short guide to cave

8/6/2019 Short Guide to Cave

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SHOKT OUIDETO

Z^c (Cttoc (Eempfcs of ^fura.WITH

AN INTRODUCTION,BY

SHAMSUU ULAMA, SYED ALI BILGRAMI,' "^A., LL.B., F.G.S.

Associate, Royal School op Mines, London,Member of thk Royal Asiatic Society of Great

Britain and Ireland.Member of the Bombay Branch of the Royal

Asiatic Society.Member of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.Examiner in Sanskrit to the University ofMadras.

Member of the North of England Institute ofMining and Mechanical Engineers, &c., &c.Secretary to His Highness the Nizam's Government.

Public Works Department, Railways and Mines.

3Hailras.UEPRIXTED BY H, PLUMBE, AT THE LAWRENXE ASYLUM PRESS.

1898.

Price One Rupee.


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ASHOUT aUIDETO

e;f)e Q:ttoc ilcmpfcs of C;fura.WITH

AN INTRODUCTION, " >BY ' . /- ',

;

.

.

SHAMSUL ULAMA, SYED ALI BILGRAMI,b.a., ll.b., f.g.s.

Associate, Royal School of Mines, London,Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great

Britain and Ireland.Member of the Bombay Branch of the RoyalAsiatic Society.Member of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.Examiner in Sanskrit to the University of

Madras,Member of the North of England Institute of

Mining and Mechanical Engineers, &c., &c.Secretary fo His Highness the Nisam's Government.

Public Works Departments Railways and Mines.

^H a d r a s :EEPBINTED BY H. PLUUBK, AT THB LAWBENCK ASTLUH PBZBS.

1898.

Price One Rupee.


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List of the Worts consulted-ScHTipEDjiiR.Indiens Literatur and Culfcur.,,. , tiASSE-N.^Indische Alterthums Kunde, Vol. II.

Webke.History of Indian Literature.Bergaignb.La Religion Vedique.Fergusson and Burgess.The Cave Temples pi

India. -j

Burgess,The Rock Temples of Elara or Yerul.historical and Descriptive Sketch of His High-ness the Nizam's Dominions. By Syed HossainBilgrarai, b.a., and 0. Willmot.


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INTRODUCTION.The ancient religion of the Hindus, the so called

Vedic-religion, revealed to us in the Hymns of the Rig-veda, consisted in the worship of the grand andstriking phenomena of nature as conscious beings,possessing powers beyond the control of man, butamenable to his praises and his prayers. There is nowell defined pantheon of deities with differentiationof function as we find among the Greeks andRomans, but a purer and more primitive form ofnature worship in which the powers and functionsassigned to one divine manifestation are constantlyrunning into those of another. In fact, the form ofworship presented to us in these most ancient docu-ments of the Aryan people is what ProfessorMaxmiiller calls Henotheism, viz., the deity invokedfor the time being is regarded as supreme, is extolledabove the rest and is made the recipient of theworshipper's highest praises and most fervent suppli-cations. It is only in the last Book of the Rig Vedaand in the Atharva Veda that the idea of a SupremeDeity vaguely occurs but is not fully developeduntil much later.

The main feature of the Vedic worship is thebelief in tbe efficacy of prayer and of sacrificialofferings. Not only are the words of praise addressedby the worshipper accepted by the deity but even the

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4''] oblations offered by him are received by the God, ,,, and give him strength to battle with the worship-

per's snemies. This belief in the efficacy of prayerled to the veneration of those who had intimate know-ledge of ritual and possessed a mastery of the lan-guage in which that ritual was embodied. We thusfind that the word Brahman which in the earlierhymns means an invocation, a prayer, becomes laterthe name and designation of the priest, the master ofthe ritual, the worshipper yar excellence.

From simple religious veneration to absolutesuperiority was but a step. That remarkable facultyof making the most of the weaknesses of one'sfellow creatures, which seems to be the common pro-perty of the priesthood of every nation ancient andmodern, soon raised the Brahman from the j^ositionof a mere religious teacher to that of leader andmaster in things spiritual as well as temporal.He was not only the God incarnate, but the guide,philosopher and friend of the King, the repositoryof all Science and Literature. The supremacy of theBrahmans, led to the rigidity of the caste systemthe merest mention of which occurs in the Rig Yedaby which those placed in the lower orders werecompletely and eternally excluded from all socialand political advantages and ground down tothe very dust. Their sole consolation lay in theconvenient doctrine of metemsychosis, also inventedby the Brahmans, which taught the multitude toregard their present woes as the natural result of

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their deeds in a former existence, from which theymight escape in a future birth, by present liberalityto the priests.

