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Nasik Caves
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{{Short description|Ancient Buddhist caves in India}}{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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Caves
These are a group of twenty four Hinayana Buddhist caves whose excavation was financed by the local Jain Kings. Cave No 3 is a large vihara or monastery with some interesting sculptures. Cave No 10 is also a vihara and almost identical in design to Cave No 3, but is much older and finer in detail. It is thought to be nearly as old as the Karla Cave near Lonavala. Cave No 18 is a chaitya worship hall believed to be similar in date to the Karla Caves. It is well sculptured, and its elaborate facade is particularly noteworthy. The cave houses the statues of Buddha, Jain Tirthankara á¹á¹£abhadeva, and icons of the Jain yaká¹£as Maá¹ibhadra and AmbikÄ. The interiors of the caves were popular meeting places for the disciples, where sermons were delivered. There are water tanks that have been skilfully carved out of the solid rock.WEB,weblink Pandavleni Caves, showcaves.com, 2006-09-16, File:Monsoon_Greens.jpg|left|thumb|Panorama from the caves, during the monsoonmonsoonThese caves are some of the oldest in Maharashtra. Some of them are large and contain numerous chambers - these rock-cut caves served as a viharas or monasteries for the monks to meet and hear sermons. They contain interesting sculptures. One of the vihara caves is older and finer in sculptural detail and is thought to be nearly as old as the Karla Cave near Lonavala. Another (cave No. 18) is a chaitya (type of cave used for chanting and meditation). It is similar in age to some of the Karla Caves and has a particularly elaborate facade.The cave has images of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, sculptures representing the King, farmers, merchants and rich iconography depicting a beautiful amalgamation of Indo - Greek architectureWEB,weblink Pandavleni Caves Tour,Pandavleni Caves Tour in India,Pandavleni Caves in India,Pandavleni Cave Temples in India,Buddhist Caves of Pandavleni,Pandavleni Caves Travel in India, 15 November 2016, 31 July 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170731023501weblink">weblink dead, WEB,weblink Pandavleni Caves - Pandavleni Caves Nashik, Pandu Lena Caves, Pandu Lena Maharashtra India, The site has an excellent ancient water management system and skillfully chiseled out of solid rock are several attractive water tanks.WEB,weblink Pandavleni Caves, india9, 2006-09-16,History
(File:Pandav img4.JPG|thumb|300px|Part of the caves (Caves No.6 to No.8) at Pandavleni.)(File:092pandavleni.jpg|thumb|Additional caves under the visitor's path at Pandavleni.)The caves can be traced back up to the 1st century BCE by inscriptions recording donations. Out of the twenty-four caves, two caves are a major attraction - the main cave which is the Chaitya (prayer hall) has a beautiful Stupa; the second one is cave no. 10 which is complete in all structural as well inscriptions. Both the caves have pictures of Buddha over the rocks. The caves are facing eastwards. So it is recommended to visit the caves early morning as in sunlight the beauty of carvings is enhanced.The caves were called Pundru which in Pali language means "yellow ochre color". This is because the caves were the residence of Buddhist monks who wore "the chivara or the yellow robes". Later on, the word Pundru changed to Pandu Caves (as per Ancient Monuments Act 26 May 1909). Decades later people started calling it Pandav Caves - a misnomer which is used for every cave in India.The various inscriptions confirm that Nashik in that period was ruled by 3 dynasties â the Western Kshatrapas, the Satavahanas and the Abhiras. It seems there was always a conflict between Satavahanas and the Kshatrapas over supremacy. However, all the 3 kings fully supported Buddhism. The inscriptions also confirm that apart from the kings, local merchants, landlords too supported and donated huge sums for the development of these caves.Layout and content
The group of 24 caves was cut in a long line on the north face of a hill called Trirasmi. The main interest of this group lies not only in its bearing on its walls a number of inscriptions of great historical significance belonging to the reign of Satavahana & Kshaharatas or Kshatrapas. But also in its representing a brilliant phase in the Rock-Cut architecture of the second century CE. There are altogether 24 excavations though many of these are small & less important. Beginning at the east end they may conveniently be numbered westward. They are almost entirely of an early date and were excavated by the Hinayana sect. Mostly, the interior of the caves are starkly plain, in contrast to the heavily ornamented exterior.The caves and their inscriptions
