Bhaja caves
Topic: Early Indian Art and Architecture: Stupas, Rock-cut Caves, Temples · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Bhaja caves are early Buddhist rock-cut caves near Lonavala in Maharashtra, dating to c. 2nd century BCE. They have a chaitya hall (a prayer hall with a stupa at the far end) and several viharas (monks' living cells). The caves copy wooden buildings in stone. The roof has curved ribs, and real wooden beams were also fixed to it. Bhaja matters because it shows the early stage of rock-cut design, when builders still thought in terms of wood.
Example
A vihara at Bhaja (c. 2nd century BCE) has two famous relief panels. One is usually read as Surya riding a chariot, and the other as Indra on an elephant. They are among the earliest images of these gods in Indian rock art.
Don't confuse with
- Karla caves are also near Lonavala but are later and belong to the Satavahana period. Karla's chaitya hall is much larger, with grand carved pillars.
Related concepts
- Rock-cut architecture
- Barabar caves
- Lomas Rishi cave
- Nagarjuni caves
- Rock-cut monasteries
- Chaitya and vihara
- Karla caves
- Kanheri caves
- Nasik caves
- Guntupalli caves