Traces of a revulsion of feeling against thisdomination of the priestly class are already visiblein the formation of the ascetic orders. Men belong-ing to a lower caste and renouncing the orthodox-creed took upon themselves the functions of mendi-cant teachers and were received with love andrespect by the people.

This dissent cuhninated in Buddhism. Bud-dhism is the natural and most emphatic protestagainst the tyranny of Brahmanic sacerdotalism.The founder Gautama, a Sakya prince of the warriorclass and learned in the lore of the Brabmans, struckwith the utter degradation of the people and dis-satisfied with the selfish doctrines of a graspino-priesthood, left his royal home to wander into theworld practising austerities, suffering privations andpreaching the gospel of charity, purity and equality.In tlie ever recurring cycle of new births the Karmaof an individual, the sum total of his good and badactions in any particular life, determines the formof his future existence and it is by the extinctionof this Karma, that the much longed for cessationfrom constant new-birth is attained. But theultimate goal, the final bliss of Nirvana is no longerthe birth-right of a privileged class, it becomes thecommon property of every good Buddhist wholeads a life of self-conquest and practises universalcharity.


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A religion which recognizes so distinctly asBuddhism does the absolute equality of all men asregards the efficacy of good work and the attain-ment of the summum honumy could not fail to beacceptable to the multitude and the rapid progressof Buddhism proves the fact. In the reign ofAsoka (B.C. 263-225) that is, within two centuriesfrom the death of Gauttim^a Buddha (B.C. 481),Buddhism had become the state religion of India,was spreading fast into the outlying countries ofCeylon, Burmah and Tibet and had found its wayeven to China and Japan.

The supremacy of Buddhism in India was butshort lived. The Brahmanic revival soon drove itout of the country of its birth. The introduction ofthe worship of Krishna, the institution of saints'days, fairs, fasts and anniversaries with all theirattendant paraphernalia of gay dresses and noisymusic, attracted the masses and alienated them fromthe simple intellectual worship and strict disciplineof Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim HiouenThsang who visited India in the 7tli Century,complains of the number of ruined temples anddeserted monasteries and of the growing proportionof heretics. At the time of Sankaracharya (8tliCentury A.D.), the embodiment of later Brahmanism,Buddhism was fast declining and a few centurieslater, it had disappeared from the Continent of Indiaexcept Nepaul where it flourishes to this day. Jain-ism, an early offshoot of Buddhism, however, still


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exists and from the wealtli and position of its vota-ries, forms an important sect.

Although Buddhism has failed to maintain theground it had won from the Brahmans, it has left anindelible mark on theHindu religion, and its humaniz-ing influence is visible everywhere. Monastic insti-tutions, so peculiar to Buddhism, have been adoptedby the Hindus, and Maths or Convents exist all overthe country, where bodies of clergy reside togetherpresided over by Malianta or religious superiors,Sankarachariya himself founded several of theseinstitutions, one of which the Math at Sringeri, isstill famous for its rare collection of Sanskrit manu-scripts. We have also Brahmanic Cave templesexcavated alongside the Buddhistic and several ofthese are to be seen at Elura.

The Buddhists are divided into two sects. TheHinayana or those of the Lesser Vehicle and theMahayana or those of the Greater Vehicle. Of thesethe Hinayana is the older and purer sect, their reli-gion consisting in the practice of morality and theobservance of simple ceremonial. The -Lco3crVehicle was founded by Nagarjuna, the fourteenthPatriarch who flourished about 400 or 500 yearsafter Buddha and shortly before the reign of Kan-ishka. Like the later developments of everyreligion, the Lesser Vehicle departed considerablyfrom the puritanic worship of early Buddhism andintroduced a mythology in which female personifi-

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8cations of all kinds take the place of Buddlia. Thisbecomes clearly marked in the sculptures of thecave-temples of a later date than the 5th Centuryand affords one method, however imperfect, ofarriving at some conclusion regarding the chrono-logy of these structures.

CAVE TEMPLES.Temples and monasteries cut out of the solid

rock, are found scattered all over India and forma very important feature of the ancient architecturalremains of the country. These monuments areprimarily divisible into three classes according to thesects by whom or for whose use they were excava-ted, viz., Buddhists, Brahmans or Jains. The earliestexamples are those belonging to the Buddhists andrange in time from the middle of the 3rd CenturyB.C., to the end of the 7th Century A.D., thatis, over a period of nearly one thousand years. TheseBuddhist temples are divided into two groups theHinayana or the earlier group, ranging from 250C.C, to 150 A.D., and the Mahayana or the latergroup, ranging from 150 A.D., to 700 A.D. Theearlier or Hinayana temples are of a plain grandiosedesign, and in the assembly halls as well as in theChaitya caves, the only object of worship is theDagoba or relic shrine. The sculpture is the simplestand consists chiefly of the " rail pattern."