Inscriptions in caves 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19 and 20 are legible. Other inscriptions note the names Bhattapalika, Gautamiputra Satkarni, Vashishthiputra Pulumavi of the Satavahanas, two of the Western Satraps, Ushavadata and his wife Dakshamitra, and the Yavana (Indo-Greek) Dhammadeva.Since the caves were inhabited by the Mahayana as well as the Hinayana sects of Buddhism, one can see a nice confluence of structural and carvings.Caves No. 1-2{| class"wikitable" style"margin:0 auto;" align"center" colspan"2" cellpadding"3" style"font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"
Cave No.3, "Gautamiputra vihara" (circa 150 CE)
(File:010 Cave 3, Exterior (33156264563).jpg|thumb|350px|Cave No.3 "Gautamiputra vihara" (circa 150 CE). 3D Tour.)Cave No.3 at Nasik is one of the most important caves, and the largest, of the Pandavleni caves complex. It was built and dedicated to the Samgha in the 2nd century CE by Queen Gotami Balasiri, mother of deceased Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni, and contains numerous important inscriptions.The cave
The cave is a vihara type of cave, meant to provide shelter to Buddhist monks. It is, with cave No10, the largest Vihara cave in the Pandavleni Caves complex. The hall is 41 feet wide and 46 deep, with a bench round three sides. The cave has six pillars on the front porch, roughly similar to those of the early cave No10 built by the viceroy of Nahapana circa 120 CE. Inside, 18 monk cells are laid out according to a square plan, seven on the right side, six in the back, and five in the left.- Entrance
- Pillars{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="right" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 40%;"
Pillars of cave No.3 |Comparison of capitals Cave 10 Nahapana (left) vs Cave 3 Gautamiputra Satakarni.jpg|Comparison of the pillar capitals of Nahapana's Cave 10 (left) and Gautamiputra's Cave 3 (right). The capitals of Cave No.3 are "much poorer in proportion", with a "shorter and less elegant form of the bell-shaped portion, and the corners of the frame that encloses the torus having small figures attached", pointing to a later period imitation.Nasik Cave 3 columns.jpg|Cave No.3 pillars (back view). They have no base, and "stand on a bench in the veranda, and in front of them is a carved screen". The veranda has six octagonal columns without bases between highly sculptured pilasters. The capitals of these pillars are distinguished from those in the Nahapana Cave No.10 by the shorter and less elegant form of the bell-shaped portion of them, and by the corners of the frame that encloses the torus having small figures attached; both alike have a series of five thin members, overlapping one another and supporting four animals on each capital, bullocks, elephants, horses, sphinxes, etc..., between the front and back pairs of which runs the architrave, supporting a projecting frieze, with all the details of a wooden framing copied in it. The upper part of the frieze in this case is richly carved with a string course of animals under a richly carved rail, resembling in its design and elaborateness the rails at Amravati, with which this vihara must be nearly, if not quite contemporary. The pillars stand on a bench in the veranda, and in front of them is a carved screen, supported by three dwarfs on each side the steps to the entrance. The details of this cave and No.10 are so alike that the one must be regarded as a copy of the other, but the capitals in No.10 are so like those of the Karla Caves Chaitya, while those in the veranda of this cave are so much poorer in proportion, that one is tempted to suppose this belongs to a later period, when art had begun to decay. - Comparison with other sites
- the claim that Gautamiputra Satakarni "destroyed the Sakas, Yavanas and Palhavas", alluding respectively to the Western Satraps, the Indo-Greeks and the Indo-Parthians
- the claim that Gautamitra Satakarni "rooted out the Khakharata race" and "restored the glory of the Satavahana family". The Khakharata refers to the Kshaharata dynasty, the family branch of Nahapana, the important Western Satraps ruler.
- Inside hall
- Comparisons
- who has given three-hundred-thousand cows, who has made .gifts of money and tirthas on the river Barnasa, who has given sixteen villages to the gods and Brahmanas, who causes one-hundred-thousand Brahmanas to be fed the (whole) year round, who has given eight wives to Brahmanas at the religious tirtha of Prabhasa, who at Bharukachha, Dedapura, Govardhana and Sorparaga has given the shelter of quadrangular rest-houses, who has made wells, tanks, and gardens, who has out of charity established free ferries by boats on the Iba, Parada, Damana, Tapi, Karabena and Dahanuka, and erected on both banks of these rivers shelters for meeting and such for gratuitous distribution of water, who has given thirty-two-thousand stems of coconut trees at the village Nanamgola to the congregation of Charakas at Pimditakvada, Govardhana, Suvarnamukha and the Ramatirtha in Sorparaga,
- inspired by (true) religion, in the Trirasmi hills at Govardhana, has caused this cave to be made and these cisterns.
