India is an ancient and mythical place. The rich history of India goes back about five thousand years. Many civilizations, many kings, many dynasties came to live in this wonderful land and left their mark in our culture, in the pages of history and many cases, in the rock. Today in this article we will explore some of the well-known and easily accessible Historical Caves destinations. Today we will see the exotic cave sculptures across India and their History.
1. Belum Caves - Longest Caves in India - Andhra Pradesh
Belum Caves is the largest and longest cave system open to the public on the Indian subcontinent. It is known for its speleothems, such as stalactite and stalagmite formations. The Belum Caves have long passages, galleries, spacious caverns with fresh water and siphons.
Safety precautions: Enter the caves in groups, be cautious of your head in low ceiling passages When lights are off, stand still and quiet. Rest under air shaft for a while Proceed at leisurely pace to enjoy. The caves are natural and millions of years old, known to local villagers for ages. First Recorded by Robert Bruce Foote in 1884 Explored and charted by H.D. Gebauer, German Caver & his team in 1982-84 Declared as natural heritage by A.P. Archaeology Department in 1989. Taken over by A.P. Tourism Dev. Corpn. In 2000 AD Developed and thrown open to public in 2003 AD. This cave system was formed over the course of tens of thousands of years by the constant flow of underground water. The cave system reaches its deepest point ( 46 m (151 ft) from entrance level) at the point known as Pataalaganga. In Telugu language, it is called Belum Guhalu. Belum Caves have a length of 3,229 m (10,593.8 ft) making them the second largest caves on the Indian Subcontinent after the Krem Liat Prah caves in Meghalaya. It is one of the centrally protected Monuments of National Importance. There are 16 different pathways, including the main entrance and there are deposits of quartz in the caves. The caves consist of black limestone. Another attraction is the huge white Buddha Statue near the Caves.
2. Ajanta Caves :-
Ajanta Caves. The Ajanta caves are approximately thirty rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments. This cave system is located around 99 kilometers north of Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Ajanta Caves are designated as UNESCO world heritage site and are quite popular among travelers from all over the world. 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 BC while the second phase was built around 400 to 650 AD. The first Buddhist cave monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. During the Gupta period (5th and 6th centuries AD) many more richly decorated Caves were added to the original group. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta, considered masterpieces of Buddhist religious art. have had a considerable artistic influence. Ellora Caves Ellora is just 15 kilometers west of Aurangabad in Maharashtra and is also designated as UNESCO world heritage site.
3.Ellora Caves -
Ellaora Caves is one of the largest rock-cut monastery temple cave complexes in the world, featuring Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments and artwork dating from the 600 to 1000 AD period. Cave 16 features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world the Kailasha temple a chariot shaped monument dedicated to Shiva. The Kailasha Temple also features sculptures depicting the gods goddesses and mythologies found in Vaishnavism, Shaktism as well as relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu epics. 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. These consist of 12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu and 5 Jain caves. These rock-cut caves containing carvings are some of the best examples of ancient Indian architecture and sculpture Elephanta caves are UNESCO world heritage site and a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva Consists of five Hindu caves and a few Buddhist Stupa mounds that date back to the second century BC The Elephanta caves contain rock cut stone sculptures that show syncretism of Hindu and Buddhist ideas and iconography The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock.
The regional history is first recorded in the Gupta - Empire era, but these do not explicitly mention these caves. This has made the origins and the century in which Elephanta caves were built a subject of a historic dispute. They have been variously dated mostly between from late 5th to late 8th century AD, largely based on the dating of other cave temples in the Deccan region.
So if you are visiting Maharashtra , this should be must in your list to visit located in district of Aurangabad.
4. Mamandur caves -
One of the most oldest Caves in History of Caves wordwide and they are in the middle of nowhere. Archeologists estimate they were built around 600 A.D, which means they are at least 1,400 years old. These are the very first artificial caves built by ancient builders in this region and the beauty of these structures is that nothing was added in the construction process. Normally, construction means adding materials to build a structure, but here, the construction was a process of removing materials to create these structures.
Archeologists refer to them as temples, as a place of worship, but these were in fact built as a place for meditation. Spiritual leaders have mentioned that these are the oldest "energy sites" in all of South India. There are a total of 4 caves, and they are in terrible condition. What you see on the ground is piles of bat droppings, the poop accumulated here is so bad that breathing this in will make you sick as a dog and can cause diseases like histoplasmosis, which can kill you. So, if you ever plan on visiting this place, take precautions and go with alll safety measure. According to archeologists these are incomplete caves, but there are a total of 4 caves and all of them are said to be unfinished. I mean think about this, people could have started building one cave temple and could have left it unfinished. But instead, archeologists say they people began working on the first cave and left it unfinished, and then moved on to the next cave, which is right next to it. And while the second cave was half done, they again gave up the project and moved to the 3rd cave and so on.
This is a ridiculous theory put forth by archeologists. The reality is this, what you are looking at are finished structures. Out of the 4 caves, the first one was built as a temple. This was an ancient Shiva temple with a lingam in the center. You can see paintings on the walls, which means that this is a finished structure. Painting process only begins after completion of a structure, not in unfinished stages and is usually the last stage. If you look at other caves, they also have paintings which indicate they were also complete. The main reason archeologists claim these are unfinished caves is because there are no idols inside these chambers. But these were created as a place for meditation, ancient texts describe monks meditating in small, isolated chambers, and these are the oldest examples in the region. If you look at the doorway of these chambers, you can see slots both at the bottom and at the top.
These are for doors, to lock yourself in, in complete isolation for long hours of meditation. This is why this ancient site was referred to as the spiritual center of South India. In addition to isolated meditation, group meditation and chanting was also taught in these caves. This is why some of them have no private chambers and look like a pillared hall. And the series of slots on the floor reveal that a roofed structure existed once upon a time, there would have been stone slabs or wooden poles placed inside them to support a roof. A small group of people would sit together and chant a specific Mantra. What kind of Mantra did they chant? The visual representation of that Mantra is this cymatic pattern. The same pattern is repeated on many of the pillars. Decoding this pattern will reveal what Mantra was chanted inside the caves. So, you can see what was once a spiritual center of India is now a place for drinking, illegal activities and a massive home for bats.
5. Pandava Caves -Nashik
These caves are located on hill at the outskirts of Nashik city on Nashik Mumbai road (NH3) Dadasaheb Phalke smarak is erected at the foots of this hill.
These caves are built on the Trirasmi hill about 3004 feet above the sea. These caves are the group of old Buddhist caves (B.C.250- A.D.600). Their northern frontage saves them from the sun and the south-west rains hence much of the carved work and many long and most valuable inscriptions have passed fresh amd unharmed through 1500-2000 years.. All the caves are great examples of intricate carving and craftsmanship but the 3, 10, 18 caves are a must see for their outstanding sculptures. Most of the caves have the magnificent idols of Buddha and or the popular Jain Teerthankaras. The caves had an excellent arrangement for water, with skillfully chiseled water tanks, exquisitely carved into the rocks.
So, Historian and Travel lovers we hope we have given you some most ancient and most unique Caves information in this article and you are ready to explore same in your next travel journeys. Do mention in comments if you have some more information on this caves and any other most old and ancient caves in India.