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96-515: Lenyadri , sometimes called Ganesa Lena , Ganesh Pahar Caves, are a series of about 30 rock-cut Buddhist "caves", located about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) north of Junnar in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra . They are cut into a natural cliff or steep slope. Other caves surrounding the city of Junnar are: Manmodi Caves , Shivneri Caves and Tulja Caves . The Lenyadri caves date between

192-531: 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

288-450: 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

384-403: A bench along its right wall. The front of the veranda has 2 benches, flanked by a plain eight-sided pillar and pilaster; some remnants of these survive. On the right pilaster is a double crescent ornament. A grooved door leads to a middle room, which has a bench along the right wall and seat recess to the left. A window is to the left of door. In the back wall of the middle room a cell (left) - with

480-404: A bench along the right wall and to the left, has a square window connecting it to cave 2. A door with grooves for fitting a wooden frame, leads into the cell which has a bench along its right wall. Cave 2 is similar to cave 1 in design. The veranda has two pillars and two pilasters, a bench between each pillar and pilaster with curtains in the back, which have a rail pattern. Over the pillars rests

576-400: A bench runs along the left wall. The ceiling shows signs of a dressed stone or wooden screen from the right wall to the end of the bench. To the right is a small cell in the same roof, probably connected with cave 19. The small cell has a bench along its right wall and the grooved doorway. The cave has two cisterns. Cave 20 is a small dwelling, hard to reach as the front is broken. To the right

672-453: A cell and a half cell in its back wall, both entered through the veranda. The cell has a broken door, a small window, benched recess and a peg hole. The half cell has an open front and a bench at the back. Cave 9 located to the right of Cave 8, can be entered via the latter's veranda. Cave 9 has its own veranda and a hall. The veranda has four Satakarni-period, broken pillars. The hall has a larger central door - with windows on either side - and

768-411: A cell. The veranda has a bench along the back wall. A door leads to a cell, which has a seat in a left recess. In front of the recess, below the seat, are vertical bands. Between caves 2 and 3 there is a seat in the front, in a recess. Cave 4 has an open veranda and a cell. The veranda has a bench, along the back wall. A grooved door leads to a cell, which has a bench along the right wall. A broken window

864-453: A cistern by Lachhinika (wife) of Torika the Na daka [and] Nadabalika, wife of Isimulasami." Cave 18 is a dining hall with a front wall and a grooved doorway, on either side of which are windows. A bench runs along the back and side walls. The passage to the hall has 3 broken steps and an open court in the front. A cistern is located to the left of the court. Cave 19 is a cell without a front wall and

960-442: A corbelled abacus. Inscription on the back wall of the veranda dates the cave to the 2nd century A.D. The inscription translates as: "A meritorious gift of a chapel cave given by Ananda, a son of Tapasa and grandson of Upasaka." Cave 1 is divided into four parts: a veranda, a middle room, a cell, and a half cell. The veranda has a bench along the right wall. Its front possibly had two quadrangular pillars, traces of one are seen around

1056-424: A grooved bench and a bench - and a half cell (right) are seen. The ceiling has traces of painting. Cave 15 is a small dwelling consisting of a cell with an unproved doorway and a veranda. Though the side walls of the cave are still preserved, the ceiling is half broken. Cave 16 is a small dwelling, on a slightly higher level above cave 15. It has a cell with a bench along its right wall and a veranda, which leads to

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1152-470: 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

1248-475: A peacock. Gunesha mounted the peacock and assumed the name Mayuresvara. Mayuresvara later killed Sindhu and his army-generals at Morgaon , the most important Ashtavinayaka temple. Lenyadri is one of the eight revered Ganesha temples collectively called Ashtavinayaka . The caves including the temple lie under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India . Sardar Deshpande is the priest in charge of