- And by order of the lord I went to release the chief of the Uttamabhadras, who had been besieged for the rainy season by the Malayas, and those Malayas fled at the mere roar (of my approaching) as it were, and were all made prisoners of the Uttamabhadra warriors.
- Thence I went to the Pokshara tanks, and there I bathed and gave three-thousand cows and a village. A field has also been given by him, bought at the hands of the Brahmana Asvibhuti, son of Varahi, for the price of four-thousand - 4,000 - karshapanas, which (field) belonged to his father, on the boundary of the town towards the north-western side. From it food will be procured for all monks, without distinction, dwelling in my cave."|Inscription of Ushavadata, Nasik Cave No.10, inscription No.10.Epigraphia Indica Vol.2 p.78-79}}
- Inside hall
- Veranda
- Comparisons
- Chronology
- Doorway
- Hall
- Cetiya
- Ajanta Cave
- Bedse Caves
- Bhaja Caves
- Kanheri Caves
- Karla Caves
- Pitalkhora Caves
- Shivneri Caves
- Inscriptions on Cave 10, 13, 15, 16
- Maharashtratil Buddha Dhammacha Itihas
- M.S.More
- Leni Maharashtrachi
- Dawood Dalvi
- weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130926230100weblink">weblink
- Harle, J.C., The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, {{ISBN|0300062176}}
- Michell, George, The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, 1989, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|0140081445}}
- BOOK, Singh, Upinder, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century,weblink 2008, Pearson Education India, 978-81-317-1120-0,
- BOOK, Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, Some Early Dynasties of South India,weblink 1974, Motilal Banarsidass, 978-81-208-2941-1,
- weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131001202528weblink">Official (Government) website of Nashik District
Inscriptions
File:Vashishthiputra Shri Pulumavi.jpg|thumb|Cave No.3 was completed and dedicated to the Samgha during the reign of Satavahana king Vasishthiputra PulumaviVasishthiputra PulumaviOne long inscription (inscription No.2) in the 19th year of Satavahana king Sri Pulumavi (2nd century CE), explaining that Queen Gotami Balasiri, mother of glorious king Gotamiputra, caused this cave to be built and gave it to the Samgha.Epigraphia Indica p.60ff There is also another long inscription (inscription No.3) by Sri Pulumavi himself, also in the 22nd year of his reign. There are also inscriptions (inscriptions No.4 and No.5) at the entrance of the cave by Gautamiputra Satakarni (2nd century), in the 18th year of his reign, who claims a great victory.Epigraphia Indica p.71ffOne of the most important Nasik Caves inscription was made by Gautamiputra's mother the great queen Gotami Balasiri, during the reign of her grandson Vasishthiputra Pulumavi, in order to record the gift of Cave No3. The full inscription consists in a long eulogy of Gautamiputra Satakarni, mentioning his valour, his military victories, and then her gift of a cave in the Nasik Caves complex.The most important passages on this inscription related to the military victories of Gautamiputra Satakarni, in particular:
*who was in strength equal to mount Himavat, mount Meru, mount Mandara; king of Asika, Asaka, Mulaka, Suratha, Kukura, Aparanta, Anupa, Vidabha, Akaravanti; lord of the mountains Vindhya, Chhavata, Parichata, Sahya, Kanhagiri, Macha, Siritana, Malaya, Mahendra, Setagiri, Chakora; obeyed by the circle of all kings on earth;
*whose face was beautiful and pure like the lotas opened by the rays of the sun; whose chargers had drunk the water of three oceans; whose face was lovely and radiant like the orb of the full moon; whose gait was beautiful like the gait of a choice elephant; whose arms were as muscular and rounded, broad and long as the folds of the lord of serpents; whose fearless hand was wet by the water poured out to impart fearlessness; of unchecked obedience towards his mother; who properly devised time and place for the pursuit of the triple object (of human activity); who sympathised fully with the weal and woe of the citizens;
*who crushed down the pride and conceit of the Kshatriyas; who destroyed the Sakas, Yavanas and Palhavas; who never levied nor employed taxes but in conformity to justice; alien to hurting life even towards an offending enemy; the furtherer of the homesteads of the low as well as of the twice-born; who rooted out the Khakharata race; who restored the glory of the Satavahana family; whose feet were saluted by all provinces; who stopped the contamination of the four varnas; who conquered multitudes of enemies in many battles; whose victorious banner was unvanquished; whose capital was unassailable to his foes;
