Important Caves, Stupas and Rock Cut Structures of India || UPSC

Jogimara Caves/Sita Bengra Cave (1000- 300 BC), Chattisgarh :

• Jogimara cave is smaller than Sita Bengra. It is artificially carved rock chamber, probably serving as rest room for girls employed in the theatre. Jogimara caves are best example of pre Buddha paintings. Some of the paintings show human, fish, elephant figures, dancing couple, doll like images, birds, animals etc. Jogimara also contains inscriptions, which tells about intense love between Sutnuka(devdasi) and Devdutta. This 5 line inscription has been written in Brahmi.
• Sita Bengra was ancient theatre. It is natural cave with a rock cut small hall resembling a stage.

Ajanta Caves ( 2nd century BCE to 480 CE), Maharastra :

Ajanta Caves |  Image by VgBingi from Pixabay 

• Buddhist rock cut cave monuments built in two phases, first starting around 2nd Century BCE and second from 400-650 CE. The first phase construction is attributed to Satavahana. The second phase is attributed to Harishena of Vakataka dynasty.
• Were covered by jungles until accidentally brought to Western attention by colonial British officer Captain John Smith on a hunting mission. 
• The walls of the caves have both murals and fresco paintings( painted on wet plasters). They use tempera style i.e. use of pigments. 
• Cave 1 - The famous paintings of Padmapani and Vajrapani; Persian embassy scene. 
• Cave 2 - Miracle of Sravasti.

Ellora Caves (600-1000 CE), Maharastra :

• Over 100 caves, out of which 34 open for public.12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu and 5 Jain caves.
• Built by Rashtrakutas dynasty which built the Buddhist and Hindu caves and Yadav dynasty which built the Jain caves. Kalachuris also contributed to Hindu constructions.
• Buddhist Monuments(Caves 1-12) : Cave number 10, a chaitya worship hall, is known as Vishwakarma Hall. It is also called Carpenter's cave. 
• Hindu Monuments (Caves 13-29) : Cave 29 is called Dhumar Lena( marathi word for cave). Cave number 21 is the Rameshwar Temple. The most famous is the Cave number 16, known as Kailash temple ( has the image of Ravan shaking Mount Kailash) carved out of a single piece of rock in 8th century. Its construction has been attributed to Rashtrakuta King Krishna I. Other notable Hindu caves are Cave No. 15(Dashavatar Cave), Cave No. 14 (Ravan ki Khai) and Cave No. 22(Nilkantha).
• Jain Monuments (Cave 30-34) : 5 cave belong to Digambar sect. These include Chota Kailash(cave no. 30), Indra Sabha(32) , Jagannath Sabha(33).
• Ajanta also has excavated double storey caves but at Ellora, triple-storey is a unique achievement.

Bagh Caves (5-6th century AD), Madhya Pradesh :

• Group of nine rock cut monuments, situated among the southern slopes of Vindhayas in Madhya Pradesh on the banks of Baghani river. Legend says these caves were established by Buddhist monk Dataka.
• Famous for mural paintings. 
• Caves are Buddhist inspiration, but out of 9 , only 5 survive. Most significant is the cave no. 4, commonly known as Rang Mahal, has beautiful murals on the walls depicting Jataka tales.

Elephanta Caves (5-7th century AD), Maharastra :

• Located on the Elephanta island consisting of 5 Shaivite caves and few Buddhist stupa mounds. Known as Gharapuri(village of caves ) in local Marathi language.
• Cave No.1 -- Contains the famous Trimurti sculpture also known as Sadashiv/Maheshmurti. It is flanked on the left by Ardhanarishwar and on the right by Gangadhar legend( Shiv bringing Ganga down from heave to serve human). Other important sculptures of Cave no. 1 are Shiva slaying Andhaka, Wedding of Shiva, Yogishvara, Nataraja, Mount Kailash and Ravananugraha (Ravan shaking Mount Kailash).

