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88-694: The Pataleshwar Caves , also referred to as the Panchaleshvara temple or Bhamburde Pandav cave temple, are an 8th-century rock-cut Hindu temple from the Rashtrakuta period located in Pune , Maharashtra , India . Dedicated to Shiva, it was a monumental monolithic excavation with a notable circular Nandi mandapa and a large pillared mandapa. It is a temple of three rock-cut cave sanctums, likely dedicated to Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu originally, but currently to Parvati-original Shiva-Ganesha. A garden now surrounds

176-508: A pradakshinapatha carved out (circumambulation passage) around the three sanctums. A notable feature of the sanctums area of this complex is that it is at a lower level, cut deeper into the ground. It is this "underworld" symbolism that gives this site its name – Pataleshwar (many temples in India with deep-in-the ground sanctums are also called Pataleshwar). A set of steps, flanked with two couchant stone tigers carved in-situ, provide entry into

264-542: A UNESCO World Heritage Site , are located on the edge of the Deccan Plateau , where dramatic erosion has left massive sandstone outcrops. Researchers have found primitive tools and decorative rock paintings made by humans in the area's many caves and grottos , the earliest paintings dating to circa 8,000 BCE. During the time of the Buddha (c. 563/480 or c. 483/400 BCE), Buddhist monks were also in

352-455: A World Heritage Site, are 30 rock-cut cave Buddhist temples carved into the sheer vertical side of a gorge near a waterfall-fed pool located in the hills of the Sahyadri mountains. Like all the locations of Buddhist caves, this one is located near main trade routes and spans six centuries beginning in the 2nd or 1st century B.C. A period of intense building activity at this site occurred under

440-486: A damaged drainage system, which caused rain water to flood the caves for many months of the year. The ASI has attempted to correct this. The complex of the cave is a part of a 19th-century community garden as reported in the earlier colonial era survey reports. This garden is now more elaborate. There are a few recovered architectural ruins stored in it. The Pune office of the Archaeological Survey of India

528-627: A divergent sect of the Buddhists or the Jains . Later, Ashoka built the caves of Lomas Rishi (without dated inscription, but posterior to Sudama on architectural grounds) and Karna Chopar (19th year of his reign), at a time when he had become a firm advocate of Buddhism, as known from the Edicts of Ashoka . It was initially thought that Karna Chopar may have been dedicated to the Buddhists, based on

616-457: A former reading of the inscription at the entrance of the cave, corrected by Harry Falk in 2007: the new reading shows that Karna Chopar too had been dedicated to the Ajivikas. Since Lomas Rishi has no dedicatory inscription, it has been suggested that it may had been dedicated to the Buddhists. The affiliation of Lomas Rishi to Buddhism, although unproven, would be coherent with the fact that

704-418: A little higher on the north side of the hill, 300m as the crow flies ( 25°00′41″N 85°04′37″E  /  25.011261°N 85.076963°E  / 25.011261; 85.076963 ). Although small, they are very beautiful, perfectly carved, caves. The cave of Vadathika, a refuge that will last as long as the sun and the moon, was dug by Devanampiya (beloved of the gods) Dasaratha during his elevation to

792-474: A millennium. In the 3rd century BCE Indian rock-cut architecture began to develop, starting with the already highly sophisticated and state-sponsored Barabar caves in Bihar , personally dedicated by Ashoka circa 250 BCE. These artificial caves exhibit an amazing level of technical proficiency, the extremely hard granite rock being cut in geometrical fashion and polished to a mirror-like finish. There

880-493: A period, restored with a masonry. The path leads into an open court that is nearly a square (95 feet at its maximum in north–south, by 90 feet across east–west). The floor of this open mandapa was cut into the basaltic rock, part of the vast Deccan Traps . It features a circular shape Nandi mandapa, all cut out of the original rock to monolithically reveal the Nandi shrine and the Nandi. This mandapa had sixteen pillars, twelve along

968-407: A rectangular room entirely open to the outside, a sort of elongated porch, and an unfinished semi-hemispherical room: the rectangular space measures 4.27x2.54m, and the circular room is 2.8m in diameter . One goes from the rectangular room to the half-hemispherical room by a narrow trapezoidal passage. On the floor of the porch, four holes were made, which are thought to allow the cave to be closed with