1344-461: A railing at the base." The stupa has Buddhist tridents carved on it. A hole is carved for fixing garlands in the front and 5 holes on the top probably to fix a central wooden umbrella and side flags. A 2nd century, swastika-flanked inscription on the back wall of the veranda translates: "A meritorious gift of a chapel cave by the distinguished Sulasadata, son of Heranika of Kalyana [modern Kalyan near Mumbai ]." Between caves 5 and 6, on higher level,

1440-410: A railing resting on beams and rafters". The pillars have octagonal shafts and "over benches and back rest and topped by an inverted ghata , compressed amalaka in between two square plates, inverted stepped pyramid and finally crowned by a bracket" with tigers, elephants and bulls. In a later period, the two central cells of the rear wall have been combined by breaking the partition in between to house

1536-404: 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

1632-408: A seat at the back. Outside the hall is a view seat. The cave bears traces of paint. Cave 12 is a small dwelling entered by a door from the veranda of cave 11. It has its own open veranda, which has a partly broken floor and ceiling and recessed benches on the left and right of the door to the middle room. The middle room has a small window to the left of the door and a seat recess in its right wall. In

1728-400: A seat. A cell to the left of the room has a seat in a recess. A door from the cell leads to a half-cell which has a recess and seat. Traces of painting are seen on the ceiling. Outside the veranda to the left is a cistern. Cave 11 is difficult to reach with a broken front and a hall. To the left of a hall is a cell, lower in height than the hall. The hall has a grooved doorway and a recess with

1824-409: A side door, both having grooves for wooden frames. The purpose of this hall is unknown and speculated to be a school or study. Cave 10 is located at a higher level than cave 9 and is difficult to reach as its front is broken. An open veranda with a broken ceiling and floor leads to a middle room through a grooved broken door, which has windows on either side. The right wall of the hall has a recess with

1920-426: A veranda, pillars and pilasters with animal-capitals, and a shrine with 5 steps at the entrance. The shrine hall is entered by a plain and a socketed-door measuring 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) in width and 2.79 metres (9.2 ft) in height. The hall measures 13.3 metres (44 ft) in length; 6.7 metres (22 ft) in width and 7 metres (23 ft) in height. It has a row of five pillars and one pilaster on each side of

2016-460: A wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an extent of wall. As an ornament it consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall surface, usually treated as though it were a column, with a capital at the top, plinth (base) at the bottom, and the various other column elements. In contrast to a Classical pilaster, an engaged column or buttress can support

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2112-476: A wall. A pilaster appears with a capital . and entablature , also in "low- relief " or flattened against the wall. Generally, a pilaster often repeats all parts and proportions of an order column; however, unlike it, a pilaster is usually devoid of entasis . Pilasters often appear on the sides of a door frame or window opening on the facade of a building, and are sometimes paired with columns or pillars set directly in front of them at some distance away from

2208-459: A wall. It is also a purely ornamental element used in Classical architecture . As such it may be defined as a flattened column which has lost its three-dimensional and tactile value.". In discussing Leon Battista Alberti 's use of pilasters, which Alberti reintroduced into wall-architecture, Rudolf Wittkower wrote: "The pilaster is the logical transformation of the column for the decoration of

2304-481: 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

2400-435: Is a bench. In front of the broken veranda are holes for fixing wooden pillars. To the left of the veranda are two cisterns. Between cave 17 and cave 18, there are three other cisterns. In the recess of the first cistern, an inscription reads translated: "A meritorious gift of a cistern by Saghaka a goldsmith, son of Kudira of Kalyana." Another inscription in the recess of the second cistern reads translated: "A meritorious gift of

2496-401: Is a passage and to the left a cell with a bench along the entire left wall. Cave 21 is approached through a small crevice from cave 20, in the absence of any direct approach. Its living space has a veranda of fairly large size. There is also an inner cell with a grooved door frame. Seating benches have been cut into shallow spaces both in the cell and in the veranda. Cave 22 adjoins cave 21 on

