Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-12-31

Temple Of EIephahta.
| WONDERFUL AND INTERESTING scENEsIN INDIA
RARE ENTERTAINMENTS FOR THE PRINCE Oh
wALEs-VIsIT OF THE ROYAL PARTY TO THE
TEMPLE or ELEPHASTA-TouR HUNDRED IN
vITED GUESTS BANQUET IN THE CAVES.
Iniia Correspondence Nov. 49, London STANDARD.
The Princes visit to the caye-temples OF
Elephanta was fixed for yesterday afternoon
and evening, was not over till late, and it i.
impossible to give anything like an adequate
description OF the extraordinary iete The
Island of Elephanta Is situated in the hsr-
Dor Of Bombay, six or seven miles due east
of the town. and Is one of the imposing land
marks in the beautiful scenery Of the bsrbor
The party which had been invited by the
Governor of Bombay numbered in all 400,
and included some of the native Princes now
sojourning in the chief town of the Presi-
dency. Three steamers were required to con-
vey the party from the town to the island 1t
was 4.30 in the afternoon when the party
set cut, and an hours sail brought it to
Elephanta.
\ visitor to the cave on ordinary occasions
has to be carried ashore through the mud
on the backs Of the boatmen, or of coolies,
but this was IN undignifed experience to
which his Royal Highness could not 5e sub
jected, and for the present iete wooden
landing place had been constructed, at which
the party landed with safety and comfort
A wooden platform conducted the party from
the landing stage to the shore. From the
shore foot-path ascended the hill, and on
the steep slope there stood lines of police
belonging to the Co,lectorate, as guard Of
honor, to receive his Royal Highness. The
sound Of music, somewha: distant, greeted
our ears as We landed, and il appeared that
the band Of His Excellency the Governor Of
Bombay had been brought to the island,
and was now welcoming the arrival OF the
| Prince with the strains Of the National an
them \ narrow and steep footpath CON
Quoted the party up the hillside. and in the
course Of the ascent one after another natural
" paused to take breath, or to wipe his
| perspiring forhead and to look back upon
the magnificent harbOr around, which was
now lying ia the last glories OF the dav.
When the various groups Of the party had
/ been assembled on the bunders the sky was
still, afternoon through it was, like brazen
yault above for 1t is only the in early morn
, ing and late eyening that it can boast of the
refreshing blue Of European latitudes, and
! out OF il stared the intolerable eve from
/ which there was as vet no escape The
yentiatingl helmets or sun-topses, which
most wore, swathed round though they were
with white calico, yielded little relief from
! the oyerp1wering force OF the sun and the
/ white OF dark umbreilas-some of them two
/ fold-under which many sought shelter,
furnished so imperfect protection that one
could see on the path in distinct outline the
/ deeper shadow Of the head and shoulders
they were meant to cover. The little foot
| path up which the party had been climbing
/ III single file, save where the gentlemen
| were lending assistance to the lady mem
| bers Of it, suddenly ended. and each found
! himself, at the close Of the ascent, in front
| of those remarkable caye-temples which had
| been the object Of the visit The entrance was
hewn ont Of the solid rock, whose over
hanging frsnt rested on two huge pillars
which the excavators, when cutting into the
! great mass, had left standing to prop up
what may have been gateway once, but
what is merely an open entrance now. Dusk
| did not creep, bat it had rushed on from the
east, and in ten or fifteen minutes all was
in darkness, and the party saw the full eff
feet of the display which had been provided
for them. Illuminated arches had been
ere ted in front of the chief temple-caye,
I and from the peepul trees and cactuses, and
other tropical shrubs, there cleaned the
1 glow worm c0lors of the buttee-lamps with
which the exteriors Of the caves were illu
minated And inside what spectacle met
ones eyes Innumerable lamps had been
suspended from the solid rock overhead
| which formed the root of temple, and they
were now filling the cave with more than d
dim and anything but religious light.
Around the walls stood or sat strange, mas
siye figures of Hindoo gods, sculptured
by unknown hands, nobody knows when,
and, mHdjils i.ctu, up and down the tenn
ple ran wooden tables, daintily laid out with
! all the signs Of a forthcoming European ban
| quet At far end was cross table, some
what raised above the others, and it was
easy to divine what guest was to occupy the
seat of honor there The floor had been
covered with plated straw mating, on which
the ROYAL feet were 10 tread. Much time
was spent in examining this, the chief OF the
three caye-temples, and for two hours the
visitors wandered about looking at the gro
tesque and sadly multilated forms of the
| H1uIt1, anu tllC hDO41 WhiSh thSy
carried in their hands, or the mystic emblems
which were associated with them. The
presence of the party there implied no
desecration of the one sacred place, for
though some natives pay occasional deyo-
tional exercises at some Of the shrines they
are not popularity resorted to or much re-
garded. Fortunately, it is not the English
| race which has the odious reputation of
/ desecrating them that belongs, if tradition
| is to be trusted, to the Portuguese. The
/ temple in which the bulk Of the party now
! found themselves is great square excaya-
| ton, measuring l30 ieet each way, and its
| height is from -lxteen to twenty feet from
| floor to roof 1t has been dug by enormous
and patient labor ont Of the solid rock Of the
| mountain; but the brain which conceived
| it and the age or dynasty which saw it ex-
cavated are subjects Of mere speculation or
| idle fable. The sculptures of the gods and
| the other mythical personages which occupy
I three sides OF the square temple. the chief
| opening by which the guests entered being
! on the fourth side, are of colossal size, and
1 for the most part extend from the floor to
! the ceiling. Almost without exception they
! illustrate ueculiarities in the existence or
attributes in the character of the god SILVA,
to whom the temple is dedicated, or some
mythical event in his history. On few of
| the countenances there is a great divine re-
/ pose and fulness of meaning, but none of
| them Impressed one so deeply as the calm
and glorious face Of the sPbynx which lies
beneath the shadow OF the pyrmids and
looks with bland and quenchless maglignity
over the sandy waste of the desert. Alto
gether there were nine great groups Of
sculpture, Of which Eve were against the
wall opposite the entrance by which all came
in-two were on the right-hand wall. and
the remaining two on the left. The chief
among them was the triune SILVA, huge
1 fgure with three faces-one face represent
! ing his function of Creator, another that Of
Preserver, and the third that Of Destroyer
! Of the World As Brahma, the Creator, he
holds gonrd, his drinking vessel, in one Of
7 bis hands, and there IS much noble sublimity
! in the face As Vishnu, the Preserver, be
! holds a lotus flower, and there is color Of
the same sublimity in the countenance. As
Rudra, the Destroyer, be smiles on deadly
cobra, whose folds are wreathed round his
arm, whose eyes are looking into bis. and
whose hood is expanded as if the creature
were about to strike The Destroyer's cap
is adorned with skull, and with other
symbols not so easily explained. have
particuiarized this group because it is right
in front of it that his Royal Highness sat at
the banquet during the evening The calm,
grand face Of Brahma looked allnost over his
Royal Highness's head and, in its stony
Stiffness, its gaze ran along the banqueting
tables and the eating and drinking guests.