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1056-404: A rock-cut structure is a decorated rock quarry; most of the stone removed was typically put to economic use elsewhere. In India, caves have long been regarded as sacred places. Caves that were enlarged or entirely man-made were believed to be as sacred as natural caves. The sanctuary in all Indian religious structures, even free-standing ones, was designed to have the same cave-like feeling, as it

1144-455: A semi-hemispherical room 6m in diameter, which is accessed from the rectangular room by a narrow rectangular passage. This is probably the first cave in the group to have been dug. This cave was dedicated by Emperor Ashoka in 257 BCE (12th year of his reign) as evidenced by an inscription in Brahmi using his protocol name (Priyadarsin, "He who brings joy") found in the entrance of the cave, whereas

1232-488: A wooden or masonry temple with wall decorations and works of art. Pancha Rathas is an example of monolith Indian rock cut architecture dating from the late 7th century located at Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Ellora cave temple 16, the Kailash Temple , is singular in that it was excavated from the top down rather than by the usual practice of carving into the scarp of a hillside. The Kailash Temple

1320-462: A wooden picket fence. The cave of Visvakarma was offered by Ashoka to the Ajivikas in the year 12 of his reign, about 261 BCE: "By King Priyadarsin, in the 12th year of his reign, this cave of Khalatika Mountain was offered to the Ajivikas. " Visvakarma cave, despite the fact that it is not finished, was nonetheless consecrated by Ashoka. This somewhat questions the theory that Lomas Rishi's cave would not have received Ashoka's inscription because it

1408-409: Is also a World Heritage Site . There is no timeline that divides the creation of rock-cut temples and free-standing temples built with cut stone as they developed in parallel. The building of free-standing structures, especially Buddhist temples, began in the 3rd century BCE, whereas Hindu temples started to be built from the 5th century CE. Meanwhile, rock cut temples continued to be excavated until

1496-408: Is also near the entrance, another element which suggested the belonging of this cave to the Buddhists. The Visvakarma cave, also called Viswa Mitra, is accessible by the "steps of Ashoka" carved into the cliff. It is a hundred meters and a little east of the main granite hill 25°00′22″N 85°03′53″E  /  25.00611°N 85.06472°E  / 25.00611; 85.06472 . It consists of

1584-531: Is also the only cave that does not have "historical" inscriptions after Ashoka. The nearby caves of Nagarjuni hill were built few decades later than the Barabar caves, and consecrated by Dasaratha Maurya , Ashoka's grandson and successor, each for the Ajivikas sect. They are 1.6 kilometers east of the Barabar Caves. The three caves are: Also called Gopi or Gopi-ka-Kubha or simply Nagarjuni, Gopika cave

1672-517: Is another cave with the structure and polishing qualities of the Barabar caves, but without any inscription. This is the Sitamarhi Cave , 20 km from Rajgir , 10 km south-west of Hisua , also dated of the Maurya empire. It is smaller than the Barabar caves, measuring only 4.91x3.43m, with a ceiling height of 2.01m. The entrance is also trapezoidal, as for the Barabar caves. Finally,

1760-460: Is flanked by Dharaıendra and Padmavati, is still under active worship. The inscription mentions the site as Charana Hill, a holy site. This was the last excavation at Ellora. The Ankai Fort caves are thought to be from the same period. The final wave of Indian rock-cut cave construction occurred at Gwalior with five clusters of rock-cut monuments surrounding the Gwalior fort , two centuries after

1848-703: Is generally small and dark, without natural light. The oldest rock-cut architecture is found in the Barabar caves , Bihar , which were built around the 3rd century BC. Other early cave temples are found in the western Deccan ; these are mostly Buddhist shrines and monasteries, dating between 100 BC and 170 AD. Originally, there were probably wooden structures associated with them, which would have deteriorated over time. Historically, artisans carried forward design elements from wood in their rock-cut temples: skilled craftsmen carved rock to imitate timber texture, grain, and structure. The earliest cave temples include

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1936-447: Is located in the adjacent property. Indian rock-cut architecture There are more than 1,500 known rock-cut structures in India. Many of these structures contain artwork of global importance, and most are adorned with exquisite stone carvings. These ancient and medieval structures represent significant achievements of structural engineering and craftsmanship. The effort expended often astonishes visitors, but seen from one aspect,

