An island in the harbour east of the Mumbai islands, Gharapuri ('the city of the caves'), with rock-cut Shaiva cave temples.
Wikipedia (Elephanta Caves) dates the caves between the 5th and 9th centuries, most commonly the 5th to 7th, and says scholars attribute them to various Hindu dynasties, among them the Kalachuri king Krishnaraja; the older Rashtrakuta attribution is called discredited. The page says nothing of the site's use, its patrons or its lord in the 12th or 13th century. The island lies off the coast the Thana Silaharas hold, so we count it with them; whether anyone worships or keeps the caves in 1200 is not known.
Who holds it
- Title
- No community known
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No head or trustee is named in the page we read.
Overlord
the Silahara king (inferred from the coast)
How things stand that morning
An ancient cave temple on a harbour island; its state in 1200 is not known.
Places of note
- Elephanta caves: rock-cut Shaiva caves on Gharapuri island; state in 1200 not known
Where the sources disagree
- The page we read names no Silahara link and gives nothing for the site in the 12th or 13th century; the Silahara allegiance is our inference from the coast.
Evidence: The date range and attributions are from one Wikipedia page; nothing on the site's state or lord in 1200.
Primary sources for Silaharas
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
- Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
- The Book of Roger (the Pleasure of Him who Longs to Cross the Horizons), Muhammad al-Idrisi (completed 1154 at Palermo). The nearest Arabic geography in time to 1200 for the Indian Ocean. Read online
Sources and studies
- Elephanta Caves, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- Shilahara dynasty, Wikipedia (read for this sheet)
- OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, checked against the other sources)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.