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The Mahajdna temples are very mucli fewer innumber as they do not contain the cells for the.monks. By the time these temples came to be ex-cavated, the monks had ceased to live in dark cavesand isolated cells. They were congregated in largeand magnificient monasteries replete with everycomfort and even luxuriously furnished. The Dagobaor relic shrine, such an important feature in theolder structures, disappears from all Viharas and isreplaced by images of Buddha. Even in the Chaityacaves where the Dagoba has been retained, it hasan image of Buddha attached in the front. Thismultiplication of the images of Buddha, Bodhisatvas,and a number of female abstractions, is the chieffeature in the temples of the Mahajana sect. Thegrandiose design of the older caves is succeeded byfacades and interiors crowded with pillars, elaborate-ly carved or painted. The Buddhist monumentsoccur in six different forms :

1 . Stupas.Mounds or Tumuli erected over thesacred relics of Buddha or on spots consecrated byhis presence. Later on when these relics becameobjects of worship and it became necessary to exlii-bit them to the congregation, a peculiar structureknown as the Dagoba, a corruption of the Sanskritword " Dhatugarbha " or receptacle for the sacredobject, was constructed and placed in the centreof the temple. In its primitive form, the Dagobaconsisted of a low thick cylinder supporting a hemi-spherical dome surmounted by a square capital but in

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10course of time variations were introduced althouglithe main form remained unaltered.

2. Ornamental Rails.These form a mostimportant feature of the earliest Buddhist architec-ture. They are placed round sacred trees, stupasand pillars and sometimes round temples.

3. Stambhas or Ldts.These are pillars usuallyerected in front of a temple and carrying one ormore of the symbols of the religon to which thetemple was dedicated. They occur in Buddhistic,Bnllimanic as well as Jaina Temples. The famousBuddhist Lfits of Asoka however, which were erectedto carry his Edicts, are not of a religious origin.

4. Chaitj/as.This word is derived from theSanskrit " chit a" a funeral pile, hence a monumentor altar, and like Stupa and Dagoba is used to denotea "relic shrine." The Chaitya Caves, viz., thosecontaining Chaityas were temples constructed forworship as distinguished from the Viharas whichwere intended for the residence of the monks,

5. Vihdras.These are monasteries construc-ted for the accommodation of Buddhist mendicantmonks living together in communities. Originallya Vihara consisted of a number of cells with averandah or porch in front. But subsequently asquare hall was added for purposes of meeting.

6. Pondhis.These are cisterns of water andare the invariable accompaniments of Viharas.


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11The temples of Buddliist origin are by far the

most numerous and form fully 75 per cent, of theexcavations of this kind found in India.

Next in the chronological order are the templesexcavated by the Brahmans both Saiva and Vaish-nava which range between the 4tli and the 8thCenturies A.D. They constitute about 18 per cent,of the total number of excavations, but the majorityof these are of considerable dimensions.

Lastly we have the Jaina Cave Temples.These are not only more recent but fewer in numberthan either of the other two classes. The earliestof them maybe put down to the 5th or Gth Centuryand the latest to the 12th. They constitute about4 per cent, of the total number.

As regards numbers, the Cave Temples maybe classified as follows:

Buddhist Excavations about ... 720Bralimanic ... 160Jaina ... 35If we add to these the so called Eastern Caves,

the total number of the known Rock-cut Templesmay be estimated at one thousand.

THE CAVE TEMPLES OF ELUKA.The Cave Temples of Elura form the largest

and the most varied group of the Rock-Templesin India, containing as they do some of the finestspecimens of all three classes of temples, viz., Bud.dhistic, Brahmanic and Jaina.


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l2The village of Verule, Elora or Elura (Lat.

202'N. Long. 7515'E) is situated about 14 milesto the north-west of j^urungabad in the territoryof His Highness the Nizam. The caves are most easilyaccessible from the Nandgaon station of the GreatIndian Peninsula Railway, the distance being 46miles. The road as far as Pipalgaon followsthe Nandgaon Aurungabad Mail Tonga roadand has Travellers' Bungalows at Tharoda 13 milesand Deogaon 32 miles. From Pipalgaon the roadto Elura branches off to the left, the distance to thecaves being 8 miles. There is no bungalow atElura, but close by at Roza there is a Rest Housebelonging to His Highness's Government which ismost luxuriously furnished, and is available on givingprevious notice to the Taluqdar or Deputy Commis-sioner of Aurungabad.