*who had inherited from a long line of ancestors the privilege of kingly music; the abode of traditional lore; the refuge of the virtuous; the asylum of Fortune; the fountain of good manners; the unique controller; the unique archer; the unique hero; the unique Brahmana; in prowess equal to Kama, Kesava, Arjuna and Bhimasena; liberal on festive days in unceasing festivities and assemblies; not inferior in lustre to Nabhaga, Nahusha, Janamejaya, Sagara, Yayati, Rama and Ambartsha; who, vanquishing his enemies in a way as constant as inexhaustible, unthinkable and marvelous; in battles fought by the Wind, Garuda, the Siddbas, the Yakshas, the Rakshasas, the Vidyadharas, the Bhutas, the Gandharvas, the Charanas, the Moon, the Son, the Asterisms and the Planets, (appeared to be himself) plunging into the sky from the shoulder of his choice elephant; (and) who (thus) raised his family to high fortune,
caused, as a pious gift, on the top of the Tiranhu mountain similar to the top of the Kailasa, (this) cave to be made quite equal to the divine mansions (there). And that cave the great queen, mother of a Maharaja and grandmother of a Maharaja, gives to the Sangha of monks in the person of the fraternity of the Bhadavaniyas; and for the sake of the embellishment of that cave, with a view to honour and please the great queen his grandmother, her grandson lord of [Dakshina]patha, making over the merit of the gift to his father, grants to this meritorious donation (vis. the cave) the village Pisajipadaka on the south-west side of mount Tiranhu.Renunciation to the enjoyments of every kind."|Nasik Caves inscription of Queen Gotami Balasiri, Cave No.3Epigraphia Indica p.61-62}}Caves No.4-9{| class"wikitable" style"margin:0 auto;" align"center" colspan"2" cellpadding"3" style"font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"
Cave No.10 "Nahapana Vihara" (circa 120 CE)
(File:036 Cave 10, Front (33928302236).jpg|thumb|350px|Cave No.10 "Nahapana Vihara" (circa 120 CE). 3D tour.)File:Silver coin of Nahapana British Museum.jpg|thumb|The Indo-Scythian Western Satraps ruler NahapanaNahapanaThe cave
Cave No. 10 is the second largest Vihara, and contains six inscriptions of the family of Nahapana. The six pillars (two of them attached) have more elegant bell-shaped capitals than those in Cave No. 3, and their bases are in the style of those in the Karla Caves Chaitya, and in that next to the Granesa Lena at Junnar; the frieze also, like those that remain on the other small caves between Nos.4 and 9, is carved with the simple rail pattern. At each end of the verandah is a cell, donated by "Dakhamitra, the daughter of King Kshaharata Kshatrapa Nahapana, and wife of Ushavadata, son of Dinika."Inscriptions
{{See also|Nasik inscription of Ushavadata}}File:040 Cave 10, Inscription (33928437016).jpg|thumb|Inscription No.11 by Dakhamitra, wife of UshavadataUshavadata File:Karla caves Chaitya pillars vs Pandavleni Cave No10 pillars.jpg|thumb|Karla Caves Chaitya pillars (left) compared to Pandavleni Caves Cave No10 pillars (right), all built by Ushavadata, son-in-law of NahapanaNahapanaThe inscriptions of cave no.10 reveal that in 105-106 CE, Western Satraps defeated the Satavahanas after which Kshatrapa Nahapanaâs son-in-law and Dinikaâs son- Ushavadata donated 3000 gold coins for this cave as well as for the food and clothing of the monks. The main inscription on the doorfront (inscription No.10) is the earliest known instance of the usage of Sanskrit, although a rather hybrid form, in western India.BOOK, Salomon, Richard, Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages, 1998, Oxford University Press, USA, 9780195099843, 88â89,weblink en, Usabhdattaâs wife (Nahapanaâs daughter), Dakshmitra also donated one cave for the Buddhist monks. Cave 10 - 'Nahapana Vihara' is spacious with 16 rooms.Over the doorway of the left cell appears the following inscription:{{blockquote|" Success ! This cell, the gift of Dakhamitra, wife of Ushavadata, son of Dinika, and daughter of king Nahapana, the Khshaharata Kshatrapa."