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measures about 130 feet, and its length from- the east to the west
entrance is the same. It does not, however, occupy' the mire square
of this area. What may be called, the porticoes, or the three open
sides, are only about 54 feet long and 01 feet deep. Omitting these
and the back aisle, immediately in front of three of the principal
sculptured compartments, which is of about the same dimensions as
eachi portico, the body of the cave may be considered as a square of
about 9r feet each way, supported by six rows of columns, with six
columns in. each row, except at the corners, where the uniformity is
broken on the west side to make room for the shrine, which occupies
a space equal to that enclosed by four of the columns. There were
originally 26 columns, with i6 half-columns; but 8 of the separate
pillars have been destroyed, and others are much injured. As neither
the floor nor the roof is perfectly horizontal, they vary in height'from
15 to rq feet. The most striking of the sculptures is the famous
colossal three-faced bust, or trimurti, at the back of the cave, facing the
entrance. This is a representation of Siva in his threefold character -of
Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer , and all the other sculptures relate
to the same god, the cave being, ljke every other Hindu rock-temple
of Western India, a Saiva one. The trdmurti is i7 feet io inches in
height; and a line drawn round the three heads at the level of the.eyes-
measures z a feet 9 inches in length,, The length of the middle face
(Brahma's) is 4 feet 4 inches; those of the others (Vishnu and Rudra)
4 feet r inch and about 5 feet. In r865 this unique bust was mutilated
by some `barbarian clothed in the garb of civilization,' who broke off a
portion of the noses of two of the faces ; and since then some of the
other sculptures in the temple have been similarly treated, so that it has
been found necessary to place a sergeant and two native policemen: to
protect the cave, The trimurti is guarded by two gigantic dwarapalas
..„„or, ° doorkeepers' of rock, respectively ra feet ,9. inches and 13 feet
6 inches high.; both figures are much defaced. The lingam chapel,
on the right-hand side of the temple on entering, contains several
dwarapalas and other figures; and two compartments on either side ~of
the trimurti are also ornamented with numerous sculptured groups.
'there are several other compartments in the Great Cave, all containing
interesting sculptures. Further details will be found in the exhaustive
account of Dr, Burgess (The Rock ,7emples ofElephanta or Gharapuri,
Bombay, r87r), from which this article is chiefly condensed.
`The impression on the mind,' writes Dr. Burgess, ' may be imagined
rather than described, when one enters the portico [of the Great Cave,
passing from the glare and heat of tropical sunshine to the dim light and
cool air of the temple, and realizes that he is under a vast roof of solid
rock; that seems to be supported only by the ranges of massive columns
that recede in the vistas on every side, some ,of :which appear to have
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