2024-406: Is now a part of Shivajinagar (Pune), surrounded by urban structures. The Pataleshwar caves are about 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Mumbai. The Pataleshwar caves are a monolithic excavation of a rocky hillock that gently swells and forms the terrain here. Its entrance is about a 20 feet long path from the east of the complex. It was originally an excavated tunnel but one that collapsed. It was, for

2112-424: Is on the northern side of the Barabar granite hill. It consists of a single rectangular room with polished surfaces, 10.2x4.27m in dimensions. It contains an inscription of Ashoka dating from the 19th year of his reign, about 250 BCE, located outside, immediately to the right of the entrance. Initially, it was thought from E. Hultzsch's 1925 translation, that Ashoka's inscription from Karna Chopar Cave does not mention

2200-437: Is the largest of all the caves of the Barabar complex ( 25°00′33″N 85°04′42″E  /  25.009116°N 85.078427°E  / 25.009116; 85.078427 ). It consists of a single large oblong room of 13.95x5.84m. The two ends of the room have the particularity of being circular, contrary to the other caves. The cave lies on the south bank of the hill, dug by King Dasharatha grandson of Emperor Ashoka, according to

2288-634: Is thought that many Buddhists relocated to the Deccan under the protection of the Andhra dynasty , thus shifting the cave-building effort to western India: an enormous effort at creating religious caves (usually Buddhist or Jain) continued there until the 2nd century CE, culminating with the Karla Caves or the Pandavleni Caves . These caves generally followed an apsidal plan with a stupa in

2376-570: The Ajivikas upon the accession to the throne of Dasaratha, confirming that these were still active around 230 BCE, and that Buddhism was not the exclusive religion of the Mauryas at that time. The three caves are also characterized by an extremely advanced finish of the granite walls inside, which again confirms that the technique of " Mauryan polish " did not die out with the reign of Ashoka. Inscription of Gopika cave: "The cave of Gopika,

2464-701: The Bhaja Caves , the Karla Caves , the Bedse Caves , the Kanheri Caves , and some of the Ajanta Caves . Relics found in these caves suggest a connection between the religious and the commercial. Buddhist missionaries are known to have accompanied traders on the busy international trading routes through India. Some of the more sumptuous cave temples, commissioned by wealthy traders, included pillars, arches, and elaborate facades. They were made during

2552-545: The Jain Son Bhandar Caves in Rajgir , generally dated to the 2nd–4th centuries CE, nevertheless share a broad structure reminiscent of the caves of Barabar and some small areas of irregular polish, which leads some authors to suggest that they may actually be contemporary to, and even earlier than, the Barabar caves, and would conveniently create a precedent and an evolutionary step to the Barabar Caves. To

2640-582: The Kanheri Caves were excavated in the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C., as were those at Ajanta , which were occupied continuously by Buddhist monks from 200 BCE to 650 AD. As the Buddhist ideology encouraged involvement in trade, monasteries often became stopovers for inland traders and provided lodging houses along trade routes . As mercantile and royal endowments grew, cave interiors became more elaborate, with interior walls decorated in paintings, reliefs, and intricate carvings. Numerous donors provided

2728-470: The Kondivite and Guntupalli caves. Lomas Rishi has no Ashoka inscription, perhaps because it has never been completed due to structural rock slide problems. According to Gupta, the theory that Lomas Rishi would not have received Ashoka's inscription because it was in a state of incompleteness, is undermined by the fact that the cave of Vivaskarma, another cave of Barabar, although it is not finished,

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2816-636: The Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district , Bihar, India, 24 km (15 mi) north of Gaya . These caves are situated in the twin hills of Barabar (four caves) and Nagarjuni (three caves); caves of the 1.6 km (0.99 mi)-distant Nagarjuni Hill are sometimes singled out as the Nagarjuni Caves. These rock-cut chambers bear dedicatory inscriptions in

2904-482: The Vakataka king Harisena between 460 and 478. A profuse variety of decorative sculpture, intricately carved columns and carved reliefs are found, including exquisitely carved cornices and pilaster . Skilled artisans crafted living rock to imitate timbered wood (such as lintels ) in construction and grain and intricate decorative carving, although such architectural elements were ornamental and not functional in

2992-504: The sangam (confluence) of the Mula and Mutha rivers – sites recommended for temples in historic Sanskrit texts on temple architecture. Surveys of this site done in the 19th-century refer to it as the "Panchaleshvara cave", "Bhamburde caves of Pune", "Pandoo caves", or "Panchaleshvara temple"; they mention it to be situated in a village north of Pune. However, as the Pune city has grown, this site

