Elephanta and the rock-cut cave temples of Mumbai

Between the mid-5th and 6th centuries sculptors cut cave temples to Shiva into the rock of Elephanta Island and of Salsette, the island now covered by Mumbai's suburbs. In Elephanta's great hall a seven-metre bust shows Shiva with three faces as creator, preserver and destroyer. Jogeshwari, cut in the same era, survives among suburban flats. Portuguese sailors named the island after a stone elephant.