At a distance from Chiplun town in Ratnagiri district, there is a group of three Buddhist caves. Unknown to the resident of Chiplun themselves, these caves are known as 'Bavshewadi Caves' or commonly known as “Pandavaleni”. These caves are 5 km from Chiplun town and carved into Mahalakshmi hill on the new Chiplun-Guhagar bypass road. After crossing a small hill on this road from Chiplun, these caves are easily visible on the left side of the road at the very first turn. The present condition of the caves is very bad and due to extensive wear and tear no carvings of any kind can be seen on them. Perhaps this cave is partially carved. The first of these caves is a small 10x10 feet in size used by Buddhist monks, with a stone bench carved into its wall for sleeping. An idol is present in this cave, which has been damaged over time. ... The second cave is slightly larger than the first cave and is partially carved. The third cave is old hall and its stupa has been eroded with the passage of time and its Harmika can be seen under the ceiling. Nandi and Shivlinga have been installed on the portion of the stupa that remains below. At some distance from this cave, there are water tanks carved into the rock, which is completely dry at present. Looking at the water tanks and the middle cave, their construction work must be incomplete, so the period of these caves cannot be determined.
© Suresh Nimbalkar