The caves are excavated in the scarp of a largeplateau and run nearly north and south for adistance of a mile and a quarter. At each end, thescarp throws out a horn to the west. The oldestcaves, the Buddhistic, are situated at the south end,at the point where the scarp begins to turn to thewest. At the other extremity and in the north hornare the Jaina-caves; while the Brahmanic group issituated between the two. Taking the Kailasa asthe centre, sixteen caves lie to the south of it,fourteen of which are Buddhist and nearly as manyto the north of it, being Brahmanic and Jaina. TheBuddhist Caves of Elura are all of the Mahayanagroup and range in time from 350 to 550 A.D.


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Cave 1.

l3DESCRIPTION OF THE CAYES.

We proceed to examine the Caves from tlie south.* Cave I.This is the first cave at the southern

extremity of the group. It is a small Yihara, and isprobably one of the oldest excavations here. It isa monastery containing cells for monks. Originallyit was probably connected with the cave adjoining it.

Cave 11.This is a cave of considerable size, cave ii.and is entered by a flight of steps which lead into alarge ball evidently intended to be used as a placeof worship. It is supported on pillars, the cushionsof which resemble those at Elephanta. The sanctuarycontains a large figure of Buddha seated on a lion-throne, with his feet down and holding the littlefinger of his left hand with the thumb and forefingerof his right. This is what is generally known as theteaching attitude and is repeated very frequently inthe various caves of the group. His head, which iscovered with short curly hair> is surrounded by thehalo or nimbus with which he is usually represented ;on cither side of it are the attendant gandharvas(angels). On his right and left are the chauri-bearers,one of whom grasps in his left hand a lotus bythe stalk. These may be considered as Buddha'spersonal attendants, but as we proceed we find theseattendants developing into divinities and having sepa-rate attendants of their own in their turn. They

* The descriptions of the individual caves are slightly abridged and alter-ed from the excellent account given in the "Historical and Descriptive Sketchof His Highness the Nizam's DominionB."


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Cave II.

14are, however, always represented as subordinate toBuddlia. The figure holdingthe lotus stalk is gradu-ally developed iato a divinity known in Buddhistmythology as Padraapani or the lotus-bearer and he isinvariably represented with that flower in his hand.The chauri or emblem of servitude, also disappears,and is replaced by a rosary. The second figure isgradually transformed into Vajrapani, or the light-ningbearer. The figure next to the attendants is aBuddha standing with the right hand down and theleft grasping the folds of his robe. This is known astheattitudeof Buddha whenbegging. In the cornersof the sanctuary are several smaller figures, devoteesof Buddha, supplicating him with clasped hands.The door of the sanctuary is guarded by two colossalfigures in erect attitudes, the one on the right holdinga lotus in his left hand and a rosary in his right ; twosmaller female figures stand on each side of him.The guardian on the left is decorated with ornaments,and wears the daghoba on his head-dress. Both thefigures have attendant gandharvas and halfway upthe wall are smaller figures wearing curled wigs andholding garlands in their hands. On each side of thesanctuary there are two cells, the right hand onehaving a figure of Buddha seated on a lotus-throneupheld by Nagas. Opposite the warder bearing thelotus at the entrance of the sanctuary is a femalefio-m-e in an erect attitude holding a lotus in her lefthand, the right being uplifted with the palm open.She is attended by two females with lotus flowers intheir bands, "It is difficult," says Mr. Burgess, "to


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16say wbom the principal figure here may represent. Cave IT.It may.be Maya, the mother of Buddha, or Yasodhra,his wife, or a female counterpart of Avalokitesvaraor Padmapani, the Bodhisatva of the divine BuddhaAraitabha, all of whose symbols she possesses." Thelateral galleries of the cave contain a large figure ofBuddha in the same attitude as that in which he isrepresented in the sanctuary. Regarding the date ofthis cave Mr. Burgess says : "It is very difficult to fixan age for this cave. It may have been begun in thethird or fourth Century, while the carving may havebeen continued down to the sixth or seventh."

Cave III.Between this and the last cave there Caveiiiis a ruined water-cistern, such as is invariably foundattached to all Viharas. This cave, which isa Yihara or monastery, does not appear to havebeen ever properly finished A considerable por-tion of the front wall and verandah have disap-peared. The roof is supported on twelve squarecolumns. The sanctuary consists of a Buddha seatedon a throne with the usual attendants on eachside of him and the gandharvas over-head. Theback of the throne upon which he is seated containsfigures of the e'ephant Sardula and Makara. To theright are a series of figures representing what isusually styled a "Buddha litany."