|Inscription No.11, Cave 10, NasikEpigraphia Indica p.81-82}}Two inscriptions in Cave 10 mentions the building and the gift of the whole cave to the Samgha by Ushavadata, the son-in-law and viceroy of Nahapana:{{blockquote|"Success ! Ushavadata, son of Dinika, son-in- law of king Nahapana, the Kshaharata Kshatrapa, (...) inspired by (true) religion, in the Trirasmi hills at Govardhana, has caused this cave to be made and these cisterns."|Part of inscription No.10 of Ushavadata, Cave No.10, NasikEpigraphia Indica p.78-79}}{{blockquote|"Success ! In the year 42, in the month Vesakha, Ushavadata, son of Dinika, son-in- law of king Nahapana, the Kshaharata Kshatrapa, has bestowed this cave on the Samgha generally...."|Part of inscription No.12 of Ushavadata, Cave No.10, NasikEpigraphia Indica p.82-83}}{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"Caves No.11, "Jain cave"
Cave No.11 is close to Cave No.10, but at a somewhat higher level. In the left end of the veranda is the fragment of a seat; the room inside is 11 feet 7 inches by 7 feet 10 inches, having a cell, 6 feet 8 inches square, at the left end, and another, not quite so large, at the back, with a bench at the side and back. In the front room is carved, on the back wall, in low relief, a sitting figure and attendants on a lion throne, and on the right-end wall a fat figure of Amba on a tiger with attendants, and an Indra on an elephant: all are small, clumsily carved, and evidently of late Jaina workmanship.Cave No.11 has one inscription mentioning it is the gift of the son of a writer: " the benefaction of Ramanaka, the son of Sivamitra, the writer."Epigraphia Indica p.90ff{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"Caves No.12-16
Cave No.12 has one inscription mentioning it is the gift of a merchant named Ramanaka. Cave No.13 has no inscriptions.{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"Cave No.17, "Yavana vihara" (circa 120 CE)
(File:Nasik cave 17.jpg|thumb|300px|Cave No.17, "Yavana vihara" (circa 120 CE). 3D tour.)Cave No.17 was built by a devotee of Greek descent, who presents his father as being a Yavana from the northern city of Demetriapolis.BOOK, Banerjee, Gauranga Nath, Hellenism in Ancient India, 2012, 20, BoD â Books on Demand, 9783864034145,weblink BOOK, Bhandarkar, Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culture, 1989, 60, Asian Educational Services, 9788120604575,weblink The cave is dated to around 120 CE.The cave
Inscription
File:Inscription Yonakasa No.18 Cave No.17 Nasik caves.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The "Yavana" inscription on the back wall of the veranda, over the entrance, is about 3 meters in length (photograph and rubbing). Detail of the word "Yo-á¹a-ka-sa" (adjectival form of "Yoá¹aka", Brahmi (File:Brahmi yo 2nd century CE.jpg|13px)(File:Brahmi nn.svg|13px)(File:Brahmi letter Ka.svg|13px)(File:Brahmi s.svg|13px)), with Nasik/Karla-period Brahmi scriptBrahmi scriptCave No.17 has one inscription, mentioning the gift of the cave by Indragnidatta the son of the Yavana (i.e. Greek or Indo-Greek) Dharmadeva. It is located on the back wall of the veranda, over the main entrance, and is inscribed in large letters:{{blockquote|"Success! (The gift) of Indragnidatta, son of Dhammadeva, the Yavana, a northerner from Dattamittri. By him, inspired by true religion, this cave has been caused to be excavated in mount Tiranhu, and inside the cave a Chaitya and cisterns. This cave made for the sake of his father and mother has been, in order to honor all Buddhas bestowed on the universal Samgha by monks together with his son Dhammarakhita."|Inscription No.18, in Cave No,17}}The city of "Dattamittri" may be the city of Demetrias in Arachosia, mentioned by Isidore of Charax. This vihara is probably contemporary to the reign of Western Satrap Nahapana, circa 120 CE.The word "Yoá¹aka", which was the current Greek Hellenistic form, is used in the inscription, instead of "Yavana", which was the Indian word to designate the Indo-Greeks.The Greeks in Bactria and India by William Woodthorpe Tarn p.257 The Yavanas are also known for their donations with inscriptions at the Great Chaitya at the Karla Caves, and at the Manmodi Caves in Junnar.Cave No. 18: the Chaitya
The cave
