The Temple of the Three Goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna and Swaraswati

  The Temple of the Three Goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna and Swaraswati

Ellora Caves, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, 8th Century CE

            Rivers have given us the fertile land and water for the beginning of civilisation.  All ancient civilisation, therefore, are river based: Egyptian on the Nile,  Indus Valley Civilisation on the Indus. Thus it was but natural for the people to venerate the Rivers. 

            In the Ellora Caves we have temple dedicated to the three famous rivers of the North: Ganga, Yamuna and Swaraswati. The temple is a unique one. For the temple faces the Kailash Temple in the Ellora Caves.  Are the three holy rivers paying their homage to the main diety of the temple,  Lord Shiva? Moreover, instead of the squat, plumpish ideal figure of woman, the River Goddesses are slim and tall nymphs.  While Ganga stands erect, in the central niche,  Yamuna and Swaraswati swagger in the left and right nitches.  The elegance of their walk is almost like a model's walk on a ramp. These women are not coy about their sexuality.  Since they are giver of life, they are confident of their role and status. 

           Today  while Swaraswati has disappeared, Ganga and Yammuna still continue to irrigate our fields. But unfortunately the super intelligent modern human beings no longer respect our rivers. We pollute them; we contaminate them; we kill them. Perhaps the ancients were wiser than us. They understood the value of water and importance of the rivers in our lives.