Sittanavasal caves, Tamil Nadu

Sittanavasal Cave is a 2nd-century Jain complex of caves in Sittanavasal village

in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, India.

The monument is a rock-cut monastery or temple.

Created by Jains, it is called the Arivar Koil, and is a rock cut cave temple of the
Arihants.

It contains various murals.

The murals have been painted with vegetable and mineral dyes in black, green,
yellow, orange, blue, and white. Paintings have been created by applying
colours over a thin wet surface of lime plaster.
The Temple-cave was initially dated to Pallava King Mahendravarman I prior to
his conversion from Jainism to Hinduism .

The themes of painting depicts beautiful lotus pond with lotus flowers, people
collecting lotuses from the pond, two dancing figures, lilies, fish, geese,
buffaloes and elephants.

Fresco Paintings
Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid, or wet lime
plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with
the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral
part of the wall. Famous fresco paintings include Ajanta caves, sittanavasal,
Badami caves etc.
Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves,
Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Odisha
The twin hills of Khandagiri and Udayagiri in Bhubaneswar, anciently known as
Kumara and Kumari parvatas respectively represent one of the earliest groups
of Jaina rock-cut architecture in eastern India in the fields of history, rock-cut
architecture, art and religion.

There are all together eighteen caves in the Udayagiri and fifteen caves in the
Khandagiri.

It is believed that most of these caves were carved out as residential blocks
for Jaina monks during the reign of King Kharavela
Hathigumpha inscription
Kharavela was a king of Kalinga in present-day Odisha, India, who ruled
during the first or second century BCE.

He was the best-known king of the Mahameghavahana dynasty

Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra
 The Ajanta Caves are approximately 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave
monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in
Aurangabad district of Maharashtra .

The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among

the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art.

The caves were built in two phases, the first phase starting around the
2nd century BCE, while the second phase was built around 400–650 CE.
Since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.

The caves are in the rocky northern wall of the U-shaped gorge of
the river Waghur in the Deccan plateau.
Ellora Caves, Maharashtra
 Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad
district of Maharashtra.

It is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in

the world, featuring Hindu, Buddhist and Jain monuments, and
artwork, dating from the 600–1000 CE period.
There are over 100 caves at the site, all excavated from the basalt cliffs in
the Charanandri Hills, 34 of which are open to public.

All of the Ellora monuments were built during Hindu dynasties such as the
Rashtrakuta dynasty, which constructed part of the Hindu and Buddhist
caves, and the Yadava dynasty, which constructed a number of the Jain
caves.
Elephanta Caves, Maharashtra
Elephanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a collection of cave
temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

They are on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves"), in

Mumbai Harbour.

The island consists of five Hindu caves and a few Buddhist stupa mounds
that date back to the 2nd century BCE
The 7-metre-high masterpiece
“Sadashiva” dominates the entrance
to Cave 1. The sculpture represents
three aspects of Shiva: the Creator,
the Preserver, and the Destroyer,
identified, respectively, with Aghora
or Bhairava (left half), Taptapurusha
or Mahadeva (central full face), and
Vamadeva or Uma (right half).
Pandavleni Caves, Nashik
 The group of twenty-four caves

Being located on a major ancient trade route connecting the costal port
towns like Kalyana, Sopara with inland cities, they received extensive
patronage from the ruling families as well as the trading community.

Most of the caves have the magnificent idols of Buddha and or the popular
Jain Teerthankaras.

The hill on which the caves are hewn was known as Trirashmi as revealed
from an inscription in Cave 10.

These caves are datable from first century B.C., to the sixth or seventh
century A.D.
Bagh Caves, Madhya Pradesh
 The Bagh Caves are a group of nine rock-cut monuments, situated among the
southern slopes of the Vindhyas in Bagh town of Dhar district in Madhya
Pradesh state in central India.

Buddhist in inspiration, of the nine caves, only five have survived.

All of them are 'viharas' or resting places of monks monasteries having

quadrangular plan.

The Bagh Caves were quarried in the 5th -6th century AD, in the very late stages
of Buddhism in India, and long after most of the Indian Buddhist Caves had been
built, many of them since the 2nd or 1st centuries BCE.

They are believed to have been built by Satavahana dynasty during the 5-7th
century.
Lohani Caves are rock-cut caves and temples found near the abandoned
Mandu site in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.

These excavations are dated to about the 11th and 12th century CE. The
archaeological studies have yielded Hindu statues and carvings such as those of
Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu and Lakshmi.
Lenyadri Caves, Junnar, Pune
 Lenyadri also called Ganesa Lena, Ganesh Pahar Caves, represents a series of
about 30 rock-cut Buddhist caves, located about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) north
of Junnar in Pune district

Other caves surrounding the city of Junnar are: Manmodi Caves, Shivneri Caves
and Tulja Caves.

Cave 7, originally a Buddhist vihara, has been adapted as a Hindu temple

dedicated to the god Ganesha. It is one of the Ashtavinayak shrines, a set of the
eight prominent Ganesha shrines in Western Maharashtra.

All of the caves arise from Hinayana Buddhism

Bhimbetka Caves, Raisen, Madhya Pradesh
 The Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are in the foothills of the Vindhyan Mountains.

