Kanheri Caves
Encyclopedia
The Kanheri Caves are a group of rock-cut monuments, located north of Borivali
on the western outskirts of Mumbai
, India
, deep within the green forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park
. It is 6 km from the National Park Main Gate & 7 km from Borivali Station. Tourists can go in after 7.30 a.m. Kanheri Caves are signs of Buddhist influence on art and culture in India
. Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit word Krishnagiri meaning black
mountain. They were chiseled out of a massive basaltic rock outcropping.
These caves date from 1st century BCE to 10th century CE. In total in the basalt
there have been carved 109 caves. Unlike the elegant splendor of Elephanta Caves
nearby, the earlier cells are spartan and unadorned. Each cave has a stone plinth
for a bed. A congregation hall with huge stone pillars contains the stupa
, a Buddhist shrine. Farther up the hill are the remains of an ancient water system, canal
s and cisterns that collected and channeled the rainwater into huge tanks. Once the caves became permanent monasteries, they began to be carved out of the rock with intricate reliefs of Buddha and the Bodhisattva
s carved into the walls. Kanheri had become an important Buddhist settlement on the Konkan coast by the 3rd century A.D.
Most of the caves are the Buddhist vihara
s meant for living, study, and meditation. The larger caves were chaitya
s, or halls for congregational worship, are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs and pillars, and contain rock-cut stupa
s for congregational worship. The Avalokiteshwara is the most distinctive figure. The large number of viharas obviously prove a well-organized existence of Buddhist monks' establishment, which was also connected with many trade centers such as the ports of Sopara
, Kalyan, Nasik, Paithan
and Ujjain
. Kanheri was a University center by the time the area was under the rule of the Maurayan and Kushan
empires. In the late 10th century, the Buddhist teacher Atisha
(980-1054) came to the Krishnagiri Vihara to study Buddhist meditation under Rahulagupta.
Nearly 51 legible inscriptions and 26 epigraphs are found at Kanheri, which include the inscriptions in Brahmi
, Devanagari
and 3 Pahlavi epigraphs found in Cave 90. One of the significant inscriptions mentions about the marriage of Satavahana
ruler Vashishtiputra Satakarni
with the daughter of Rudradaman I
.
Borivali
Borivali or Borivli a suburban area located in the north-west section of Mumbai island. Borivali is approximately from Mumbai Airport and from Churchgate Railway Station...
on the western outskirts of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, deep within the green forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park , previously Borivali National Park, is a large protected area in the northern part of suburban Mumbai city in Maharashtra State in India...
. It is 6 km from the National Park Main Gate & 7 km from Borivali Station. Tourists can go in after 7.30 a.m. Kanheri Caves are signs of Buddhist influence on art and culture in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit word Krishnagiri meaning black
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
mountain. They were chiseled out of a massive basaltic rock outcropping.
Description
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
there have been carved 109 caves. Unlike the elegant splendor of Elephanta Caves
Elephanta Caves
The Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted caves located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri in Mumbai Harbour, to the east of the city of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra...
nearby, the earlier cells are spartan and unadorned. Each cave has a stone plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
for a bed. A congregation hall with huge stone pillars contains the stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
, a Buddhist shrine. Farther up the hill are the remains of an ancient water system, canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s and cisterns that collected and channeled the rainwater into huge tanks. Once the caves became permanent monasteries, they began to be carved out of the rock with intricate reliefs of Buddha and the Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
s carved into the walls. Kanheri had become an important Buddhist settlement on the Konkan coast by the 3rd century A.D.
Most of the caves are the Buddhist vihara
Vihara
Vihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....
s meant for living, study, and meditation. The larger caves were chaitya
Chaitya
A chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture, the term chaitya-griha is often used to denote assembly or prayer hall that houses a stupa.-History:...
s, or halls for congregational worship, are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs and pillars, and contain rock-cut stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
s for congregational worship. The Avalokiteshwara is the most distinctive figure. The large number of viharas obviously prove a well-organized existence of Buddhist monks' establishment, which was also connected with many trade centers such as the ports of Sopara
Sopara
Sopara or Soparaka was an ancient port town and the capital of the ancient Aparanta. The site of this ancient town is located near the present day Nala Sopara town in the Thane district of the state Maharashtra, India.Nala Sopara is one of the busiest western suburbs of Mumbai city...