3080-435: The 12th century, rock-cut architecture became almost totally structural in nature. That is, rocks were cut into bricks and used to build free-standing structures. Kailash was the last spectacular rock-cut excavated temple. Numerous rock reliefs , relief sculptures carved into rock faces, have been found outside caves or at other sites. New discoveries of relatively small rock-cut sites, mostly Buddhist, continue to be made in

3168-628: The 12th century. The stepwell is a large hole in the ground with steps at one or more sides. They are used in India to collect and conserve water from the monsoon rains, for use in the dry season. The steps allow access to the water whatever level it is at. They have a history of around 4,000 years in India, first appearing in the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization , reappearing around the 5th century CE, and then constructed until relatively recent times, with some still in use. Many have walls lined with stone brought from elsewhere for

3256-415: The 19th year of Ashoka's reign (about 258 BCE and 251 BCE respectively, based on a coronation date of 269 BCE), for the dedication of several caves to the sect of the Ajivikas , a sect of ascetics, which flourished at the same time as Buddhism and Jainism. The words "Ajivikas" were later attacked by the chisel, probably by religious rivals, at a time when the Brahmi script was still understood (probably before

3344-577: The 21st century, especially in the Deccan . The earliest caves used by humans were natural caves that they occupied or used for a variety of purposes, such as shrines and shelters. Evidence suggests that the caves were first occupied and slightly altered during the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods, up to about 6000 BC. These changes are not classified as architecture. Early examples included decorating overhanging rock with rock-cut designs . The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka , now designated as

3432-497: The 5th century CE). However, the original inscriptions being deep, they remain easily decipherable. The Ashoka inscriptions in the Barabar Caves are part of Ashoka's " Minor Rock Edicts ", and appear in the three caves named Sudama, Visvakarma and Karna Chopar. Lomas Rishi, meanwhile, has no Ashoka inscription (only an inscription of Anantavarman above the entrance, 5-6th century CE), perhaps because she did not never been completed due to structural rock slide problems. In addition to

3520-405: The Ajivikas, and seems rather to refer to the Buddhist practice of retirement (vassavasa) during the rainy season. In addition, the inverted swastika with upward arrow at the end of the inscription ( [REDACTED] [REDACTED] ) would be more of a Buddhist character. All this suggested that this cave was planned for Buddhist monks. However, Harry Falk has recently shown with a new reading that

3608-602: The Barabar caves, the earliest known rock-cut Buddhist monasteries date to the 1st century BCE in the Western Ghats in western India, such as the Kondivite Caves and, in Eastern Ghats, such as Guntupalli Caves . The Sudama cave is located on the southern side of Barabar granite hill. It is close to Lomas Rishi , and on its left. It consists of two rooms: a rectangular room measuring 9.98x5.94m, and

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3696-749: The Ellora Parshvantha cave temple. They contain many monumental Jain images. South-West Group: Now termed Trishalagiri. The group is the first one encountered when driving to the Urvai Gate, just outside the fortifications. There are the oldest Jain monuments in Gwalior from the post-Gupta period. Archaeologist L.B. Singh dates them to 6th to 8th cent AD. South-East Group (Popularly referred to as Ek Patthar Ki Bawadi group or " Gopachal Atishya Kshetra "), Urvahi group ( Siddhachal Caves , North-West group and North-East group were all excavated during

3784-475: The Maurya period. According to Gupta, the Son Bhandar Caves could be such an intermediate step, although relatively unique, and subject to questioning its chronology, since it is generally dated to the 2nd-4th centuries of our era. Laser scans carried out in 2022 revealed a high degree of precision craftsmanship. The Ashoka inscriptions of the Barabar Caves were engraved during the 12th year and

3872-647: The Maurya statuary, particularly visible on the pillars and capitals of the Ashoka pillars . Commenting of Mauryan sculpture, John Marshall once wrote about the "extraordinary precision and accuracy which characterizes all Mauryan works, and which has never, we venture to say, been surpassed even by the finest workmanship on Athenian buildings". This remarkable and large-scale polishing technique, and in many ways without parallel, seems nevertheless to have been derived from polishing techniques in Achaemenid statuary,