Badami Caves (6th century AD), Karnataka :

• Complex of four Hindu cave temples and excellent example of Indian rock cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukyan architecture. These temples, along with those in Aihole and Pattadakal, transformed Malprabha river Valley into a cradle of temple architecture. These are carved out of soft Badami sandstone on the top a hill cliff.
• An inscription found in Cave no. 3 in Kannada language, records the dedication of the shrine by Mangalesha, Chalukyan ruler. One of the paintings shows Kirtivarman, son of Pulekeshin I and the elder brother of Mangalesha, seated inside the palace with his wife and feudatories and watching a dance scene. 
• Cave No. 1 -- Contains Nataraja, 
• Cave No. 2 -- Dedicated primarily to Vishnu. Depicts the legend of Vishnu in Trivikrama form(Vamana), taking one of the 3 steps. Another relief shows Vishnu in Varaha avatar rescuing Bhudevi from the depths of Cosmic oceans. 
• Cave no. 4 -- Dedicated to Tirthankaras. Major carvings of Bahubali, Parshvanth and Mahavira.

Aihole (4-12th Century AD), Karnataka :

• Major archaeological site spread along Malprabha river valley, featuring over 120 stone and cave temples, with majority being Hindu, a few Jain and one Buddhist. Documented history is attributed to Chalukyas.
• Durga Temple Complex -- Originally Dedicated to Surya and Vishnu( Durga refers to fort like enclosure and not Goddess Durga). Reverentially displays gods and goddess from Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism, including Durga in her Mahisasurmardini avatar. Other important reliefs include the Lad Khan Temple, Ravana Phadi Cave, Hucchappaya matha and Hucchappaya Gudi, Mallikarjun temples complex.
• There is single 2-storeyed Buddhist temple. 
• The Jain reliefs include Meguti Hill Jain Temple, Yoginarayan group, Charanthi matha group.

Pattadakal ( 7-8th century AD) ,Karnataka :

• Hindu and Jain temple complex located on the west bank of Malprabha river and is a significant centre of Chalukyan architecture.
• The monuments reflect a fusion of north and south architectural style, with temples built in Dravida style, Nagara style as well as mixture of both. These are generally dedicated to Shiva but elements of Vaishnavism and Shakitsm are also found. 
• The important temples at this site include Kadasiddheshwara Temple, Jambulingeshwara Temple, Galaganatha Temple, Chandrasekhara Temple, Sangameshwar Temple, Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Mallikarjun Temple, Virupakhsha Temple, Papanatha Temple.
• The Jain relief include Jain Narayan temple.

Sittanavasal Caves ( 2nd century AD), Tamil Nadu :

• Jain Complex of caves. Is distorted form of Sit-tan-na-va-yil, a Tamil word meaning the adobe of great saints.
• The paintings are with the theme of Jain Samavasarana - the most attractive heavenly pavilion.

Guntupalli group of Buddhist Monuments, Andhra Pradesh :

• The rock cut part of the site has 2 Buddhist caves, a chaitya hall and a large group of stupas. The chaitya hall has a rare stone carved entrance replicating the Lomas Rishi Cave.

Udaigiri and Khandagiri Caves (2nd century BCE), Odisha  :

• Are partly natural and partly artificial caves situated on two adjacent hills - Udaygiri and Khandgiri, mentioned as Kumari Parvata in Hathigumpha inscription. It is believed that most of these caves were carved as residential blocks for Jain monks during the reign of King Kharvela. Udaygiri has 28 caves whereas Khandgir has 15 caves.
• Rani Gumpha is the largest and most popular cave in the Udaigiri and Khandgiri caves. Hathi Gumpha is a natural cavern. It has inscription erected by Kharvela on its wall, which is an important source of history of Kharvela, king of Kalinga, during the 2nd century BCE.

Armamalai Cave( 8th century), Tamil Nadu :

• Natural cave which was converted into Jain temple in 8th century.
• Contains Jain paintings which explain native stories of Jainism.

Dhauli Hill, Odisha :

• Dhauli hill is presumed to be the area where Kalinga war was fought. The rock edicts found here are 1-10, 14 and two separate Kalinga edicts. The rock cut elephant above the Edicts is the earliest Buddhist sculpture of Odisha.

