 The Elephanta caves are " of unknown date and attribution " . Art historians have dated the caves in the range of late 5th to late 8th century AD . Archaeological excavations have unearthed a few <unk> coins dated to 4th century AD . The known history is traced only to the defeat of <unk> rulers of Konkan by the <unk> Chalukyas emperor <unk> II ( <unk> – <unk> ) in a naval battle , in 635 AD . Elephanta was then called Puri or <unk> , and served as the capital of the Konkan Mauryas . Some historians attribute the caves to the Konkan Mauryas , dating them to the mid @-@ 6th century , though others refute this claim saying a relatively small kingdom like the Konkan Mauryas could not undertake " an almost superhuman excavation effort , " which was needed to <unk> the rock temples from solid rock and could not have the skilled labor to produce such " high quality " sculpture . 
