. Indika. The country and the people of India and Ceylon . \ I-1IM 158 INDIRA. In another compartment, on the left of the three-headed Siva,are figures of Siva and his wife Parvati. All these are of gigan-tic size, and illustrate the sacred mysteries of the Brahmanicalfaith, such as the marriage of Siva and Parvati; the birth ofGanesh, the eldest son of Siva; Ravan, the demon king of Cey-lon, attempting to remove Kailas, the heavenly hill, to his ownkingdom; the destruction of the sacrifice of Daksha, the son ofBrahma, born from the latters thumb ; Bhairava, an incarnationof Siva, to oppose Vi
. Indika. The country and the people of India and Ceylon . \ I-1IM 158 INDIRA. In another compartment, on the left of the three-headed Siva,are figures of Siva and his wife Parvati. All these are of gigan-tic size, and illustrate the sacred mysteries of the Brahmanicalfaith, such as the marriage of Siva and Parvati; the birth ofGanesh, the eldest son of Siva; Ravan, the demon king of Cey-lon, attempting to remove Kailas, the heavenly hill, to his ownkingdom; the destruction of the sacrifice of Daksha, the son ofBrahma, born from the latters thumb ; Bhairava, an incarnationof Siva, to oppose Vishnus incarnation as Narsingh, the man-lion ; and, last of all, Siva as an A CHAPEL IN THE GREAT CAVES OF ELEPHANTA. These various figures, all of which are carved with great care,have been badly mutilated. Some writers attribute the wantonmutilation to the Portuguese, who, it is claimed, found the tem-ples in perfect condition. But no author, not even the painstak-ing Wilson, has been able to furnish the proof that the chargeis well-founded. The date of these particular excavations issupposed to range between the eighth and twelfth centuries ofour era. They form a part of the great aggressive system bywhich the Brahmans sought to propagate their faith throughout A SAIL TO THE CAVE TEMPLES OF /. \ / l 159 India. The mould has gathered on the walls here, and in someof the spans of the temple the water lias oozed down from theroofs and covered the floor. Even with the powerful rays ofthe Indian sun to dry it, the water filters through t he rook aboveso fast, and falls to the floor in such quantity that the walkingis anything but ornamenta
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhurstjfjohnfletcher18, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890