, Kalyan, Nasik, Paithan
Paithan
Paithan , formerly Pratishthana, is a city and a municipal council in Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city was the capital of the Sātavāhana empire of ancient India that ruled from 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD...
and Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
. Kanheri was a University center by the time the area was under the rule of the Maurayan and Kushan
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire originally formed in the early 1st century AD under Kujula Kadphises in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus in what is now northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.During the 1st and early 2nd centuries...
empires. In the late 10th century, the Buddhist teacher Atisha
Atisha
Atiśa Dipankara Shrijnana was a Buddhist teacher from the Pala Empire who, along with Konchog Gyalpo and Marpa, was one of the major figures in the establishment of the Sarma lineages in Tibet after the repression of Buddhism by King Langdarma .- Birth :Atisha is most commonly said to have been...
(980-1054) came to the Krishnagiri Vihara to study Buddhist meditation under Rahulagupta.
Inscriptions at Kanheri
Brāhmī script
Brāhmī is the modern name given to the oldest members of the Brahmic family of scripts. The best-known Brāhmī inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka in north-central India, dated to the 3rd century BCE. These are traditionally considered to be early known examples of Brāhmī writing...
, Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
and 3 Pahlavi epigraphs found in Cave 90. One of the significant inscriptions mentions about the marriage of Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
ruler Vashishtiputra Satakarni
Vashishtiputra Satakarni
Vashishtiputra Sātakarni , was a Satavahana king in Central India, who ruled during the 2nd century century CE. He was the brother of Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi Vashishtiputra Sātakarni (r. 130-160 CE), was a Satavahana king in Central India, who ruled during the 2nd century century CE. He was the...
with the daughter of Rudradaman I
Rudradaman I
Rudradaman I was a Saka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the celebrated Sah king Chastana. Rudradaman I was instrumental in the decline of the Satavahana Empire.- Mahakshatrapa :...
.
Paintings in the caves
Cave number 34 has unfinished paintings of Buddha on the ceiling of the cave.How to get there
Kanheri caves is located deep inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park which is in Borivali East. Once you get there, you need to pay a certain entry fee at the gate (Once at entry of sanjay gandhi national park and another at the entrance of kanheri caves). The caves are quite a distance away from the entrance, about 5 kilometres (3 mi). Transport by bus to the caves is available every hour.Around the caves
Kanheri caves offer picnickers a good getaway, especially during the rainy season. The hilly terrain of the caves creates several large and small waterfalls. The road from the entry point of Sanjay Gandhi National Park to Kanheri caves is intercepted at several locations by small rivulets where families can enjoy a lazy weekend get-together.See also
- ChaityaChaityaA chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture, the term chaitya-griha is often used to denote assembly or prayer hall that houses a stupa.-History:...
- Indian rock-cut architecture
- List of colossal sculpture in situ
- List of India cave temples
- ViharaViharaVihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a Buddhist monastery. It originally meant "a secluded place in which to walk", and referred to "dwellings" or "refuges" used by wandering monks during the rainy season....
Further reading
- Nagaraju, S. (1981). Buddhist Architecture of Western India, Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan.
External links
- Kanheri Caves - rock cut early Buddhist temples by Wondermondo
- Kanheri Caves Photos from Himanshu Sarpotdar
- Pay dirt: Treasure amidst Mumbai’s trash
- Kanheri Caves Mumbai
- Kanheri Caves
- Map of cave locations
- Mumbai's Ancient Kanheri Caves
- cave-biology.org Cave biology (biospeleology) in India.
- Threat to caves of Bombay
- Kanheri Caves Decoded is an online documentary video
