The Elephant sculpture found from Elephanta is now placed at:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The Elephant sculpture found from Elephanta is currently placed at the Victoria Garden Museum, Mumbai, which is now officially known as the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, located inside the Jijamata Udyan (formerly Victoria Gardens) in Byculla. This colossal monolithic basalt elephant gave Elephanta Island, or the ancient Gharapuri, its popular name when the Portuguese discovered the statue near the island's landing point in the 16th century. After the sculpture was badly damaged during a British attempt to transport it to England in 1864, the broken fragments were moved to the Victoria Gardens. There, the pieces were reassembled and permanently installed on the grounds of the adjacent museum, where it remains a significant historical relic of Mumbai's past.

The incorrect option is 1:
Patna Museum is situated in Patna, Bihar, a state located in the eastern part of India, far from Mumbai. This museum is celebrated for its extensive collection of artifacts, notably the famous Didarganj Yakshi, which primarily documents the art and history of the ancient Magadha region and the wider eastern Indian subcontinent. The Elephant sculpture from Elephanta is an iconic piece of Western Indian art history, inextricably tied to Mumbai and the Elephanta Caves, making its placement in the Patna Museum geographically and historically incorrect for this specific artifact.

The incorrect option is 2:
Kolkata Museum refers to the Indian Museum in Kolkata, West Bengal, which is recognized as the largest and oldest museum in India. Its vast and varied collections cover art, archaeology, and natural history from various regions across the country, as well as international exhibits. However, the famous elephant sculpture is not part of this collection; it is an object with a profound local significance to Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra. Therefore, the Elephanta elephant is correctly housed within a Mumbai institution, not the major museum in Kolkata.

The incorrect option is 3:
Bihar Museum is a modern museum in Patna, Bihar, established to primarily showcase the rich heritage and culture of the state of Bihar. While it features impressive exhibits from the Maurya and Gupta periods, among others, its curatorial focus is distinctly on the history and geography of Eastern India. The Elephant sculpture from Elephanta Island is specifically associated with the history of the Elephanta Caves and Mumbai harbour, confirming that a Bihar-based museum, despite its importance, is not the correct repository for this landmark piece of Western Indian rock-cut art.