Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-05-10
me cave Of E1ephs.e..


6 Yesterday wenade steam yact excursion In
the harbor, with several ladies and gentlemen
ameng vhe wssit the eminent Mahratts physi-
clan and scholar, DR.. Rhan- Dali. The sail dis
closed b M the be autiful environs Of Bombay,
especially the harbor and islands. The landing
ut Elephants Isl md is represented BY travellers
rs very difficult. bat the duke of Edinburg was
re, snd, Of eorrse sne cave ave OF ~. kiepaansa
Epgland's roy Oh line. In this emergency, the
municipality OF Bombay issued bonds and cree
tea a convenient pier. We, alien republicans,
of our Obligations to the council Of Bombay, or
Of our good fortune In coming after, and not be-
fire, VictOria's sailor son. We ascendei an easy
and fifty feet above the sea. This esplanade as
wen as the entire island is deeply shaded with
the beautiful, round topped palmyra palm. A
decrepid Irish soldier, with his family, In bam-
leaves keeps watch and ward over the place.
Passing to the center of the plateau and turn
ing to the right, We confronted work of human
art, gigantic and p n; It Is subterra-
up the mountain declivity, and cutting down
Pr rpe ndicu arly, have removed the mountain
face to the depth of thirty feet, and to the width
closed is of basalt. This rock they have hewn
and chiseed away to the very center Of the
mountain, and wrought it into temple with
perfs ct architectural forms and just proportions.
The excavation consists of four chambers; the
central one is majestic with gate-ways, abut-
ments, porches, columns, pilasters, cornices, and
vaulted ceilings, IS complete and perfect as if,
instead of having been carved in the rock, they
had been detached from it, framed and erected
on the ground. While no architectural element
10 omitted, all are perfectly finished. The broad
ravement is as level and smooth as that of the
fotunda at Washington. The ceiling needs no
Preparation to receive either fresco or gliding.
The dome is spherical. while the columns upon
whlch It rests, or seems to rest, have regular
bases, bands, fittings, and capitals, though all
Sh nod from, fha slisf,xr bad
We even thought 1t necessary to examine the
lintels of the Doors to see if they were not de-
tached pieces OF the rock itself. Standing in the
porch or within the temple, and looking Inward,
you confront the farther wall. In its center, a
deep recess 20 feet sqsare, reaching from floor to
roof, Is surmounted BY bold arch. Within
this recess Is colossal figure, or combination of
the creative power, Visenu tie preserving power,
and silva the destroying pOwef Each of the fip-
ures is twice the human size. Brahma is look
ing forward in an attitude Of calianess and con-
temptation: at his feet is a crOpching lion
Visenu rests on bed Of lotus flowers. silva in
one hand yields drawn sword, and inthe other
holds cobra ready to strike. The gigantic
group is completed by the accessories of dvarfs
and inferior gods. The ceiling of the recess is
decorated with a crowd Of not less than fifty or
sixty figures, such as. if found in a Christian
Every figure within the niche has distinctive
character, and is not deficient in force. But
this group within the recess is only one group,
the entIe temple peIng gallery fuil OF like
structures. On either side Of the principal hall
or temple are lesser chambers or chapels, and
the walls of these are covered with allegorical
works, illustrating their, incan-
tations, battles, triumphs, marriages, and mira
Giles of the several members OF the Brahmlnical
trinity. 1t is the opinion of DIR. Rhau Dali that
this temple was excavated about 100 years ago.
No wonder that it remains complete in its forms
and proportions! No storm can penetrate it,
and no flood can invade it. Even the earth
quake has spared it. Not so the demon of reli-
gious Zeal. The intolerant fellows of the false
prophet mutilat I'd these heather faces and forms
in the 1ith century, and the no less fanatical
Portuguese. who came in the wake of the Mo-
hammedans, finding the task of defacing with the
hammer too slow, brought a battery OF cannon
to the temple-door and battered the stone
lods.-W. III. Seward's Trarels around the World