2592-409: 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

2688-435: Is among the earlier excavations about Junnar. Next to it, but higher up and almost inaccessible, are two cells; then a well; and, thirdly, a small vihara , with three cells, two of them with stone-beds. Some rough cutting on the back wall between the cell-doors resembles a dagoba in low relief, but it is quite unfinished. Outside are two more cells and a chamber or chapel at the end of a veranda that runs along in front both of

2784-458: Is an excavation originally intended either for a dwelling or for a seat, but converted into a cistern following discovery of a rock-fault. On its left side is a bench. This cave, also a chaitya-griha, has a flat roof. However, it has no pillars in the hall that measures 6.75 metres (22.1 ft) in length; 3.93 metres (12.9 ft) in width and 4.16 metres (13.6 ft) in height. It has a pillared veranda; pillars are in octagonal shape. The stupa

2880-556: 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,

2976-464: Is directly formed/sculpted on the stone wall of the cave. Like all Ashtavinayaka temples, the central Ganesha image is believed to be svayambhu (self-existent), a naturally occurring stone formation resembling an elephant-face. According to the Ganapatya scripture Ganesha Purana , Ganesha incarnated as Mayuresvara or Mayureshwar ( Mayūreśvara ), who had six arms and a white complexion. His mount

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3072-455: 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

3168-698: 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

3264-412: Is in three steps with a base of 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) diameter. The rim has a railing design surrounded by a cylindrical drum with "a square harmika with railing pattern and an inverted stepped pyramidal abacus." A carved chhatri covers the ceiling. The pillars of the veranda consist of octagonal shafts resting on ghata base over a stepped pedestal. An inverted kalasha adorns the top, which also has

3360-612: 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

3456-453: Is to the left of door and to its right, a small hole, which could have been used to wash feet before entering the cell. Cave 5 is located 12 feet (3.7 m) lower to left of cave 4. It is divided into 3 parts: veranda, a middle hall and seven cells of varying size, three in the back wall and two in each side wall. Thus it is known as a saptagarbha layana (seven cell dwelling). The veranda had two pillars and two pilasters with pot capitals of

3552-695: The Ashtavinayak shrines, a set of the eight prominent Ganesha shrines in Western Maharashtra. In regional mythology, this is the Girijatmaja cave where goddess Parvati desired to be a mother and where Ganesha was born. The current name "Lenyadri" literally means "mountain cave". It is derived from 'Lena' in Marathi meaning "cave" and 'adri' in Sanskrit meaning "mountain" or "stone". The name "Lenyadri" appears in

3648-676: 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

3744-491: The Bombay Presidency (1882) records that the hall was plastered and white-washed. The paintings depicted Ganesha's childhood, marriage preparations, battle with demons and so forth, along with scenes of other Hindu deities like Devi , Krishna , Vishnu and Shiva . The Ganesha form worshipped here is called Girijatmaja ( Sanskrit : गिरिजात्मज ). The name is either interpreted as "mountain-born" or as "Atmaja of Girija",

3840-587: 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

3936-577: 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

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4032-459: The Satakarni period (B.C. 90-A.D. 300), of which only the right broken pilaster and a trace of the base of the right pillar remain. In front of the veranda, an open court with two steps lead to the veranda. To the right of the court is a cistern. In the back wall of the veranda, to the left of the door to the middle hall, close under the broken verandah ceiling, is a single line inscription, flanked by

4128-477: 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

4224-414: The chaitya or Dagoba or stupa (central relic-shrine), located at the rear of the hall. A start was made on a typical large arched window above the entrance, but this was never completed, and remains a blind recess. The Satakarni period pillars begin with a four-plated pyramid structure, then a waterpot base, followed by an eight-sided shaft, above a reversed pot, then a capital in five plates, and on

4320-435: 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

4416-666: 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

4512-553: The 1st and 3rd century AD and belong to the Hinayana Buddhism tradition. Some have later been adapted to Hindu use. Twenty-six of the caves are individually numbered. The caves face to the south and are numbered serially from east to west. Caves 6 and 14 are chaitya-grihas (chapels), while the rest are viharas (dwellings for monks). The latter are in the form of dwellings and cells. There are also several rock-cut water cisterns; two of them have inscriptions. The layout of

