus marking a sacred geography of India, long before the country actually existed. Among these 4 temples, 3 are dedicated to Lord Vishnu, while only Rameswaram is dedicated to Lord Shiva, though the lingam there is said to have been installed by Rama. Further, Shankara set up Mutts at 3 of these sites (or very close to these sites, like at Badrinath, where the mutt is at Joshimutt), while the mutt in the south is at Sringeri in Karnataka, quite a distance away from Rameswaram. Coming back to the topic, I have visited Rameswaram most often, Badrinath during my childhood, and Dwaraka a few times, but Puri had stayed out of re...
The first time I visited the Elephanta caves, I remember being told that the caves were so named because the island on which they stood resembled an elephant. It was only much later that I learnt that the name came, not from the imagined shape of the island, but from the sculpture of an elephant which once stood at the jetty welcoming visitors to the island.
The elephant sculpture was probably installed by the kings who built the cave temples, but they were first noticed and mentioned by the Portuguese invaders.
When the British arrived, they tried to take the elephant back with them to England, but the crane carrying the sculpture broke and it shattered. The pieces were brought to the gardens we now know as Jijamata Udyan in Byculla, where they were put together.
Today, the Elephanta caves is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The elephant deserves to be part of that distinction too. Unfortunately, its state probably prevents it from being restored to its original site. However, it is worth making a trip to Jijamata Udyan to see this relic of our history.
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Knowing all this still doesn't stop me from looking out for the imaginary elephant shape of the island every time I visit Elephanta!! How the stories of our childhood stay back with us!
I never knew about this, I too was still fascinated with those stories...!
ReplyDeleteThanks Santosh! these stories are the only things we remember sometimes :D
DeleteI hardly have explored Mumbai so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this bit.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mridula! guess its high time u come to Mumbai... and there are lots of us here all set to help you explore!
DeleteDint know that. Thanks for sharing this Anu.
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in
my pleasure, Niranjan!
DeleteThe Elephant of Elephant, now the Elephant of Bhau Daji Lad Museum, is quite something. And in spite of its rather squat proportions looks quite real.
ReplyDeleteYes, Sudha.. its now the elephant of the museum.. and yes, at first i was a bit surprised to see how squat it appeared. but it did look rather real, too.. once i had got used to it!
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