There are about 1200 caves carved in the rock all over India and more than a thousand of them are found in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has many caves carved by Jains, Buddhists and Vedic (Hindu) religions and out of these, the Buddhist caves are largest in number. A cave is made by carving a hole into a huge rock. The word 'Leni' first appeared in the inscription in the Pandav cave near Ambad on the Mumbai-Nashik highway. The origin of the word ‘leni’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘layan’ meaning ‘home’. Caves are also known by many other names such as ‘Leni, Gumfa, Shaileyagruha, Shilamandir and Prastaralaye’. The term ‘leni’ is commonly used for man-made caves. Paleolithic humans often lived in naturally formed caves. The ancient caves, especially the caves that existed have since stone age, mainly depict paintings of animals, which must have been associated with their predominant occupation of life at that time, which was hunting. ... In the developing stages of humans caves were carved at the base of a hill and these types of caves were simple, small and their surface wasn’t plain. Later, when humans developed a bit, they carved caves at a fair distance from the base of the fort and at the final stage, caves were carved at the very top of the hills. From these caves one can understand how the architecture of ancient times progressed. The technique of carving caves was understood from the study of caves at Verul. Each part of the rock from the huge boulder was broke with a chisel to carve the cave. The ancient temples and chaityagrihas of India are made of wood and their imitation can be seen in the caves which were carved in the earlier times. The sculptures and paintings in these caves show how architecture went on progressing. Looking at the clothes, ornaments and hairstyles in these sculptures, one can see how the attire has changed over time. These sculptures show detailed information about the ornaments and garments worn by the women of Maharashtra. Although these caves belong to any religion, there are two major types of caves, residential and religious. There are very few of these residential caves and the main purpose of religious propagation can be seen in these caves. These caves are believed to exist from the 3rd century to the 9th century. The inscriptions in the caves show that Buddhist caves may have been excavated in India during the reign of Emperor Ashoka (273-232 BC). In places like Ellora, there are three separate groups of caves, Buddhist, Jain and Hindu. Among the caves excavated in India, Vedic or Hindu caves are not as ancient as Buddhist caves. Buddhist caves have two rooms, Chaitya and Vihar, while Jain caves only have one room of Vihar. Vedic caves are mostly seen in the form of temples. These caves are mainly found at Ellora, Jogeshwari, Mandpeshwar, Pataleshwar, Ambejogai and Gharapuri. The caves at Ellora are particularly remarkable in terms of artistry, some of which are carved like the Buddhist caves. It has many sculptures related to Shaiv and Vaishnav cult.. The Kailas Cave at Verul is mentioned as a unique ‘Shailmandir’. This Shiv temple is carved out of rock along with other rooms in the cave. There are a group of five Hindu caves at Gharapuri. It must have been carved in the eighth or ninth centuries. Almost all the sculptures in these caves are associated with the life of Lord Shiv and the Trimurti sculptures and Kalyansundaramurti are very beautiful sculptures in this cave. Similar to Hindu caves, the number of Jain caves is less in Maharashtra and these caves are mainly found in Chandwad, Ankai-Tankai, Ambejogai, Dharashiv and Verul. There are Jain caves carved at Ankai-Tankai and Chandwad and the caves at Chandwad are in a ruined state. Jain caves of Dharashiv were carved between 50 and 500 AD and are famous for its magnificent images of Parshvanath Tirthankars. Indrasabha and Jagannath Sabha, carved in the 8th-9th centuries at Verul, are famous for their Jain cave architecture and sculpture. The Buddhist caves are mainly excavated by the Hinayan and Mahayan cult. The caves carved by the Hinayan cult in the early period are located at Bhaje, Kondane, Pitlakhore, Ajanta, Bedse, Karle and Nashik. The Mahayan style caves can be seen at Ajanta, Ellora, Aurangabad, Kanheri, Panhale-Kaji. With the spread of Buddhism in Maharashtra, the number of monks began to increase and monasteries, chaityagruhas and stupas were carved in the hills for their stay. This is evident from the inscriptions in the caves in Maharashtra. A Stupa is a semicircular structure built of stone, clay, brick or is carved into the rock as a memorial of a person who has passed away. This structure is also known as Dagoba or Chaitya. The Stupas erected by the Hinayan cult in the early days are rough and simple and the Mahayan cult started carving Buddha statues on these Stupas. The Stupa has a Harmika and three umbrella were erected one on top of the other. The Vihar was built to stay the Buddhist monks and initially had a single hall and a verandah. As the number of monks increased, its size eventually expanded and more rooms were added and also large pavilions were started to be carved. Pillars were carved parallel to these pavilions at some distance according to their size. These pillars were decorated with various designs. The pillars of the pavilions at Karle, Nashik, Ajanta and Ellora are adorned with symbolic symbols such as the Bodhi tree, the Chakra and the Paduka, indicating the existence of the Buddha. After the rise of the Mahayan cult, sculpture and idols gained importance and Jataka stories from Buddha charitra were carved in this Vihar. From these sculptures, idols like Buddha's Vajrapani and Padmapani came into existance. Chaityagrihas were carved around the Vihar’s and in places convenient for monks to pray. The early chaityagrihas were square and rectangular in shape and had a chaitya or Stupa carved on the wall in front of their entrance. In order to illuminate the Chaityagriha, a large window-chaityagavaksha with netting was carved on the wall near the facade. A water cistern was carved for the monks near the monasteries and chaityagrihas. This cistern was called 'Podhi'. Like the Vihar and Chaitya caves, this cistern was also offered to the monks. In every Buddhist cave, it was indicated who carved it. People from far and wide came in the ceremony of carving and offering the caves carved in the mountain range of Maharashtra to the monks. For example, the Stupa at Kanheri was built in memory of Sariputra, a disciple of Gautam Buddha, by Buddharuchi from Sindh province. It is also mentioned that the Chaitya caves of Karla was carved by Shreshta Bhutal of Vaijyanti. Vaijayanti in present day is Vanvasi in Karnataka. An inscription in a cave at Bhaje in Maharashtra shows that it was excavated during the time of Ashoka. Kanheri, Ajanta, Ellora etc. excavated during the Gupta-Wakataka period. Sanskrit language was used instead of Prakrit in the cave inscriptions. The inscriptions in these caves shed light on the political, social, religious and cultural conditions of that time. Many of the cave inscriptions mention kings and their reigns. They provide information on political developments and the current economic situation. The names of Gautamiputra Pulumavi and Yagyashree Satkarni are known from the Puran but the names of Nahpan, Rishabhadatta Kshatrapas and their families became known only through the inscriptions in the caves. The inscriptions in the caves mention many occupations and their categories. The Mahachandroshan idol found at Panhale-Kaji gives information about the Vajrayan, a Buddhist cult.
© Suresh Nimbalkar