Cave IV.This is in great measure destroyed, Caveiv.and the front or outer hall has altogether collapsed.The entrance is by means of a side door facing thesouth ; a portion of a small chamber to which it gives


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16Cave IV. access is blocked up by a large stone which has fallen

from above, carrying with it an arm and a leg of asitting Buddha from a sbrine on the top of a chamber.The sanctuary contains a figure of Buddha seated inthe teaching attitude, with a halo surrounding hishead, from behind which the sacred Bo tree springs.The attendants are placed behind instead of at theside of the throne. At the north end of this cave isa figure of Padmapuni seated in an attitude similar tothat of Buddha, with a deer's skin pending from hisleft shoulder and having a rosary in his right and alotus in his left hand. His head-dress has a smallimage of Buddha in the front.

CaveV. Gave V.This is a large Vihara cave having aspacious central hall with two side recesses, the sup-ports of the roof consisting of twenty-four square-shafted pillars. Mr. Fergusson says that this cave" looks more like a flat-roofed Ghaitya with its threeaisles than an ordinary Vihara and such it probablywas intended to be." The cave contains a numberof cells for monks and the space between the pillarssupporting the roof contains two long low stonebenches along the floor, which were probably,Mr. Burgess thinks, " the low tables of their refectory,or it may possibly have been a sort of monastic school,and these benches the reading desks of the scholars,or it may have been that they served both purposes."The sanctuary contains a figure of Buddha in theteaching attitude with the usual attendants. Thewarders are not placed in their usual positions at


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17the door of the sanctuary, but occupy arched recesses Care v.on either side of the entrance, each being providedwith attendants.

Cave VI.This is connected with the last cave Cave vi.by a staircase. It contains a few cells on the eastside of the hall, the western side of which hasentirely collapsed. The antechamber of the shrinecontains a number of figure?, one of which, a femalewith a peacock by her side and below her a punditreadingis believed to be Sarasvati, the goddessof learning. The sanctury contains a large seatedfigure of Buddha with attendants.

Gave VII.This is an unfinished Vihara, having Cavevii.eight cells. The roof is supported on four pillars.There are no sculptures of any description in it.

Cave VIII.This is entered from the last by a Caveviii.passage in which is situated a shrine, supported onsculptured pillars. The shrine contains a figure ofBuddha in the teaching attitude with the usualattendants, one of whom, Padraapani, has four armp.He stands on a lotus with two devotees at his feet,behind whom is a female figure. The other atten-dant has also a female companion and over the headsof both of them there are gandharvas.

Cave IX.To reach this cave it is necessary to Careix.:;return to cave No. 7, from which there is a passagecommunicating with it through cave No. 6. It con-sists of a small balcony and portico, supported onpillars. There is a seated figure of Buddha with theusual attendants and gandharvas.

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18Gave X.This is known by the name of Vish-

vakarma, or"The Carpenter's Cave," andisthe onlyChaitya Cave at Elura. Mr. Burgess thinks that thiscave "though not so magnificient in its proportionsor severe in its decoration as the great cave at Karli,is still a splendid work." The open court in frontof the cave is surrounded by a corridor, with numer-ous figures carved upon the frieze above the pillars.The inner temple of the cave consists of a centralaisle and side passages, separated from the centralpoition by twenty-eight octagonal pillars. Theinner end of the cave in almost blocked up by adaghoba, fifteen and a half feet in diameter, andnearly twenty-seven feet high, which, says Mr.Fergusson, "instead of being circular, as in all theolder examples, has a frontispiece attached to itlarger than that in cave No. 19 at Ajunta, whichmakes it square in front." On top of this frontispieceis a huge seated figure of Buddha, eleven feet inheiofht. He has his usual attendants and above hishead is [carved the Bo tree. The roof of thecave is arched, and is carved to imitate wooden ribs.According to Mr. Fergusson, the most marked charac-teristic of this cave "is the facade, where for thefirst time we miss the horse-shoe opening, which isthe most marked feature in all previous examples."In the front corridor are two cells, and a similarnumber of chapels. At one end of the north corridoris a staircase communicating with the gallery above.This cave is visited by large numbers of sutars or |


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carpenters, who frequent the place to pay their CareX.devotions toBuddhaas Vishvakarman, and the wallsand pillars are much disfigured by the names of theartisan visitors which have been carved and writtenupon them. The figure of Buddha is coloured withblue, yellow and green paint, which is applied to itupon all festive occasions. One of the pillars in thecave is inscribed with the date, Shaka 1228, whichis equivalent to A. D. 1306.

