Ellora Hindu Cave 17 Appreciates Gandharva Celestial Spirits and Shiva

Summary: Ellora Hindu Cave 17 in Maharashtra, India, associates auspicious adoration with destroyer and fertility god Shiva and with Gandharva celestial spirits.

depiction of War Goddess Durga's slaying of demon buffalo Mahishasuri in Ellora Hindu Cave 17; Monday, June 15, 2015, 08:55: Vu2sga, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Ellora Hindu Cave 17 affords Maharashtra state in western peninsular India an architectural, artistic acquaintance with the ancient activities of the Gandharva celestial spirits that associate with destroyer and fertility god Shiva.

Itinerant artisans, merchants and monks built Ellora Hindu Cave 17 as a cave temple that bruits basic beliefs about male reproductive organs as fertility rite symbols. Their Shaivite Hindu (from Sanskrit शिव, "auspicious" and सिन्धु, "stream") cave temple contains pillars that somewhat copy pilasters in concurrently constructed Ellora Hindu Cave 14. It demonstrates the destructively creative dominance of its destroyer and fertility god through a dedicatory compartment and carved dwarf and female figures and Gandharva celestial spirits.

Ellora Hindu Cave 17 exhibits a doorway-guarding, flower-bearing, stone-carved davarapala (from Sanskrit द्वार, "gateway" and पाल, "protector") on each side of the shrine entryway and two female stone-sculpted figures.

Ellora Hindu Cave 17 features a stone-fashioned linga (from Sanskrit लिङ्ग, "emblem") that somewhat furthers fertility goddesses, gods and symbols from 4000 B.C.E. to 2500 B.C.E.

Indus Valley civilizations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro (from Sindhi موئن جو دڙو, "dead men's mound") guide Shiva's (from Sanskrit शिव, "auspicious") fertility godship and symbolized linga. Shiva huddling amorously with his helpmate Parvati (from Sanskrit पर्वति, "stone") over intellectually with the sage Bhrigu (from Sanskrit भृगु, "precipice") handed him linga-centered fertility godship. Shiva inhabiting illuminated, immense Mount Kailasa (from Sanskrit कैलास, "crystal") perhaps inspires flower-incised columns molded like pilasters in Ellora Hindu Cave 14 and fertility-impelled, flower-bearing figures.

Apsara (from Sanskrit अप्सरस्, "water-going") nymphs and Gandharva (from Sanskrit गन्धर्व, "singer") celestial spirits join yaksha (from Sanskrit यक्ष, "ghost") dwarfs in Ellora Hindu Cave 17.

Half-bird, half-man Gandharva celestial spirits keep heavenly life in the Mount Meru (from Sanskrit मेरु, "central") foothills kinetic through their amorous adventures with beautiful apsara nymphs.

Gandharva celestial spirits, as skilled musicians and singers, love to live amid mountain forests and in mountain air with dancing, lovable, lovely, loving, singing apsara nymphs. They manifest skilled herbalism ever since the first Gandharva made fermented, milky, vital soma (from Sanskrit सोम, "extract") liquor from soma plants native to Gandharva homelands. Vach (from Sanskrit वच्, "speak"), goddess of waters and wife of storm god Indra (from Sanskrit इण्ड्र, "raindrop-possessing"), named the first Gandharva soma preparer to gods.

Ellora Hindu Cave 17 offers Gandharva celestial spirits, offspring of creator god Brahma (from Sanskrit ब्रह्म, "priest") or of the sage Kasyapa (from Sanskrit कश्यप, "black-toothed").

Ellora Hindu Cave 17 presents Gandharva celestial spirits alongside dvarapala and yaksha attendants of Kubera (from Sanskrit कुबेर, "bad-limbed"), northern guardian, Shiva's neighbor and wealth god.

The sage Narada (from Sanskrit नारद, "instruction-giver") and the wind god Vayu (from Sanskrit वायु, "air") respectively qualify as chief and king of Gandharva celestial spirits. Only serpent-tailed naga (from Sanskrit नाग, "serpent") half-men resent Gandharva celestial spirits ravagers of Patala (from Sanskrit पाताल, "underworld") Palace until routed by preserver god Vishnu. A covered corridor suggests, in its dedicatory sculpted compartment to Brahma and Vishnu (from Sanskrit विष्णु, "all-pervasive"), the spiritual strength that Shiva shares with the duo.

Four-armed Ganapati (from Sanskrit गणपति, "songmaster") and demon-slaying Mahishasuri (from Sanskrit महिषासुर, "buffalo demon"), Ellora Hindu Cave 17 sculptures, thwart threats to Gandharva celestial spirits and Shiva.

entrance to Ellora Hindu Cave 17; Thursday, July 7, 2011, 12:11: Abhinav pandagale, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

depiction of War Goddess Durga's slaying of demon buffalo Mahishasuri in Ellora Hindu Cave 17; Monday, June 15, 2015, 08:55: Vu2sga, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellora-Cave17-Durga.jpg

entrance to Ellora Hindu Cave 17; Thursday, July 7, 2011, 12:11: Abhinav pandagale, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:From_One_of_the_Ellora_caves.JPG

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