4608-571: 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

4704-405: The Buddhist trident in the beginning and swastika at the end. It is translated as: "A meritorious gift of a seven-celled cave and cistern by a guild of corn-dealers." The door also has windows on both its sides. Throughout the middle hall in the front of the cells is a bench. A bench is also built in the back wall of the cells. Cave 8 is a difficult-to-reach dwelling. It consists of a veranda with

4800-730: 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

4896-478: The Ganesha image. The old entrance was also widened during the conversion to the Ganesha temple. There are two other smaller entrances to the hall. All entrances bear marks of sockets for fixing wooden doors, added during the conversion, and still have doors. The hall also has traces of plaster and paintings, both added during the conversion and renewed in later times - possibly as late as the 19th century. The Gazetteer of

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4992-554: The Hindu scripture Ganesha Purana as well as in a Sthala Purana , in association to the Ganesha legend. It is also called Jeernapur and Lekhan parvat ("Lekhan mountain"). The hill was once known as Ganesh Pahar ("Ganesha hill"). An ancient inscription calls the place Kapichita (Kapichitta) . The caves are also known as Ganesh Lena or Ganesh Caves. Lenyadri is located at 19°14′34″N 73°53′8″E  /  19.24278°N 73.88556°E  / 19.24278; 73.88556 , in

5088-473: The Indian state of Maharashtra in Pune district . Lenyadri is a deserted location, with no human settlement nearby. It is located at about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) from Junnar , the headquarters of Junnar taluka . It is situated on the north-west banks of river Kukadi, which flows between Golegaon and Junnar. It is also approached through Nanaghat, which was originally on the trade route between Aparantaka or

5184-521: 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

5280-435: 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

5376-440: 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

5472-419: The back wall of the middle room to the left is a half cell - which has a seat recess - and a cell with a grooved door. The floor of the cave has a coating of cement, while the ceiling of the middle room bears painted concentric circles. Cave 13 on a slightly higher level than cave 12, is a small dwelling with an open court and from 2 steps lead to a veranda. To the right of the court is a cistern. The veranda has

5568-554: The boon that he will be born as her son. Accordingly, on the fourth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month Bhadrapada ( Ganesh chaturthi day), Parvati worshipped a clay image of Ganesha, which came alive. Thus, Ganesha was born to Parvati at Lenyadri. Later, he was named Gunesha by Shiva. Shiva gave him a boon that whosoever remembers him before starting a job, will successfully complete that task. For 15 years Gunesha grew up at Lenyadri. Sindhu, who knew that his death would be at

5664-409: 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

5760-405: The caves, in general, are similar in pattern and shape. They generally have one or two sides with two long benches for occupants' use. Two of the central cells of Cave 7 – originally a Buddhist vihara – were at an unknown later date appropriated for the worship of the Hindu god Ganesha . The rest of the cells and the hall of Cave 7 remain in their original form. This Ganesha Lena vihara is one of

5856-402: The ceiling. A rock beam was present over the pillars, above the beam ribs and a rail pattern could have existed. In a recess below the veranda is an earth-filled cistern . A door with a small window to the left leads into the middle room. The middle room has a bench along the right wall. Towards the back of the middle room, to the left, is the half cell and to the right the cell. The half-cell has

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5952-411: The cell through a door. The side walls as well as a part of the ceiling are broken. Cave 17 comprises a series of three small dwellings located along a row with a shared veranda. The first dwelling has a doorway flanked by broken windows on either side, leading to a middle room. The back room of the middle dwelling has a cell to the right and a half cell to the left. A window is located to left of door to

