After the
Barabar caves, the earliest known rock-cut Buddhist monasteries date to the 1st century BCE in the
Western Ghats in western India.
First wave of construction (2nd century BCE- 2nd century CE) Probably owing to the 2nd century BCE fall of the
Mauryan Empire and the subsequent persecutions of Buddhism under
Pushyamitra Sunga, it is thought that many Buddhists relocated to the
Deccan under the protection of the
Andhra dynasty, thus shifting the cave-building effort to western India: an enormous effort at creating religious caves (usually Buddhist or Jain) continued there until the 2nd century CE, culminating with the
Karla Caves or the
Pandavleni Caves. The cave is exceedingly plain in 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. As the Buddhist ideology encouraged involvement in trade, monasteries often became stopovers for inland traders and provided lodging houses along
trade routes. Cave No.19 at the
Nasik Caves has one inscription of king
Krishna of the
Satavahanas, which is the oldest known Satavahana inscription, dated to 100-70 BCE File:094_Cave_12,_Vihara_Cells_(34123037202).jpg|Cave 12 in
Ajanta, another early vihara with monk cells. Ajanta Cave 12 plan.jpg|Plan of Cave 12 in
Ajanta. Each cell has two stone beds. Nasik Cave 19 half flower design.jpg|A halk-flower medallions design on a pillar of Cave No.19, typical of early designs such as those of
Sanchi. File:Inscription Cave 19 Nasik.jpg|
Kanha inscription of cave No.19 (located on the upper sill of the right window). The earliest rock-cut chaityas, similar to free-standing ones, consisted of an inner circular chamber with pillars to create a circular path around the stupa and an outer rectangular hall for the congregation of the devotees. Over the course of time, the wall separating the stupa from the hall was removed to create an apsidal hall with a
colonnade around the nave and the stupa. The
chaitya at
Bhaja Caves is perhaps the earliest surviving chaitya hall, constructed in the second century BCE. It consists of an apsidal hall with stupa. The columns slope inwards in the imitation of wooden columns that would have been structurally necessary to keep a roof up. The ceiling is
barrel vaulted with ancient wooden ribs set into them. The walls are polished in the
Mauryan style. It was faced by a substantial wooden
facade, now entirely lost. A large horseshoe-shaped window, the chaitya-window, was set above the arched doorway and the whole portico-area was carved to imitate a multi-storeyed building with balconies and windows and sculptured men and women who observed the scene below. This created the appearance of an ancient Indian mansion. ;Maturity ,
Maharashtra, India, 1st century CE. As mercantile and royal endowments grew, cave interiors became more elaborate, with interior walls decorated in paintings, reliefs, and intricate carvings. Numerous donors provided the funds for the building of these caves and left donatory inscriptions, including laity, members of the clergy, government officials, and even foreigners such as
Yavanas (
Greeks) representing about 8% of all inscriptions. The
Indo-Scythian dynasty of the
Western Satraps too sponsored numerous Buddhist caves, as seen from their dedications at
Karla Caves,
Manmodi Caves or
Nasik Caves. The Great Chaitya of the
Karla Caves, the largest in
South Asia, was constructed and dedicated in 120 CE by the
Western Satraps ruler
Nahapana. When the Satavahanas recovered lost territory from the Western Satraps, they again pursued construction efforts as seen in
Nasik Caves and
Kanheri Caves. Although many temples, monasteries and stupas have been destroyed, by contrast cave temples are very well preserved as they are both less visible and therefore less vulnerable to vandalism as well as made of more durable material than wood and masonry. There are around 1200 cave temples still in existence, most of which are Buddhist. The residences of monks were called
Viharas and the cave shrines, called
Chaityas, were for congregational worship. The earliest rock-cut
garbhagriha, similar to free-standing ones later, had an inner circular chamber with pillars to create a
circumambulatory path (
pradakshina) around the
stupa and an outer rectangular hall for the congregation of the devotees. ==Gallery==