(File:Nasik Cave 18.jpg|thumb|Cave No.18, the corner of cave No.17 is visible on the right. 3D tour.)(File:Nasik Cave 18 doorway.jpg|thumb|Cave No.18 doorway.)Cave No.18 is a chaitya design, comparable to the Karla Caves Chaitya, although earlier and much smaller and simpler in design. It is the only Chaitya cave of the group, belongs to a much earlier date; and though none of the three inscriptions on it supplies certain information on this point, yet the name of Maha Hakusiri, found in one of them, tends to push it back to some period about or before the Christian era. The carving, however, over the door and the pilasters with animal capitals on the façade on each side the great arch, and the insertion of the hooded snake, will, on comparison with the façades at Bedsa and Karla, tend to suggest an early date for this cave.Inscriptions
The cave has several inscriptions. Inscription No.19 appears on the 5th and 6th pillars on the right aisle of the Chaitya, and explains that the cave received some perfecting by the wife of a government official, but the government in question remains unnamed:{{blockquote|"By Bhatapalika, the grand-daughter of Mahahakusiri and daughter of the royal officer Arahalaya from Chalisilana, wife of the royal officer Agiyatanaka, of the treasure office, mother of Kapananaka, this Chaityagriha has been caused to be perfected on this mount Tiranhu."|Inscription No.19, Cave No.18Epigraphia Indica p.91ff}}This inscription is slightly less ancient than the inscription on the doorway, suggesting that it was inscribed some time in the later phases of the construction of the cave.Inscription No.20 explains that the decoration above the doorway was a donation of the people of nearby Nashik ("The gift of the village of Dhambhika, of the Nasik people"). Inscription No.21 records the donation of the rail pattern.Epigraphia Indica p.91ffCave No.19 "Krishna vihara" (100-70 BCE)
File:Inscription Cave 19 Nasik.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|{{center|Inscription of king Kanha in cave No.19 (located on the upper sill of the right window). Also called the "Krishna inscription" from the King's name in the Puranas. This is the oldest known Satavahana inscription, circa 100-70 BCE.{{sfn|Carla M. Sinopoli|2001|p=168}} Brahmi script:ð²ð¸ð¤ð¯ð¸ð³ð¦ðð¼ð®ð ðð¦ðð³ð ðð¸ððºð¦ðº ð¦ð¸ð²ðºððð¦ð²ð«ð¡ðð¦ ð«ð³ð¸ð«ð¸ð¢ðð¡ ð®ðð¡ ðð¸ððºð¢ SÄdavÄhanakule Kanhe rÄjini NÄsikakenaSamaá¹ena mahÄmÄteá¹a leá¹a kÄrita"Under King Kanha of the Satavahana family this cave has been caused to be made by the officer in charge of the Sramanas at (Nasik]]".BOOK, Burgess, Epigraphia Indica Vol 8, 93,weblink }})Cave 19 is at a rather lower level even than the Chaitya cave, and some distance in advance of it, but the front and interior have been so filled up with earth as to conceal it from general view. It is a small Vihara, 14 feet 3 inches square, with six cells, two on each side; their doors are surmounted by the Chaitya-arch ornament connected by a frieze of "rail pattern" in some places wavy. In the front wall are two lattice windows, and in the veranda two slender square pillars, the middle portion of the shaft being chamfered to an octagonal shape.The cave is exceedingly plain style, and the remarkable rectangularity of all its parts, agree perfectly with what might be expected in a Vihara of the first or second century BCE. Its close family likeness to Cave No.12 at Ajanta and others at Bhaja and Kondane, all of the earliest age, suggest about the same date.The cave temples of India, Fergusson, James, W.H. Allen &Co p.274ff (Public domain text)The cave has one inscription of king Krishna of the Satavahanas, which is the oldest known Satavahana inscription, dated to 100-70 BCE:BOOK, Brancaccio, Pia, The Buddhist Caves at Aurangabad: Transformations in Art and Religion, 2010, BRILL, 978-9004185258, 61,weblink en, {{blockquote|ð²ð¸ð¤ð¯ð¸ð³ð¦ðð¼ð®ð ðð¦ðð³ð ðð¸ððºð¦ðº ð¦ð¸ð²ðºððð¦ ð²ð«ð¡ðð¦ ð«ð³ð¸ð«ð¸ð¢ðð¡ ð®ðð¡ ðð¸ððºð¢SÄdavÄhanakule Kanhe rÄjini NÄsikakena Samaá¹ena mahÄmÄteá¹a leá¹a kÄrita"Under King Kanha of the Satavahana family, this cave has been caused to be made by the officer in charge of the Sramanas at Nasik."|Inscription of Cave No.19Epigraphia Indica p.93 Inscription No.22}}{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"Cave No.20: "Sri Yajna vihara" (circa 180 CE)