6048-405: The cell. The cell also has traces of painting. The half cell has a bench. The second dwelling has a middle room, a half cell to the left, and a cell, reached from the right of the half cell. The middle room has a bench. The half cell has a recess in its back wall, along with a bench. A grooved door leads from the half-cell to the cell, which also has a bench. A window in the right cell overlooks in to

6144-682: 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

6240-401: The door to the dagoba , which is 147 centimetres (4 feet 10 inches) in diameter and 284 centimetres (9 feet 4 inches) high. The walls are not straight, nor the floor level. The side aisles have not been begun, and altogether no part of the interior is quite finished, except the upper part of the dagoba. To the top of the architrave or triforium is 487 centimetres (16 feet), and to the centre of

6336-404: The entrance. The hall is treated now as a sabha- mandapa ("assembly hall") of the Ganesha temple. 283 steps built (by devotees) in stone masonry over eight flights lead to the entrance. The steps are believed to represent sensual pleasures, which Ganesha has overcome. The veranda has six pillars and two pilasters (half-pillars), that support "an architrave from which projects eaves relieved with

6432-530: 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

6528-626: 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

6624-610: 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

6720-403: The hands of Gunesha, sent demons like Krur, Balasur, Vyomasur, Kshemma, Kushal, and many more, to kill Gunesha, but all of them were instead killed by him. At the age of six, the architect-god Vishwakarma worshipped Gunesha and endowed him with the weapons Pasha (noose), Parashu (axe), Ankusha (hook) and Padma (Lotus). Once, little Gunesha knocked an egg from a mango tree, from which emerged

6816-422: The left and it was also a dwelling unit with a bench for the entire length of the back wall. A window from this hall overlooks another smaller room. An entry through a grooved door gives access to a long corridor and in the back wall of which is an inscription that discloses the name of the donor and the monastic order. Cave 23 has two dwelling units with a long passage with shallow niches with seating provisions on

6912-520: The left wall. A door provides links to the rooms. A 2 feet (0.61 m) niche in the back wall between the two rooms gives no clue of its purpose. Cave 24 is a long cave with difficult access that leads into a cistern with seating arrangements in the niches. There is a door access to the passage, which also has benches for seating. Cave 25 is longer than cave 24 with several small and big rooms. These rooms also have seating arrangements in niches which display irregular excavations denoting poor condition of

7008-440: The level of Junnar , and facing S.S.W. They are usually represented as inaccessible, from the precipice in front of them being almost perpendicular; they are very difficult of access, and dangerous to attempt for any one not accustomed to climbing. The most easterly of them is a small Chaitya-cave only 249 centimetres (8 feet 3 inches) wide, and 680 centimetres (22 feet 4 inches) in length, or 467 centimetres (15 feet 4 inches) from

7104-410: The middle room. In front of the doorway is a bench. The third and largest of the three dwellings consists of a middle hall. At the back wall of the hall there are two cells and two seat recesses. Along the right and rear walls runs a bench. The right cell as well as the left cell have grooved doorways, a window to the left of the doorway and a bench along each of their rear walls. In front of the hall door

7200-609: The northern Konkan and the Deccan and descending to the plains of the Junnar town. The circular hill, where Lenyadri caves have been emboweled, raises about 30 metres (98 ft) above the plains in the Hatkeshwar and Suleiman ranges. Lenyadri is the only Ashtavinayaka temple on a mountain and within the precincts of Buddhist caves. The Ganesha temple is located in Cave 7, the largest excavation around Junnar , about 30 metres (98 ft) above

7296-811: 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

7392-556: 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

7488-412: The other side of the mountain. The Peshwa rulers even tried in vain to locate the face of Ganesha on the other side. The central icon was covered with brass-plated wooden armour, given as a gift by Junnar. The armour is not present currently. After it was removed, Ganesha could be seen with his trunk turned to the left side, facing east, with one of his eyes visible. The icon is covered with sindoor and