Cave XLThis is known as the Don Thai, or" two-story," and sometimes as Dukhiaghar, or" house of pain." The Brahmans have a tradition tothe effect that the great architect of the gods (Vish-vakarman having finished the Tin Thai, the next cave,intended to surpass all his former work by excavat-ing a grand cave here, but, having injured some ofhis fingers in the process, was compelled to give upthe attempt. The date of the excavation is generallybelieved to be A. D. GOO. This cave together withthe two temples which follow it, is, according to Mr.FergussoD, " particularly interesting to the antiqua-rian as pointing out the successive steps by whichthe Buddhistical caves merged into the Brahmanical."Within the last few years a third story below thelower floor, which was bui'ied in the earth, has beenbrought to light. The ground floor consists of a longverandah with two cells, and a shrine in which is afigure of Buddha with his usual attendants. Thenext story contains a verandah of similar construc-tion, the back portion of which contains five doors*

Care XI.


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XII

20The second door leads to a shrine in which is acolossal figure of Buddha seated with his legs crossedso as to show the soles of his feet. At the foot of thethrone is a small female figure with a jar of milk orwaterin one hand. To the right and left of the throneare the figures of Vajrapani and Padmapani, theformer carrying a thunderbolt in his left hand. Thehead-dresses of both figures are most elaboratelycarved and so also is the back of the throne uponwhich Buddha is seated. The sanctuary containsseveral other figures of Buhdhas, with Bo trees overtheir heads. The other doorways in the verandahlead into smaller shrines, which contain figures ofBuddha and attendants. The walls of the upperstory contain many carved figures of Buddha, Vajra-pani and female figures and attendants, but theshrines are unfinished.

Cave X//.This is known as the Tin Thai; ithas an open court, on the west side of which is alarge cistern. The lower story is entered by a smallflight of steps from the courtyard. Two of the eightsquare pillars in the front row which it contains aresaid to be the most elaborately carved at Elura.There are two more rows, each containing eightpillars. To the left of the shrine is a compartmentcontaining Buddha and eight other figures. Padma-pani and Vajrapani occupy positions on the rightand left, and above and below them are six figures,holding various emblems in their hands. The figureof Buddha in the shrine is in a sitting posture


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and measures eleven feefc from the seat totlie crown Cav xii.of his head. Above and below are smaller Buddhasin the same posture. To the right and left arePadmapani and Yajrapani, with smaller figuresbearing: flowers and fruit. The staircase ascends tothe next story from the southern end of the lowerverandah. On the first landing is a recess or sidechapel, containing a Buddha seated on a throne.The walls of this chapel contain numerous smallerfour-armed figures of both sexes. The hall on thefirst floor is divided into three aisles, containingsixteen pillars. Theshriue contains afigure ofBuddhawhich is seated in the same position and is of thesame height as the figure on the lower floor. At thesides of the throne there are the figures of Padma-pani and Vajrapani and on the walls are other figureswith flags, flower-buds, &c. and on the front wallare the usual male and female figures, which Mr.Burgess supposes to represent the patron of the caveand his wife. The upper floor contains forty-twoplain pillars and a number of enthroned Buddhasand their attendants. One group represents Buddhaseated on a throne, at the foot of which are twowell-sculptured deer, which have been considerablymutilated. Mr. Burgess thinks that possibly " thismay be intended as an allusion to Buddha's teach-ing in the deer-park at Benares, which seems to havebeen a favourite resort of his." In another portionof the same story Buddha is seated on a lion-thronewithout his usual attendants. Beside him is a


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22Care XII. smaller seated figure of Buddha represented in the

act of meditation ; above is Buddha going to heavento teach the gods his statutes ; and thirdly, *'Buddhadying or entering Nirvanaeverlasting, undisturb-ed, unconscious repose."

Cave XIILA short distance beyond the TinTal the Brahmanical group of caves commences.The first of them is a large half-ruined room, whichwas probably used as a halting-place for travellers.

Cave XIV.This is called Ravan-ka-Khai, or"the ashes of Ravana." It contains a hall andcorridor with sixteen pillars, all more or less carved.The wall at the south end of the hall contains a num-ber of Siva sculptures, which Mr. Burgess classes asfollows :Maliisclsuri, or Durga, killing the buffalodemon ; Siva and Parvati seated on a raised platformplaying at chausar or chaupat, a sort of chess playedwith dice ; Siva dancing the tandava or great danceover the destruction of the world; Havana, thedemon king of Lanka, or Ceylon; Bhairava, thedestructive form of Siva, with Ganapati behind him.Close by is a group consisting of three skeletons, andKali with four arms and a scorpion on her breast.Kali and Ganapat and the seven divine mothers. Onthe north wall are figures of Bhavani, Lakshmi, thewife of Yishnu, Varaha, the boar incarnation ofVishnu and Vishnu and Lakshmi seated on a coachunder an ornamental arch.