Barabar and Nagarjuni Caves (322-185 BCE), Bihar :

• Oldest surviving rock cut caves in India situated on twin hills of Barabar(4 caves) and Nagarjuni(3 caves). These caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect.
• The 4 caves at Barabar Hills are - Karan Chaupar, Lomus Rishi, Sudama and Vishwakarma. Lomus Rishi cave has an arch like shape facade which imitates contemporary timber architecture. Asoka dedicated the caves of Sudama and Vishwakarma in the 12th year of his reign, when his religious evolution towards Buddhism was not complete. Later, he built caves of Lomus Rishi and Karna Chaupar( in 19th year of his reign) at a time when he has become firm devotee of Buddhism.
• Nearby Nagarjuni caves were built a few decades after the Barabar caves and consecrated by Dashrath, grandson of Asoka. These caves are Gopi ka kubha, Vadithi ka Kubha cave and Vapiya ka Kubha cave.

Karle Caves(2nd century BCE - 5th Century AD), Maharastra :

• Buddhist rock cut caves. Many traders and Satavahana rulers made grants for the construction of these caves. Historically associated with Buddhism and later with Hinduism.
• There are altogether 16 caves, with most important being the Great Chaitya, cave no. 8. This is the largest rock cut chaitya in India.

Nasik Caves/Pandav Leni (1st century BCE - 3rd century AD), Maharastra :

• Group of 24 caves, initially representing Hinayana tradition. Most of the caves are viharas except for the cave no. 18. Their names have nothing to do with the Pandavas of Mahabharata.These are located on the Trirashmi hills.
• Cave no.3 is the most important and largest, dedicated to Sangha in 2nd century AD and built by Queen Gotami Balasiri, mother of deceased Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satkarni. 
• Cave no. 10 is the second largest and called Nahapana Vihara and contains 6 inscriptions of the Nahapana family.
• Cave no. 17 is Yavana vihara, Cave no. 19 is Krishna Vihara.

Lenyadri/Ganesh Leni( 1-3rd century AD), Junnar, Pune, Maharastra :

• Series of 30 rock cut Buddhist caves. Cave no. 7, originally a vihara, has been adapted as a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha.It is one of the Ashthvinayak shrines, a set of 8 prominent Ganesha shrines in Western Maharastra.

Bharhut Stupa ( 125-10 BCE), Satna, Madhya Pradesh :

• The stupa may have built first by Ashoka in 3rd century BC, but many works of art, particularly gateways and railings, were added during the Shunga period.
• One of the narrative relief shows Queen Mayadevi's dream. Depictions of Ruru Jataka- Boddhisattava deer is rescuing a man on his back. 
• Bharhut sculpture invariably used green schist as the medium.

Sanchi Stupa,Bhopal (2nd Century BC), Madhya Pradesh :

• One of the oldest stone structures in India, originally commissioned by Ashoka.
• Along with other relatively small stupas, there are 3 main stupas at Sanchi. Stupa 1 is presumed to have relics of Buddha, Stupa 2 has relics of 10 less famous arhats belonging to three different generations and Stupa 3 has the relics of Sariputta and Mahamougalayana.
• Maurya Period -- The Great Stupa( Stupa No.1), Ashokan Pillar(similar to lion capital of Sarnath), Temple 40(one of the first instances of free standing temples in India). 
• Shunga Period --- Great Stupa was expanded, Stupa No. 2, Stupa No. 3, Shunga Pillar. 
• Satavahana Period -- Highly decorated gateways.

Piprahwa Stupa, Siddarth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh : 

• Excavation suggest that it might have the burial place of the portion of Buddha's ashes that were given to his own Shakya clan. A large stupa as well as ruins of several monasteries are located within the site.

Amravati Stupa (3rd century BC - 250 AD), Andhra Pradesh :

• Ruined Buddhist monument. Xuanzang wrote glorious account of the place, viharas and monasteries that existed. The restored reliefs are now located in various museums across the country.