The Karla cave complex is built into a rocky hillside around from
Pune, with large windows cut into the rock to light the cave interiors. The caves are among a large numbers of similar caves excavated in the
Sahyadri Hills in the early 1st millennium CE. There are altogether 16 caves in the group, with 3 of them being
Mahayana caves. Most of the caves are
lenas, with the major exception being the Great Chaitya, Cave No. 8. Numerous donors, mainly local merchants, several of them
Yavanas (Greeks), as well as numerous Buddhist monks and nuns, provided donations for the construction of the chaitya cave, as recorded by their dedicatory inscriptions. An inscription among the sculpted decorations at the left end of the veranda mentions the completion of "this stone mansion" by a local merchant or banker (a "
setthi") named Bhutapala, from Vaijayanti, but this may only refer to the completion of the ornate sculptures of the veranda. Upon completion, an inscription mentioning the
Western Satraps ruler
Nahapana was placed next to the central gate, reporting the dedication of a village to the monks of the Karla
chaitya by Nahapana's son-in-law
Ushavadata. But neither Nahapana nor Ushavadata are directly mentioned as having created or completed the Karla
chaitya itself, although Ushavadata is otherwise known to have built and dedicated a cave with similar design characteristics not far away:
Nasik Cave No. 10. About a generation after Nahapana, the
Satavahana ruler
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (130-159 CE) also left a dedicatory inscription on the other side of the central gate. Numerous decorative panels representing the Buddha with attendants were later added to the veranda during the
Mahayana period, and have been dated to the 6th century CE. It is thought that the chronology of these early Chaitya Caves is as follows: first Cave 9 at
Kondivite Caves, then Cave 12 at the
Bhaja Caves and Cave 10 of
Ajanta Caves, around the 1st century BCE. Then, in chronological order: Cave 3 at
Pitalkhora, Cave 1 at
Kondana Caves, Cave 9 at Ajanta, which, with its more ornate designs, may have been built about a century later,
R. C. Majumdar quoting
James Fergusson explains:
Main inscriptions ;Bhutapala An inscription on the left wall of the veranda, over the line of facing elephants and under the scultpture of a multi-storied building, mentions the completion of the "rock mansion" by a
setthi (merchant) from Vaijayanti (
Banavasi) named Bhutapala: The "completion" of the "rock-mansion" mentioned by Bhutapala may only refer to the ornate sculptures of the veranda, specifically to the multi-storied mansion sculpted on top of the inscription, rather than the cave as a whole, since the various components of the Karla caves generally bear inscriptions by their individual donators. Below: detail of the word "Ya-va-na-sa" in old
Brahmi script: . There are also inscriptions by private donors, who contributed parts of the Great Chaitya, including self-described
Yavana (Asiatic Greek or
Indo-Greek) donors, who donated six of the pillars, although their names are Buddhist names. They account for nearly half of the known dedicatory inscriptions on the pillars of the Chaitya. • 3rd pillar of the left row: :"(This) pillar (is) the gift of the Yavana Sihadhaya from Dhenukataka" • 4th pillar of the left row: :"Of Dhamma, a Yavana from Dhenukakata" • 9th pillar of the left row: :"(This) pillar (is) the gift of the Yavana Yasavadhana from Denukakata" • 15th pillar of the right row: :"(This) pillar (is) the gift of the Yavana Chulayakha from Dhenukakata". Next to the inscription is a Buddhist
Swastika. The city of Dhenukakata is thought to be Danahu near the city of
Karli. The Yavanas are also known for their donation of a complete cave at the
Nasik Caves (cave No.17), and for their donations with inscriptions at the
Junnar caves. ;Nahapana An important dedicatory inscription relates to
Nahapana on the lintel to the right of the entrance of the Great Chaitya (Valurak is thought to be an ancient name for Karla Caves): ;Sri Pulumayi On the lintel to the left of the main entrance to the Great Chaitya, facing the inscription of Nahapana and posterior to it by a generation, there is also an inscription by Satavahana ruler Sri Pulumayi, that is,
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (130-159 CE):
Architectural parallels Vihara No10 pillars (right), built by
Ushavadata, son-in-law of
Nahapana, circa 120 CE. The pillars of the Chaitya at Karla are most similar to the pillars of
Vihara No.10, at
Nasik Caves, also built by
Ushavadata, the son-in-law of
Nahapana ("Ushavadata, son of Dinika, son-in- law of king Nahapana, the Kshaharata Kshatrapa, (...) has caused this cave to be made and these cisterns."). The proportions and general layout are similar, as are the various architectural elements, including the shape of the bells, the framed toruses, the bases, the capitals and they supporting animals and human figures. These points to a contemporaneity of the Karla Chaitya and the Nahapana vihara at Nasik, circa 70-120 CE. On the contrary, the pillars of Nasik vihara No.3 built by the mother of
Gautamiputra Satakarni circa 150 CE, depart from the elegant shapes and simplicity of the pillars at Karla and Vihara No.10. They are more similar to those of the Chaitya at
Kanheri, built by
Yajna Sri Satakarni circa 170 CE.
Influences Several Chaitya Caves were built in imitation of the Great Chaitya at Karla. This is especially the case of the Great Chaitya at
Kanheri, in the northern suburb in
Mumbai, probably built during the reign of
Yajna Sri Satakarni (circa 150 CE). Some caves at
Ajanta, such as Cave 19, built in the 5th century CE, were also modeled after the Karla Great Chaitya.
Hindu temples, the first instances of which are known from the
Gupta period in the 4th-5th century CE, seem to have borrowed influences from early Buddhist Chaitya Caves such as the Karla Chaitya, especially in the apsidial design, as seen in
Durga temple in
Aihole.
Cave painting In Great Chaitya cave, there is a painting on the top backside of 10th pillar right side of the entrance. One has to use mobile light to see the painting. ==See also==