The penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, issue 15, June 30, 1832

The listener is whisked to a remote island in Bombay’s bay, known locally as Goripura or Mountain City. Here a massive, weather‑worn elephant – once thought to bear a young elephant on its back – once dominated the shoreline before a fissure split it in 1814. The island, about six miles around, is split by a narrow valley that leads up to two hills crowned by a mysterious stone cave.

The narrative guides us up the valley to a dramatic entrance hewn from dark porphyry, flanked by massive pillars and pilasters that seem to hold up the very mountain itself. Inside, dim light barely reaches the rows of towering columns and gigantic figures carved from living rock, creating a sense of ancient awe and mystery. The description pauses at the central temple and its two hidden side chapels, hinting at a complex layout that once served unknown rituals.