PANDAVLENI CAVES
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Set of 24 Buddhist caves dug between the century BC and the century AD, housing monasteries, etc.
The 24 Pandavleni caves are Buddhist caves dug between the 2nd century BC and the5th century AD. They are also known as Trirashmi. The caves hosted Buddhist monasteries (vihara). Numerous inscriptions still legible on the walls of the caves provide valuable evidence of the history of Maharashtra. They confirm that at the time the Nashik region was under the influence of three dynasties: the Western Kshatrapas, the Abhiras and the Satavahanas. Among the 24 caves, two will hold your attention particularly.
Cave No. 3: It is a chaitya or a hall of prayers and meditation. A magnificent stupa is enthroned in its center which will give you a foretaste of those of Ellora and Ajanta.
Cave No. 10: This cave is one of the few completed and intact. It includes sculptures of Buddha and bodhisattvas as well as numerous inscriptions left on the rock. Among these, we learn that the Kshatrapas defeated the Satavahanas in 105 BC. Following this victory, the king's son-in-law made a donation of 3,000 gold coins to the monastery to enable the excavation of a new cave.
The other caves contain sculptures of Buddha and others of bodhisattvas. Some of them are connected by ladders carved in the stone. As the caves are facing east, we advise you to visit the caves in the morning, in order to enjoy a beautiful light inside the caves.
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