3960-528: The Tomar rule during 1440–1473 AD. Babur , who visited Gwalior in AD 1527, ordered the Gwalior statues to be destroyed. However, only the faces of many of colossal Jain images were destroyed, some of them were later repaired by the local Jains. The Pallava architects started the carving of rock for the creation of monolithic copies of structural temples. A feature of the rock-cut cave temple distribution until

4048-435: The apparition of stepwells in India, dating from 200 to 400 CE. Subsequently, the construction of wells at Dhank (550–625 CE) and stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850–950 CE) took place. At Ellora, on the hill to the northeast of the main complex of caves, is a Jain cave temple containing a 16-foot (4.9 m) rock-carved image of Lord Parshvanath with an inscription dated 1234/5 CE. This well preserved image

4136-581: The architecture of the gate of Lomas Rishi became a reference for the development of the Chaitya arch in Buddhist cave architecture for the following centuries, whereas the Hindus or the Jains caves essentially did not follow this architectural example. This would also mean that the decorated gate of Lomas Rishi was a Buddhist invention, which was emulated in Buddhist architecture in the following centuries. After

4224-475: The area dating from much earlier times, in the Neolithic era. There is, however, no trace of evolution from these Neolithic objects to the polished stone architecture of many centuries later, and the Barabar caves are essentially a sudden technological break with no local history, suggesting the import of these techniques from another culture. Nor are there any known examples of stone architecture in India before

4312-477: The assassination of Brihadratha and the coup d'état of Pushyamitra Sunga, founder of the Sunga dynasty. Pushyamitra Sunga is also known to have persecuted Buddhists and Ajivikas, which would explain the immediate cessation of work. According to Gupta, the abrupt interruption of the works is suggested by the lack of finishing, even approximate, of the ground, with for example the abandonment in the state of some pikes of

4400-440: The back for the chaityas , and a rectangular plan with surrounding cells for the viharas . When Buddhist missionaries arrived, they naturally gravitated to caves for use as temples and abodes, in accord with their religious ideas of asceticism and the monastic life. The Western Ghats topography, with its flat-topped basalt hills, deep ravines , and sharp cliffs , was suited to their cultural inclinations. The earliest of

4488-464: The cave of Lomas Rishi did not receive a dedicatory inscription: The ceiling of the Sudama cave is arched. The cave is composed of a circular vaulted chamber and a vaulted room with the rectangular form of mandapa . The interior walls of the cave represent a technical feat: they are perfectly flat and polished granite surfaces, creating a mirror effect. On the other hand, the plane surfaces reverberate

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4576-409: The cave shrines, called Chaityas , were for congregational worship. The earliest rock-cut garbhagriha , similar to free-standing ones later, had an inner circular chamber with pillars to create a circumambulatory path ( pradakshina ) around the stupa and an outer rectangular hall for the congregation of the devotees. The construction of caves would wane after the 2nd century CE, possibly due to

4664-502: The cave was indeed dedicated to the Ajivikas. Traditional reading of the inscription: "In my 19th year of reign, I, King Priyadarsin , offered this cave of the very pleasant mountain of Khalatika, to serve as shelter during the rainy season." This reading of the inscription has been corrected by Harry Falk in 2007, who after cleaning the stone and inspecting it read: "When King Priyadarsin had been annointed 19 years, he went to Jalūṭha and then this cave (called) Supriyekṣā,

4752-419: The circumference and four inside to support the roof of the Nandi mandapa. However, four of the eastern pillars and the roof above they supported is now lost. The shilpins (artists) cut the floor around the Nandi mandapa to provide for an annular cistern about 2 feet deep, one that likely held any liquids used to wash or ceremonially rinse the Nandi. The Nandi sits on a pedestal, also monolithically carved out of

4840-691: The classical sense. Later many Hindu kings from southern India patronize many cave temples dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses. One such prominent example of cave temple architecture are the Badami Cave Temples at Badami, the early Chalukya capital, carved out in the 6th century. There are four cave temples hewn from the sides of cliffs, three Hindu and one Jain , that contain carved architectural elements such as decorative pillars and brackets as well as finely carved sculpture and richly etched ceiling panels. Nearby are many small Buddhist cave shrines. Rock-cut architecture also developed with

