CAVES OF KANAREH. 
21 
below. Its surface is arid in the extreme, and wears a volcanic appear¬ 
ance. The first cave which presents itself fronts the foot-path leading 
towards the hill, and is of a more picturesque exterior than the others, 
being overgrown with wild plants. In this cave only, we observed 
columns which resembled those of Elephanta, having a cushion-like 
capital, with similar lines on the shaft. Immediately adjacent to this, 
opens a cavern formed more by nature than the others, and assisted by 
art only in its recesses. After this is to be seen the principal and the 
largest cave, an object of equal curiosity and admiration. In front of 
it, is a square enclosure leading into a vestibule, the walls of which are 
ornamented by numerous sculptured figures ; and in the right and left 
recesses are niches, in which are carved in alto relievo, two colossal 
statues, measuring about thirty feet in height. The vestibule leads 
into the interior of the cavern, the roof of which is arched, and the 
sides are ornamented by a row of pilasters, carved into extraordinary 
shapes, the capitals consisting of elephants, whose heads and trunks are 
so placed as to form volutes, but whose carcasses are disposed in 
various attitudes, with small figures of men bestriding them. In the 
inmost part of the cavern is a circular monument, covered with a 
cupola, in which some incarnate deity is supposed to reside. On the 
surface of one of the exterior pilasters of the vestibule, is an inscription 
which we were informed had not yet been decyphered. We had our 
breakfast in this cave, which was served up with the same neatness and 
comfort, as if the spot had been long inhabited by an English family ; 
so expert are the Indian servants at arrangements of this sort. 
From this cave we ascended the hill, and in every direction we 
found flights of steps cut into the hard rock, each leading to different 
excavations, and connecting the whole by easy avenues. From this 
appearance of convenience, it is plain that this spot must once have 
been the scene of much religious zeal, and the seat of a great population. 
It would be useless to enumerate the many caves which we visited, and 
I would defy the most rapid draughtsman to design the infinite number 
of little Indian sculptured deities with which they swarm, without 
