From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kanheri Caves |
The Vihara in the cave |
|
Location |
Borivili,
Mumbai |
|
Geology |
Basalt |
|
Number of entrances |
109 |
|
Difficulty |
easy |
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 generally meaning black in
colour.[1]
They were chiseled out of a massive basaltic rock
outcropping.[2]
Description
Rock cut stair leading to Kanheri
Kanheri Caves travel guide
from Wikitravel These
caves date from 1st century BCE to 9th century CE The earliest are
109 tiny rock-cut cells, carved into the side of a hill. Unlike the
elegant splendor of Elephanta Caves nearby, these 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, canals and cisterns that collected and channeled the
rainwater into huge tanks.[3] Once
the caves became permanent monasteries, they began to be carved out
of the rock with intricate reliefs of Buddha and the Bodhisattvas carved
into the walls. Kanheri had become an important Buddhist settlement
on the Konkan coast by the 3rd century A.D.[4]
Most of the caves are the Buddhist viharas meant for living, study, and meditation.
The larger caves were chaityas, or halls for congregational worship,
are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs and
pillars, and contain rock-cut stupas 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.[5] In the
late 10th century, the Buddhist teacher Atisha (980-1054) came to the Krishnagiri
Vihara to study Buddhist meditation under Rahulagupta.[6]
Inscriptions at Kanheri
A Brāhmī stone inscription at Kanheri
Nearly 51 legible inscriptions and 26 epigraphs are found at
Kanheri, which include the inscriptions in Brahmi,
Devanagari and 3 Pahlavi[7]
epigraphs found in Cave 90.[8][1]
One of the significant inscriptions mentions about the marriage of
Satavahana ruler Vashishtiputra Satakarni with
the daughter of Rudradaman I.[9]
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
Notes
- ^ a
b
"Kanheri Caves". http://www.bhramanti.com/kanheri.html.. Retrieved
2007-01-28.
- ^
"Mumbai's Ancient Kanheri
Caves". http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=326138&rel_no=1. Retrieved
2007-01-31.
- ^
"Mumbai attractions". http://www.angelfire.com/id/croon/india/kanhericaves.html. Retrieved
2007-01-28.
- ^
"Kanheri Caves
Mumbai". http://www.mumbai.org.uk/kanheri-caves.html. Retrieved
2007-01-31.
- ^
"Kanheri Caves". http://www.bhramanti.com/kanheri.html. Retrieved
2007-01-31.
- ^
Ray, Niharranjan (1993). Bangalir Itihas: Adiparba in
Bengali), Calcutta: Dey's Publishing, ISBN 81-7079-270-3,
p.595
- ^
West, E.W. (1880). "The Pahlavi
Inscriptions at Kaṇheri". The Indian Antiquary
9: 265–268.
- ^
Ray, H.P. (2006). Inscribed Pots, Emerging Identities in
P. Olivelle ed. Between the Empires: Society in India 300 BCE
to 400 CE, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN
0-19-568935-6, p.127
- ^
"A Note on Inscriptions in
Bombay". Maharashtra State Gazetteers-Greater Bombay
District. Government of Maharashtra. 1986. http://maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/greater_bombay/inscriptions.html. Retrieved
2009-10-31.
Further
reading
- Nagaraju, S. (1981). Buddhist Architecture of Western
India, Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan.
External
links
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