4928-493: The covered mandapa. Between the third row and the fourth row of pillars, in the front of the sanctums, is another small Nandi hewn in-situ, thus re-affirming that this was a Hindu Shaivism site from its origins. The three sanctum caves total to about 39 feet long and 27.5 feet deep. The central shrine has a rock-cut Mahadeva Panchalesvara linga (original), while the cella on its side have space for statues. The original statues are lost, and were likely of Brahma on one side, Vishnu on

5016-435: The door, along the curve of the architrave, a line of elephants advances in the direction of stupa emblems. This is the characteristic form of the " Chaitya arch" or chandrashala, to be an important feature of architecture and sculpture in the rock for many centuries. It is clearly a stone reproduction of wooden buildings and other plant materials. According to historian S. P. Gupta , Lomas Rishi's immediate successors are

5104-619: The earliest examples of rock-cut architecture in India, with architectural detailing made in the Mauryan period. Similar examples include the larger Buddhist Chaitya , found in Maharashtra , such as in Ajanta and Karla Caves . The Barabar caves greatly influenced the tradition of rock-cut architecture in the Indian subcontinent . The cave of Lomas Rishi has a carved entranceway. It is on

5192-545: The fact that Mauryan caves were dedicated and sponsored by the Mauryan Imperial government, allowing for huge resources and efforts to be spent, whereas later caves where essentially the result of donations by commoners, who could not afford as high a level of spending. Probably owing to the 2nd century BCE fall of the Mauryan Empire and the subsequent persecutions of Buddhism under Pushyamitra Sunga , it

5280-542: The fact that the caves on Nagarjuni Hill were not consecrated by Ashoka but by his successor Dasaratha, suggests that these caves were only built after the reign of Ashoka. Dasaratha Maurya , Ashoka's grandson and regnal successor, wrote dedicatory inscriptions in the three other caves, forming the Nagarjuni group (Gopika, Vadathi and Vapiya caves) of the Barabar hills. It is generally considered that their construction dates from his reign. The three caves were offered to

5368-626: The funds for the building of these caves and left donatory inscriptions, including laity, members of the clergy, government officials, and even foreigners such as Yavanas ( Greeks ) representing about 8% of all inscriptions. Facades were added to the exteriors while the interiors became designated for specific uses, such as monasteries ( viharas ) and worship halls ( chaityas ). Over the centuries, simple caves began to resemble free-standing buildings, needing to be formally designed and requiring highly skilled artisans and craftsmen to complete. These artisans had not forgotten their timber roots and imitated

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5456-628: The habit of using natural caves, such as the Saptaparni Cave , southwest from Rajgir , Bihar . Many believe it to be the site in which Buddha spent some time before his death, and where the first Buddhist council was held after the Buddha died ( paranirvana ). The Buddha himself had also used the Indrasala Cave for meditation, starting a tradition of using caves, natural or man-made, as religious retreats, that would last for over

5544-406: The inscription that was engraved above the front door: "The cave of Gopika, a refuge that will last as long as the sun and the moon, was dug by Devanampiya (beloved of the gods) Dasaratha during his elevation to the throne, to make a hermitage for the most pious Ajivikas " The cave also has the " Gopika Cave Inscription " in the entrance corridor, dated to the 5-6th century CE. These two caves are

5632-416: The inscriptions indicating that they were made in the 12th year of Ashoka's reign (250 BC), it is generally considered that the construction of the Barabar caves itself also dates from his reign. The fact that the cave of Vivaskarma was not consecrated by Ashoka during the 12th year of his reign, but only seven years later, argues for the hypothesis of a gradual construction of the caves under Ashoka. Similarly,

5720-500: The name of "King Piyadasi" for the Barabar group, and "Devanampiya Dasaratha" for the Nagarjuni group, thought to date back to the 3rd century BCE during the Maurya period, and to correspond respectively to Ashoka (reigned 273–232 BCE) and his grandson, Dasharatha Maurya . The sculptured surround to the entrance to the Lomas Rishi Cave is the earliest survival of the ogee shaped " chaitya arch" or chandrashala that

5808-464: The natural rock. The covered part of the Pataleshwar site is a large nearly square mandapa, a bit smaller in size than the open court with the Nandi mandapa. The facade consists of eight pillars and two pilasters. There are five rows of these pillars, with an eight feet aisle, while the cave walls have pilasters, all monolithically excavated from single rock. The sanctums open to the east, and have