(File:Cave 20 Nasik.jpg|thumb|350px|Exterior. 3D tour.)(File:Cave 20 plan.jpg|thumb|Cave 20 plan.)File:Gautamiputra Rajni Shri Satakarni.jpg|thumb|Coin of Yajna Sri Satakarni (170-199 CE), in the 7th year of the reign of which the cave was completed. British MuseumBritish MuseumCave No.20 is another large Vihara, its hall varying in width from 37.5 feet at the front to 44 feet at the back and 61.5 feet deep. Originally it was little over 40 feet deep, but at a much later date it was altered and extended back by one "Marma, a worshipper," as recorded on the wall. It has eight cells on each side, one on the right rather a recess than a cell, two on the left with stone beds, while in the back are two cells to the left of the antechamber and one to the right, with one more on each side of the antechamber and entered from it.The cave temples of India, Fergusson, James, W.H. Allen &Co p.275ff (Public domain text)The hall is surrounded by a low bench as in Cave 3, and in the middle of the floor is a low platform, about 9 feet square, apparently intended for an asana or seat; but whether to place an image upon for worship, or as a "seat of the law", where the Thera or high priest might sit when teaching and discussing, is impossible to say. On the right-hand side, and nearer the front, are three small circular elevations in the floor much like ordinary millstones. They may be seats also for members of the clergy, or bases on which to set small moveable dagobas. But when the cave was altered and extended backward, the floor seems also to have been lowered a few inches to form the low dais and these bases.The antechamber is slightly raised above the level of the hall, from which it is divided by two richly carved columns between antae. On either side the shrine door is a gigantic dvarapala, 9.5 feet high, with an attendant female, but so besmeared with soot for the cave has been long occupied by Bhairagis, that minor details are scarcely recognisable. These dvarapalas, however, hold lotus stalks, have the same elaborate head-dresses, with a small dagoba in the front of one, and a figure of Buddha in the other, and have the same attendants and vidyaharas flying over head as we find in the later Buddhist caves at Aurangabad.In the shrine, too, is the colossal image of Buddha, 10 feet high, seated with his feet on a lotus flower and holding the little finger of his left hand between the thumb and forefinger of his right. He is attended by two gigantic chauri-bearer with the same distinguishing features as the dvarapala. All this points to about the 7th century CE or later, as the age of alteration of this cave.Fortunately there is an inscription of the 7th year of Yajna Sri Satakarni (170-199 CE), stating that "after having been under excavation for many years " it was then carried to completion by the wife of the commander-in-chief. It is quite clear, however, that the inner and outer parts were excavated at widely different ages. This inscriptions shows, as the inscriptions of Yajna Sri Satakarni in Kanheri caves, that the Satavahanas had reclaimed the area of Kanheri and Nasik from the Western Satraps during the reign of Sri Yajna Satakarni.The pillars of the veranda have the water-pot bases, and the bell-shaped capitals of those in Karle Chaitya. Those of the sanctuary are represented, and belong to a widely distant age. Like No.17, it has a side door near the left end of the veranda, and a cell in that end.The façade has four octagonal pillars between antae, the shafts more slender than in any of the other caves, but the bases of the same pattern disproportionately large, as if the shafts had been reduced in thickness at a later date. They stand on a paneled base, with five low steps up to it between the middle pair. A low screen wall in front is nearly quite destroyed, except at the east end, where a passage led to a large irregular and apparently unfinished apartment with two plain octagonal pillars with square bases between pilasters in front, and having a water-cistern at the entrance. {| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"Caves No.21-24{| class"wikitable" style"margin:0 auto;" align"center" colspan"2" cellpadding"3" style"font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"
Routes
The caves are located high in the mountains of Trirashmi. Some caves are intricately connected by stone-cut ladders that join them to the other caves. Steps lead to the caves from the bottom of the hill. The peak of the Trirashmi Caves is also accessible by trekking of about 20 mins but the path is treacherous and dangerous.WEB,weblink 16 March 2008, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090107034705weblink">weblink 7 January 2009, Pandavleni Caves,See also
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