Within massive sandstone outcrops, above comparatively dense forest, are five clusters of
natural rock shelters, displaying paintings that appear to date from the Mesolithic Period
right through to the historical period.

The cultural traditions of the inhabitants of the twenty-one villages adjacent to the site bear
a strong resemblance to those represented in the rock paintings.

It exhibits the earliest traces of human life in India and evidence of Stone Age.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters
distributed over 10 km. The rock shelters and caves provide evidence of, according to
Encyclopædia Britannica, a "rare glimpse" into human settlement and cultural evolution from
hunter-gatherers, to agriculture, and expressions of prehistoric spirituality.
Jogimara & Sitabenga Caves, Chhattisgarh
 The Sitabenga cave is situated on Ramgarh Hills near Ambikapur in Surguja
District, Chhattisgarh.
India’s oldest theatre is in the Sitabenga cave at Ramgarh Hill, now in
Chhattisgarh state in central India. It was built between 300 and 200 BCE. This is
a small theatre carved into the rock at the mouth of a cave facing out over an
uncovered area just large enough for a small temporary scene building and
stage.

Jogimara caves was considered the dressing room for actresses of the drama
that was performed in the SitaBenga
Mauryan Caves, Bihar
 Mauryan Caves

The notable rock-cut Mauryan caves carved at Barabar and Nagarjuni hills near
Gaya in Bihar in Jehanabad district

Barabar hills have 4 caves and Nagarjuni hills have 3 caves

Sudama and Lomus Rishi cave are most popular Barabar caves.

The facade of the Lomus Rishi cave is decorated with the semicircular chaitya
arch as the entrance.
Junagadh Caves, Gujarat
 Junagadh Buddhist Cave Groups are located in Junagadh district of the Indian
state of Gujarat.

These caves group includes Uparkot Caves, Khapra Kodiya Caves and Baba Pyare
Caves. The so-called "Buddhist Caves" are not actually caves, but three separate
sites of rooms carved out of stone to be used as monks' quarters.

These caves were carved starting from Emperor Ashoka's period up to 1st-4th
century AD.
Adamgarh Caves, Madhya Pradesh
 Adamgarh hills are situated 2 km south of Hoshangabad town, near the Narmada river.

There are around 18 rock shelters in Adamgarh; 11 shelters have visible paintings, others
have faded with time

The shelters contain mostly miniature paintings

The paintings are simple, less artistic and, in most cases, without any details of physical
proportion. Painted in red, dark brown, shadowy brown, and white, the human figures are
pinched merely in outlines, while animal figures have a little more detailing.

The activities of human beings and animals have been exceptionally trapped on the walls

Besides battle scenes, riders on horse-back, soldiers with bows and arrows, quiver and
scabbard, there are paintings of several animals like oxen, monkeys, horses, fish, peacocks,
and in one case a giraffe. Depictions of trees have also been found, but the lack of details
makes the identification process difficult.
Badami Caves, Bagalkot, Karnataka
The Badami cave temples are located in the town of Badami in the north-central part of
Karnataka, India.

The Malaprabha River is 3 miles away.

Badami was the one time capital of the Chalukyas

The foundations of Badami, or Vatapi as it was called, were laid by Pulakeshi I & his son
Kirtivarman, beautified the town with temples & other buildings

Mangalesha, brother of Kiritavarman completed the construction of the cave temples &
endowed the temples with the village on the occasion of the installation of the image of
Vishnu.

The greatest ruler of the dynasty was Pulakeshi II who among others defeated the Pallava
King Mahendra Verman I. The Pallava later captured & destroyed Badami to avenge their
defeat
Saspol Caves, Ladakh
 Saspol Caves (a.k.a. Gon-Nila-Phuk Cave Temples) are situated in the hills
behind Saspol, Ladakh, India, which is about 76 km from the city centre of Leh.

Paintings exist in five caves, two of them extensively damaged. One of the
painted caves, that have been given a coat of lime wash and red paint in the
exterior is the most visited and is considered as the main cave.

These caves are under the administration of Lekir Monastery.

 Udayagiri Caves - Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh (Gupta period)

Undavalli caves – Guntur, Andhra Pradesh

They are associated with the Vishnukundina kings of 420-620 CE. These caves
are dedicated to Anantha Padmanabha and Lord Narashimha
 Colganj Rock Cut Temples –
Bhagalpur, Bihar

The Masrur Rock-cut Temples

at Masrur, is an early 8th-
century complex of rock-cut
Hindu temples in the Kangra
Valley of Beas River in
Himachal Pradesh
 Tabo monastery is in Tabo village about 48 km from Kaza, Spiti valley on the
bank of river Spiti. Also known as ‘Ajanta Of Himalaya’

Krem Liat Prah in Jaintia Hills is the longest cave in Meghalaya, as well as India

Dungeshwari/Mahakal Caves – Gaya

Amarnath Temple Cave – Jammu and Kashmir

Borra Caves - Ananthagiri hills of the Araku Valley of the Visakhapatnam

district in Andhra Pradesh
 Mandapeshwar Caves - 8th Century rock-cut shrine dedicated to Shiva
located near Mount Poinsur in Borivali, Maharashtra

Kanheri Caves – Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai

Kutamsar Caves – Limestone caves, Kanger valley national park, Chhattisgarh

Patal Bhuvaneshwar - Limestone caves, Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand

state