5896-811: The nuances of a wooden structure and the wood grain in working with stone. Early examples of rock-cut architecture are the Buddhist and Jain cave basadi , temples and monasteries , many with gavakshas ( chandrashalas ). The ascetic nature of these religions inclined their followers to live in natural caves and grottos in the hillsides, away from the cities, and these became enhanced and embellished over time. Although many temples, monasteries, and stupas had been destroyed, by contrast, cave temples are very well preserved as they are both less visible and therefore less vulnerable to vandalism as well as made of more durable material than wood and masonry. There are around 1200 cave temples still in existence, most of which are Buddhist. The residences of monks were called Viharas and

5984-570: The other 33 caves, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain, were carved into the side of the plateau rock. The effect of the Kailash Temple is that of a free-standing temple surrounded by smaller cave shrines carved out of the same black rock. The Kailash Temple is carved with figures of gods and goddesses from the Hindu Puranas , along with mystical beings like the heavenly nymphs and musicians and figures of good fortune and fertility. Ellora Caves

6072-431: The other. Sometime before the mid-19th century, these were reclaimed with the addition of a Parvati statue and a Ganesha statue. The caves have remains and traces of reliefs, most of which is now lost. Of what can be identified, include Saptamatrikas (Shaktism), Gajalakshmi, Tripurantaka, Anantasayin (Vaishnavism) and Lingodbhava. The complex includes a small side shrine for Durga. The 19th-century survey reports mention

6160-567: The period when maritime trade boomed between the Roman Empire and south-east Asia. Although free-standing structural temples were being built by the 5th century, rock-cut cave temples continued to be built in parallel. Later rock-cut cave architecture became more sophisticated, as in the Ellora Caves . The monolithic Kailash Temple is considered to be the peak of this type construction. Although cave temples continued to be built until

6248-610: The purpose, but many are truly rock-cut. The most elaborate are highly decorated. They are mostly found in drier states such as Gujarat and Rajasthan . Famous examples include: Chand Baori , Rani ki vav , Step-well of Ambapur , and the Dada Harir Stepwell . In the Mumbai area: In the Junnar area: Barabar caves The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India , dating from

6336-515: The reign of King Kharavela . Udayagiri means "Sunrise Hill" and has 18 caves while Khandagiri has 15 caves. After the Barabar Caves, huge efforts were made at building religious caves in Western India until the 6th century CE. However, the polishing of cave walls was abandoned, never to be revived. Such grandiose caves as Karla Caves (1st century CE) or the Ajanta Caves (5th century CE) do not have any polishing either. This may be due to

6424-487: The rise of Mahayana Buddhism and the associated intense architectural and artistic production in Gandhara and Amaravati . The building of rock-cut caves would revive briefly in the 6th century CE, with the magnificent achievements of Ajanta and Ellora , before finally subsiding as Hinduism replaced Buddhism in the sub-continent, and stand-alone temples became more prevalent. The Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra ,

6512-565: The rock, of which the Barabar caves represent the oldest case in India, was probably inspired by the caves dug in the rock of the Achaemenids, as is the case in Naqsh-e Rostam . It seems, however, that in India there had been an ancient tradition of ascetics using caves. According to Gupta, the methods used in polishing the stone surfaces could have a local origin, citing the existence of various highly polished stone tools found in

6600-417: The rocks which would have required only a few minutes of chipping to be removed in order to obtain a fairly regular floor. Ashoka dedicated the caves of Sudama and Visvakarma to the ascetics called " Ajivikas " in the 12th year of his reign, when his religious evolution towards Buddhism was not yet fully completed. The precise identity of the Ajivikas is not well known, and it is even unclear if they were

6688-550: The site are several rock-cut Buddhist and Hindu sculptures and inscriptions from later periods. Most caves at Barabar consist of two chambers, carved entirely out of granite , with a highly polished internal surface, the " Mauryan polish " also found on sculptures, and exciting echo effects. The caves were featured – located in a fictitious Marabar – in the book A Passage to India by English author E. M. Forster . Barabar Hill contains four caves: Karan Chaupar, Lomas Rishi, Sudama and Visvakarma. Sudama and Lomas Rishi are

6776-410: The site, new idols have been placed elsewhere in the complex. The interior of the caves have suffered damage from vandalism. Outside, the monument shows the effects of natural elements over the centuries. The Pataleshwar temple is a protected monument of India and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Pataleshwar Caves are in the northern side of Pune, on a rocky hill immediately west of

