Bedse Caves (also known as Bedsa Caves) are a group of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

rock-cut monuments situated in

Maval Maval is a tehsil in a subdivision of the same name, in the Pune district of Maharashtra, India. Description The word Maval is derived from a Marathi word ''Maval'', meaning the direction in which the sun sets. This region is towards the west ...

taluka,

Pune District Pune district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uɳeː is the most populous district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district's population was 9,429,408 in the 2011 census, making it the fourth most populous district amongst I ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The history of the

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s can be traced back to the

Satavahana The Satavahanas (''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late ...

period in the 1st century BCE. They are some 9 km from the

Bhaja Caves Bhaja Caves is a group of 22 rock-cut caves dating back to the 2nd century BC located in the city of Pune, India. The caves are 400 feet above the village of Bhaja, on an important ancient trade route running from the Arabian Sea eastward into th ...

. Other caves in the area are

Karla Caves The Karla Caves, Karli Caves, Karle Caves or Karla Cells, are a complex of ancient Buddhist Indian rock-cut caves at Karli near Lonavala, Maharashtra. It is just 10.9 Kilometers away from Lonavala. Other caves in the area are Bhaja Caves, P ...

, Patan Buddhist Cave and

Nasik Caves The Nasik Caves, or Trirashmi Leni (''Trirashmi'' being the name of the hills in which the caves are located, ''Leni'' being a Marathi word for caves), are a group of 23 caves carved between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE, though a ...

. There are two main caves. The best known cave is the ''

chaitya A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...

'' (prayer hall - Cave 7) with a comparatively large

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

, the other cave is the monastery or vihara (Cave 11). They are marked by a profusion of decorative

gavaksha In Indian architecture, gavaksha or chandrashala (''kudu'' in Tamil, also nāsī) are the terms most often used to describe the motif centred on an ogee, circular or horseshoe arch that decorates many examples of Indian rock-cut architecture and ...

or chaitya arch motifs.

Chaitya

Cave 7, the chaitya hall, is reached by a long narrow passage into the rock. The front

verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

has four very elaborate columns with capitals of pairs of animals and riders of "solemn grandeur". Beside these the side walls are covered with low-

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

gavakshas and latticework representing architectural railings, comparable to those in the same place at the slightly later chaitya in the

. In contrast, and unlike Karla, the chaitya hall itself has little decoration, with plain octagonal columns. The decorative ribs on the roof, which in other chaityas are stone replicating wooden architecture, were actual wood here, and have been lost. An inscription on one of the gate arches reads: ''Gift of Pushyanka, son of Ananda Sethi from Nashik''.

Vihara

The vihara at Cave 11 has a rather unusual form, with a main chamber shaped somewhat like a chaitya, with a rectangular plan with a rounded

apsidal In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

far end, and a

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

ed roof. This is now open to the outside, but presumably originally had a wooden screen. Around the chamber are nine doors to cells, each with a relief chaitya-arch surround.

Frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

s with railing patterns run round the room at two levels. There are four further cells outside where the screen would have been.Michell, 352

Other

There is also a small

outside to the right of the main caves. Until around 1861 the caves were regularly maintained - even painted. These works were ordered by local authorities in order to please

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

officers who often visited caves. This has caused loss of the remnants of plaster with murals on it.

Visiting

Both caves face

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

wards so it is recommended to visit the caves in the early morning, as in

sunlight Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...

the beauty of carvings is enhanced. Bedse Caves can be reached from

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

via

Kamshet Kamshet is located in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India, 110 km from Mumbai City, and 45 km from Pune in Pune district. It is 16 km from the twin hill stations of Khandala and Lonavala and is accessible by road a ...

. Upon reaching Kamshet Chowk, left route is to be taken. That route goes straight to Bedse Village where the caves are located. They can also be reached via Paud - Tikona Peth - Pawananagar. Alternate route is from Somatne-Phata on the Pune-Mumbai NH4

Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

. Bedse Caves are comparatively less known and less visited. People know about the nearby

and

but have hardly heard of Bedse Caves. The

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

of the caves (Karla - Bhaje - Bedse) in Mawal Region can't be completed without Bedse. An easy hike through 400 steps leads to the caves. Also close to the Bedse caves are the famous foursome of

Lohagad Lohagad is one of the many hill forts of Maharashtra state in India. Situated close to the hill station Lonavala and northwest of Pune, Lohagad rises to an elevation of above sea level. The fort is connected to the neighboring Visapur for ...

Visapur Visapur is a small village near the town of Dapoli, in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra state in Western India. The 2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and popul ...

, Tung and

Tikona Tikona also known as Vitandgad) is the dominant hill fort in Maval in western India. It is located near Kamshet around 60 km from Pune. The village nearest to the fort is called Tikona-Peth. The 3500 foot high hill is pyramidal in shape an ...

forts adjoining the Pawana Dam. The best time to visit Bedse Caves is the rainy season as the hills are filled with lush greenery during that time. Also many small waterfalls are created that can only be enjoyed during the rainy season. As this is one of the lesser known spots, not many tourists throng the place, so makes it easy to enjoy the views.

Gallery

File:003 General View (33308435000).jpg, General view, with the top of the chaitya entrance columns visible, and the outside

File:004 Entrance to the Chaitya Hall (33563202691).jpg, Entrance to the Chaitya Hall File:BEDSE CAVES (5).jpg, Columns at chaitya entrance Image:Bedsa Caves detail.jpg, Capital of a column above the main entrance File:014 Columns and Capitals (32849694414).jpg, Capitals File:Bedsa Caves3.JPG, Side wall inside the

verandah File:BEDSE CAVES Pune (by Amit Mahadik).jpg, Peepal leaves on

arches File:BEDSE CAVES (2).jpg, The

in the chaitya File:BEDSE CAVES (6).jpg, Floral Carving over chaitya doorway File:BEDSE CAVES (7).jpg, Inscription in Brahmi: ''Gift of Pushyanka, son of Ananda Sethi from Nashik'' File:022 Main Vihara Cave (32879147573).jpg, Main vihara File:026 Inside the Main Vihara (33563138071).jpg, Inside the vihara File:Bedsa Caves4.JPG, Cell doorways off the vihara File:Bedsa caves.jpg, Bedsa caves

Notes

References

*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, *Michell, George, ''The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu'', 1989, Penguin Books,

External links

Bedse Caves detail info

Photographs by Himanshu Sarpotdar

{{Indian Buddhist Caves Buddhist caves in India Caves of Maharashtra Tourist attractions in Pune district Indian rock-cut architecture Former populated places in India Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Architecture in India Caves containing pictograms in India