7584-555: 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

7680-449: The plains. It is essentially a Buddhist Vihara (a dwelling for monks, mostly with meditation cells) in design, an unpillared hall with 20 cells with varying dimensions; 7 on either side and 6 on the rear wall. The hall is large, can be entered by a central door, under a pillared veranda . The hall is 17.37 metres (57.0 ft) long; 15.54 metres (51.0 ft) wide and 3.38 metres (11.1 ft) high. There are 2 windows on either side of

7776-605: 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: Pilaster In architecture , a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into

7872-403: The rail-patterned rock beam, above which is the ceiling. Parts of the pillars and pilasters are broken. In front over the beam project rock imitations of rafters . A doorway with grooves for a wooden frame, leads into a middle room, with a bench along the left wall. The position of the hall-cell and cell are exchanged with respect to cave 1 design. Each has a bench. Cave 3 has an open veranda and

7968-508: 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

8064-535: 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 ,

8160-459: The rock, which probably stopped further work on this cave. This is plain cave located below cave 6, which is a chaitya (chapel) cave. Passing round the east end of the hill, after a walk of fully a 1.61 kilometres (1.00 mi), or about 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) from the town, in another spur of the Sulaiman Pahar, is a group of caves in the face of the hill, 120 metres (390 ft) above

8256-422: The roof 553 centimetres (18 feet 2 inches). Outside, the façade is carved with Chaitya window ornaments, some enclosing a dagoba, and others a lotus flower; while the rail ornament is abundantly interspersed in the usual way. The fronton round the window is also carved with a geometrical pattern. The details of this cave seem to indicate that it is perhaps as early as those at Bedsa and Karle , and consequently it

8352-466: The son of Parvati, who herself is daughter of the mountain Himavan , a personification of the mountains of Himalayas . The features of the Ganesha icon, seen on the back wall of the cave, are the least distinct vis-a-vis the other Ashtavinayak temples. Though the temple faces the inauspicious south, - according to a local tradition - the deity faces north, with his back to his worshipper and his face visible on

8448-645: 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

8544-403: The structure of a wall and roof above. In human anatomy , a pilaster is a ridge that extends vertically across the femur , which is unique to modern humans . Its structural function is unclear. A pilaster is foremost a load-bearing architectural element used widely throughout the world and its history where a structural load is carried by a thickened section of wall or column integrated into

8640-490: The temple's activities. He does not stay in Lenyadri. The priests are Yajurvedi Brahmins . The festivals of Ganesh Jayanti and Ganesh Chaturthi are celebrated in the temple, when pilgrims crowd all Ashtavinayak temples. Cave 6 is the main chaitya-griha of the Lenyadri caves and one of the earliest examples of a Hinayana chaitya-griha. Its plan is similar to the Ajanta Caves chaitya-griha, though smaller in size. It has

8736-478: 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

8832-419: The top the amalaka or cogwheel pattern. The capital has animal figures like lions, elephants, a sphinx and tigers. Parts of the pillar are broken. Behind the relic-shrine, are six eight-sided pillars, arranged in a curve. "The stupa consists of a drum with a moulding below and railing above, a globular dome and a corbelled (with "a projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it") dome with

8928-488: The vihara and the cells. In the Mumbai area: In the Junnar area: 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,

9024-405: The wall, which support a roof structure above, such as a portico . These vertical elements can also be used to support a recessed archivolt around a doorway. The pilaster can be replaced by ornamental brackets supporting the entablature or a balcony over a doorway. When a pilaster appears at the corner intersection of two walls it is known as a canton . As with a column, a pilaster can have

9120-589: Was a peacock. He was born to Shiva and Parvati in the Treta Yuga , for the purpose of killing the demon Sindhu. Once Parvati (Girija) asked her husband Shiva who he was meditating on. He said he was meditating on "the supporter of the entire universe" - Ganesha, and initiated Parvati with the Ganesha Mantra "Gam". Desiring to have a son, Parvati underwent austerities meditating on Ganesha, for twelve years at Lenyadri. Pleased by her penance, Ganesha blessed her with

9216-430: 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

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