Buddhist caves in India

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Buddhist caves in India
Ajanta Caves
Material	Rocks
Created	3rd century BCE~
Present location	India
Sitamarhi Saptaparni Vulture Peak Barabar Dhank Junagadh Kadia Dungar Khambhalida Sana Siyot Talaja Bagh Dhamnar Saru Maru Ajanta,Pitalkhora Ghatotkacha Pitalkhora Ellora Ellora,Aurangabad Nasik Mandapeshwar Kanheri, Jogeshwari Kondivite Junnar,Ambivali Mandapeshwar Kanheri,Kondivite Elephanta Ambivali Karla Kondane,Karla Bhaja Shelarwadi Bedse Shirwal Wai Bhaja,Shelarwadi Bedse,Shirwal Wai Kuda Nadsur Nenavali Kuda,Nadsur Nenavali Khed Yerphal Karad Pohale Khed Yerphal Karad Pohale Aihole Badami Pandava Binnayaga Hathiagor Kolvi Undavalli Sankaram Peddapuram Kotturu Guntupalli Chandavaram Belum class=notpageimage| Caves of the time of the Buddha (5th century BCE) Caves of the time of Ashoka (3rd century BCE). Later caves (1st century BCE ~ ).

The Buddhist caves in India form an important part of Indian rock-cut architecture, and are among the most prolific examples of rock-cut architecture around the world.^[1] There are more than 1,500 known rock cut structures in India, out of which about 1000 were made by Buddhists (mainly between 200 BCE and 600 CE), 300 by Hindus (from 600 CE to 1200 CE), and 200 by Jains (from 800 CE to 1200 CE).^[2] Many of these structures contain works of art of global importance, and many later caves from the Mahayana period are adorned with exquisite stone carvings. These ancient and medieval structures represent significant achievements of structural engineering and craftsmanship.^[3]

In India, caves have been regarded as places of sanctity. Caves that were enlarged or entirely man-made were felt to hold the same sanctity as natural caves. In fact, the sanctuary in all Indian religious structures, even free-standing ones, retains the same cave-like feeling of sacredness, being small and dark without natural light.^[4]

The oldest rock-cut architecture in India is found in the Barabar caves, Bihar built around the 3rd century BCE. Of these caves, mostly build by Emperor Ashoka and his grandson Dasaratha for the ascetic sect of the Ajivikas, two caves are thought to have been dedicated to the Buddhist: Karan Chaupar cave, and possibly the Lomas Rishi cave. Most other Buddhist caves are then found in the western Deccan, consisting in shrines and monasteries, dating between 100 BCE and 170 CE. Originally, they were probably accompanied by wooden structures, which would have deteriorated over time. Historically, rock-cut temples have retained a wood-like theme in adornment; skilled craftsmen learned to mimic timber texture, grain, and structure. The earliest cave temples include 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, as Buddhist missionaries often 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 during the time maritime trade boomed between the Roman Empire and south-east Asia.^[5]

Although free standing structural temples were also being built, such as the Bairat Temple (3rd century BCE) and the various free-standing apsidal temples in Sanchi, Taxila or Ter, rock-cut cave temples continued to be built in parallel. Later rock-cut cave architecture became more sophisticated as in the Ajanta Caves, belonging to a second, and last, wave of Buddhist cave building. The last Buddhist caves were built around the 6th century CE.^[6]