6864-481: The sound, creating a very pronounced echo phenomenon. This characteristic is common to all the caves of Barabar, and, by amplifying the vibrations and the harmonies, seems to be favorable to the songs of the monks. All of Barabar's caves share this interior polished appearance to a greater or lesser extent, with the exception of Lomas Rishi Cave, which, although designed on the same model, is only half-finished for its interior. Karan Chaupar, also known as Karna Chaupar,

6952-660: The southeast of Bihar , the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves , partly natural and partly artificial caves were built near the city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha , India . The caves are situated on two adjacent hills, Udayagiri and Khandagiri, mentioned as Kumari Parvat in the Hathigumpha inscription . They have a number of finely and ornately carved caves built during 2nd century BCE. It is believed that most of these caves were carved out as residential blocks for Jain monks during

7040-415: The southern side of Barabar granite hill, and is adjacent to Sudama cave, which is on the left. Lomas Rishi consists of two rooms: a rectangular room measuring 9.86x5.18m, and a circular, semi-hemispherical room 5m in diameter, which is accessed from the rectangular room by a narrow rectangular passage. This cave has an arched facade that probably imitates contemporary wooden architecture. On the periphery of

7128-467: The stone-working techniques having spread in India after the destruction of the empire by Alexander the Great in 330 BC and the displacement of Persian and Perso-Greek artists and technicians. This know-how seems to have disappeared again after the Maurya period, none of the later caves such as the Ajanta caves having this characteristic of polished surfaces. The very act of digging artificial caves in

7216-511: The throne, to make it a hermitage for the most pious Ajivikas The cave also has a much later Hindu inscription, the Vadathika Cave Inscription . The caves were carved out of granite , an extremely hard rock, then finished with a very nice polishing of the inner surface, giving a mirror effect of a great regularity, as well as an echo effect. This large-scale polish is reminiscent of polishing on smaller surfaces of

7304-484: The time of the early Pallavas is that they did not move further south than Arakandanallur, with the solitary exception of Tiruchitrapalli on the south bank of the Kaveri River , the traditional southern boundary between north and south. Also, good granite exposures for rock-cut structures were generally not available south of the river. A rock cut temple is carved from a large rock and excavated and cut to imitate

7392-430: Was created through a single, huge top-down excavation 100 feet deep down into the volcanic basaltic cliff rock. It was commissioned in the 8th century by King Krishna I and took more than 100 years to complete. The Kailash Temple, or cave 16 as it is known at Ellora Caves located at Maharashtra on the Deccan Plateau , is a huge monolithic temple dedicated to Lord Shiva . There are 34 caves built at this site, but

7480-553: Was given to the Ajivikas." In particular, Falk reconstructs the last line as 𑀲𑀼𑀧𑀺𑀬𑁂𑀔𑀆𑀚𑀺𑀯𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀤𑀺𑀦𑀸 ( Su[p]i[y]ekha (Ajivikehi) dinā ), which means "Supriyekṣā was given to the Ājivikas". The cave has a rock-cut bench at one end, probably to sit or sleep. In the entrance hall an inscription from the Gupta period mentions "Daridra Kantara" ("The Cave of the Beggars"). A mound decorated with later Buddhist sculptures

7568-411: Was in a state of incompletion. This could justify that Lomas Rishi, with his bas-reliefs, is actually posterior to Ashoka, as late as 185 BCE. This does not explain, however, why Visvakarma, consecrated in 260 BCE, has been interrupted, in the absence of a significant problem in the rock, whereas 7 years later Ashoka dedicated Karan Chaupar cave, perfectly finished, a short distance from there. Visvakarma

7656-508: Was nevertheless consecrated by Ashoka. The consecration of a cave could therefore be done in the course of work. This could imply that Lomas Rishi, with its bas-reliefs, actually post-dates Ashoka's reign. Gupta actually believes that Lomas Rishi post-dates both Ashoka and his grandson Dasaratha, and would have been built at the end of the Maurya Empire, under the reign of its last Emperor Brihadratha, and abruptly halted in 185 BC with

7744-550: Was to be an important feature of Indian rock-cut architecture and sculptural decoration for centuries. The form was a reproduction in stone of buildings in wood and other plant materials. The caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect, founded by Makkhali Gosala , a contemporary of Gautama Buddha , the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira , the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism . The Ajivikas had many similarities with Buddhism as well as Jainism. Also present at

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