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23Cave Zr.This is styled tlie Dasavatara. An Cavexv.

ascent up the rocks, in which steps are cut, leads intothe court, which contains a number of shrines anda water cistern. On the west wall is a long inscrip-tion ia Sanskrit, considerably mutilated. This cavecontains two stories, the lower of which possessnumerous figures of Siva, Vishnu, Parvati, Bhavaniand Ganapati. The hall above contains numerousSiva sculptures, the most striking of which is the onenearest the door, being a representation of Maha-deva in his terrible form, which is thus described byMr. Burgess :*' The gigantic figure loungesforward holding up his elephant hide, with a necklaceof skulls depending below his loins; round him a cobrais knotted ; his open mouth showing his large teeth,while with his trishida he has transfixed one victimand holds another by the heels with one of his lefthands, raising the damaru as if to rattle it in joywhile he catches the blood with which to quench hisdemon thirst. Kfdi, gaunt and grim, stretches herskeleton length below, eager to share in the gore ofthe victim." The other chapels in this storycontain figures of Siva and Parvati, and one scenerepresents thema rriage between the two, with Brahmaofficiating. The vestibule of the shrine contains alarge fioure of Ganapati, and others of Lakshmi, Sivaand Brahma. On the south w^all are numerous figuresrepresenting the various incarnations of Vishnu.

Cave XVI.This cave is known as Kailasa or Cavexvi.Rangmahal and is, as Mr. Burgess says, "one of the


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24mosfc remarkable of all the cave temples in India.'It is an immense monolitbic temple separated fromthe surrounding rocks, and elaborately carvedoutside and inside. The court in which it stands is twohundred and seventy feet long and about a hundredand fifty feet wide. Portions of the temple in thecentre have at some period been most elaboratelypainted and even now there are some fragmentswhich still retain much of their original beauty.The lofty basement of the temple, says, Mr. Burgess," is of itself a remarkable conception, with its rowof huge elephants, lions and griffins in every possi-ble attitude tearing one another or feeding. Andthen the great hall above with its sixteen pillars andmore pilasters, all carved with different details ofsculpture, its balcony porches at the sides and doublepavilions before the front porch, its vestibule to thesanctuary with large sculptures on each side and itsfive shrines round the outside of the principal oneand on the same platform, all testify to the attemptmade to rival and outdo all previous temples of thekind." Just beyond the entrance passage, is a largefigure of Lakshmi, seated on the leaves of a lotusupon which are some carved letters assumed tobelongto the 15th Century. The pilasters on either sidehave mutilated inscriptions in 8th Century characters.The mandapa and temple are connected by abridge,underneath which are figures of Siva in his incar-nations as Kala Bhairava and Mahayogi, withnumerous attendants. The north and south walls ofthe southern staircase contain representations of the


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25R^mayana and Mahabharata ; from behind this the Care xvi.basement of the temple, with its gigantic groups ofelephants and lions, springs. The southern corridor,which is 118 feetinlength, contains, twelve divisions,each of which has sculptures on a very large scale.The principal figures which they contain are four-armed Vishnus, the lion-incarnation of Vishnu, Siva,and his bull Nandi, the six-armed or dwarf incar-nation of Vishnu, and Garuda, the man-eagle. Thesouthern corridor, nearly two hundred feet in lengthhas nineteen compartments in which are sculpturesof Siva in six or seven different incarnations.Brahma with his hansa or sacred goose, Parvati,the marriage ceremony between Siva and Parvati.The northern corridor, one hundred and twenty feetin length, contains twelve divisions of sculptures,chiefly representing Siva and Parvati and theirattendants. The shrine is reached by a staircasefrom the last corridor. The door is guarded byhuge dwarapdlaSj who are armtd with clubs. Thehall has two aisles with large square columns at eachcorner and is decorated with numberless sculpturesof Siva, Lakshmi, Brahma and attendants. Theshrine is situated at the east end of the Hall, fromthe terrace behind which rises the steeple of thetemple, nearly one hundred feet in height. Thesteeple is profusely carved from the basement to thesummit. In the southern end of the courtyard is acave-temple of small dimensions, containing sculp-tures of Kali, Ganapati, Vaishnavi, Sarasvati, andnumerous deities and attendants. On the north and


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26CaTeXvi. west sides of the court are three more caves, one of

which, Lanka or Lankesvara, is 1 23 feet long and40 wide; the roof of this cave is supported onelaborately carved pillars. It contains sculptures ofSiva, Parvati, and Havana. The door of the shrineis guarded by females, probably Ganga and Yamunathe back wall contains a three-faced representationof Siva, in his characters as Creator, Preserver, andDestroyer. Above Kailasa are some smaller cavesand groups of cells and shrines.

Cave XVII.This cave is a Saiva temple, sup-ported on twelve pillars, having a shrine, the doorof which is in the Dravidian style. The corridor ofthe temple contains sculptured compartments, inwhich are figures of Brahma and Vishnu with femaleattendants. The only sculptures on the shrine wallsare Mahisasuri and Ganapati.

Cayes XVIII., XIX. a?ic^ XX.These are three11 caves, none of wl

shrines of any interest.

CaTXVIII., . , . ,XIX., XX. small caves, none of which contams sculptures or

Oavtf XXI.This cave is called Ramesvara;tlie hall is of considerable length, and has a shrineat each end, surrounding which are numerous sculp-tures of Kali, Ganesha, Siva, and Parvati, withattendants and musicians. The marriage of Sivaand Parvati is also represented.


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27Caves XXIL, XXIIT., XXIV., XXV. and

XXVI.The first of these caves is locally known asNilakantha. It contains a few sculptures of Brahmaand the Ashtamatra or eight mothers, and Ganesha.The next two are small caves, containing a few poorlyexecuted sculptures. The twenty-fifth is partiallyruined, but the ceiling of the vestibule contains afigure "of Surya the sun-god, in his chariot drawnby seven steeds and a female at each side shootingwith the bow." The columns in the last of thesecaves resemble those of Elephanta. The cave is120 feet long, and has a chapel at each end.

GavesXXVn and XXVIII.The first of theseis a Vaishnava temple, locally known as " The Milk-maid's Cave." It contains figures ofVishnu, Lakshmi,^nd Brahma. The other consists of the remains ofa couple of cells with shrines and dwarapalas on eitherside of the door.

Cave XXIX.This cave, which consists of alarge hall about 150 feet square, is known as Sita'sNani, or Dumar Lena. It contains a good numberof sculptures, amongst which is one representingthe marriage of Siva and Parvati. Between thiscave and the next there are one or two others, com-pletely blocked up with rubbish. Cliota Kailasa,which is the next cave in the group, has only beenpartially cleared out. It is said to be Dravidian instyle, and is constructed after the plan of the hallin Kailasa, with a large mandapa and pillars. This,


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28says Mr. Burgess, "is tLe first in order, thoughprobably the latest in time, of the Jaina excavations. '*^Between tbis and the Indra Sabha is an unfinishedcave, almost entirely filled up with rubbish.

The last of the series consists of three Jainacaves styled the Indra Sabha. There are two double-storied caves and a smaller one, with their usualappendages. The first of them contains sculpturesof Parasvanatha and a seven- hooded snake, and also-of Mahavira, *' the last of the Jaina Tirthankfiras,.or men who by their austerities set themselves freefrom further transmigration." The figure of Indrais represented seated on an elephant underneath atree in which there are parrots. The court of thecave contains a large elephant mounted on a pedes-tal. The smaller halls attached to the largerstructure contain sculptures of Indra nnd Indrayani,.and one of them has two large images of Santinatha,.underneath one of which is an inscription in 9th or10th Century characters. The upper story containslarge figures of Indra and Indrayani under banian andmango trees. There are also a number of compart-ments containing figures of Jain as. The nexttemple is known as Jagannatha Sabha. The greaterportion of the figures which it contained have beendestroyed. The hall and chapel contain sculpturesof Indra and Indrayani with attendants, and Maha-vira and Parasvanatha. The verandah of the courthas a few inscriptions, almost illegible, which are inthe Canarese character, and belong, Mr. Burgess-


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29thinks, to A.D. 800. The last of the caves is par- J*'"*,tially ruined. Like the rest of the series, it containsfigures of Indra and Indrayani and a good manyother sculptures, in a comparatively good state ofpreservation. A little distance above this cavethere is a building containing a colossal figure ofParasvanatha surrounded by worshippers, amongstwhom Siva and Bhavani may be recognised. Theseat contains an inscription which dates A. D. 1 234-51This portion of the hill contains several other smallJaiua caves, all more or less in ruins, none of themcontaining any sculptures or figures of interest.


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dp


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Binderd Bros.. Inc.kton, Calif,g. U.S. Pat. Off.

M41853

THE UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA UBRARY

U C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES

CDS^fiSb^B?


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short guide to cave

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