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The Mogalrajapuram Caves are five rock-cut cave temple groups located in different parts of
The Cave II is in the south side of the Shivalayam hill in Vijayawada, and is the most evolved of five Mogalrajapuram caves. It has a more elaborate front court that was created by cutting out about 9 meters of rock. The facade consists of two pillars and two pilasters. Inside is a rectangular mandapa supported by four pillars and two pilasters. The mandapa leads to three sanctums.KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 248–252
The front is flanked by two dvarapalas (damaged). They are in tribhanga-pose, both equipped with Shaiva motifs. Between them are two pillars, square at their ends and octagonal between. Three ''gavaskas'' decorate the top of the facade. The ''nasika kudus'', ''vyalamukhas'' and ''sakti-dvaja'' artwork can readily traced. The entablatures here include playful elephants, lions, bulls and mythical fused animals. Inside the damaged stambha torana, at the top of the rock face is a Tandava Shiva (dancing Shiva). It is damaged, but three items can be identified – the damaru, the parasu and the trisula. A notable aspect of this dancing Shiva and Naga (snake) is that it reflects the Odisha-tradition; it was likely carved by a ''shilpin'' from Odisha. This iconic style of Nataraja becomes a standard relief on the ''sukanasi'' or the ceiling in the Eastern Chalukyan temples of later times.
The facade pillars are notable for their upper ''shadurams'' with 7th-century Vaishnava artwork. In particular, one shows Krishna with Putana legend, another showing Krishna with Kuvalayapida elephant legend, while a third shown Kaliya-damana legend of Krishna. Thus, like other parts of India, Chalukyan artists were reverentially including Shaiva and Vaishnava themes within the same temple before the 7th-century. The steps between the pillars lead into the mandapa inside. It is small, yet suffices for few families of devotees inside the temple. The three sanctums are dedicated to the Hindu trinity – Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. The central sanctum is provided with a circular monolithic linga-pitha. The statues of Brahma and Vishnu are missing.
On the western wall is a niche, likely a secondary shrine for a unknown deity. This is now empty. Outside, however, near one of the dvarapala is a niche where the profile of a ''valampuri'' Ganesha can be traced. He has a broken tusk in one of his hands and of course, a bowl of sweet ''modaka'' in another.
;Cave III and IV
Cave III and IV are small, one sanctum shrines. They are close to each other, on the southern side of the same rocky hill. Both have a facade with two pillars flanked by two pilasters, and a square sanctum. Cave III is larger of the two, with auxiliary shrines to the main rock-cut temple. Cave III is notable for the traces of Durga Mahisasuramardini bas-relief in the sanctum, though it is gouged out and damaged. Cave IV, in contrast, has a square pitha for a Shiva linga (lost), as well as with niches with ''padma-pitha'' of a four-armed Vishnu to the north and a four-armed Brahma to the south.A.H. Longhurst, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, Number 17 Part 1, pp. 24–26KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 254––256, 259–261
;Cave V
Cave V is on the north side of the same hill that contains Cave III and IV. Cave V is unfinished, three shrines excavation. It is about 26.5 feet by 5.5 feet in size, with three square sanctums of 7.5 feet side each (they are almost a cube). The mandapa pillars are square in their cross section and plain. The pilasters have a series of animal friezes. Eight of these can be traced, the rest have been gouged out. The floor of this cave is restored with a thin layer of plaster poured in modern times.KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 252––254
File:Shiva rock-cut temple, Mogalrajapuram Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh.jpg, Floor plan of Cave I
Floor plan of Trimurti rock-cut temple, Mogalrajapuram Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh.jpg, Floor plan of Cave II
File:Mogalrapuram caves.jpg, Cave II (Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu trimurti)
File:Brahma Siva Visnu rock-cut temple, Mogalrajapuram Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh.jpg, Floor plan of Cave V
File:Mogalrapuram caves.jpg, Cave II (Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu trimurti)
File:Mogalraja puram caves. vijayawada (9).JPG, Cave III, some caves look similar, except for notch, niches and icons
File:Moghalrajpuram Caves Inside View.jpg, pillars and mandapa, Cave II
File:Sculpture at Moghalrajpuram caves.jpg, A dvarapala, Cave II
File:Moghalrajpuram Caves View from Entrace.jpg, One of the small sanctums
Vijayawada
Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises NT ...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, 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 ...
. Dedicated to Shiva, they were excavated during the Eastern Chalukya reign or the Vishnukundins reign. They are generally dated to about the 7th-century, after the Akkanna Madanna Caves
Akkanna Madanna caves are a group of rock-cut Hindu cave temples in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. Dated to mid 7th-century and dedicated to Shiva, they were excavated by the Eastern Chalukya dynasty.K.R. Srinivasan (1972), ''Temples of So ...
. They are simple and small, yet the artwork and iconography is more sophisticated than Akkanna Madanna Caves. These include Nataraja
Nataraja () also known as Adalvallaan () is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called Tandava.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2015) The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the ''T ...
, Ganesh
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
and Ardhanarisvara
The Ardhanarishvara ( sa, अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara, the half-female Lord, translit-std=IAST), is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati. Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half ...
. They are generally numbered as Cave I through V, with Mogalrajapuram Cave II being the most architecturally and iconographically evolved of the five.KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 248–257
It is a centrally protected monument of national importance
This article contains lists of Monuments of National Importance in India.
An Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 defines an "Ancient Monument" as follows:
A "Monument of National Importance" is designated by the Archaeological Survey o ...
and managed by Archaeological Survey of India.
Location
The Mogalrajapuram caves are located about to the east of Akkanna Madanna caves and the major Kanaka Durga temple. The five cave temples are in different rocky sites of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. They are to the north and some distance away from the left bank of the Krishna river.MVS Prasada Rau (1976), Some Outstanding Historical Monuments in Andhra Pradesh, Itihas: Journal of the Andhra Pradesh Archives, Volume 4, pp. 52–53 The original names of the caves or the cave temples is unknown. They began to be called after the village east of "Bezwada" (Vijayawada) where they were re-discovered by the 19th-century archaeologists in the 19th-century. The locale itself was renamed between the late 17th- and early 18th-century apparently after the Golconda Sultanate was dismissed by Aurangzeb of the Mughal empire. Cave III, IV and V are excavated from the same rocky hill, with Cave III and IV close to each other on the south side of the hill. Cave V is on the northern side of the same hill. Cave II is about 500 meter from this group, and Cave I is about 150 meters west from Cave II.Date
The Mogalrajapuram Cave temples, particularly the more complex Cave II, has led to two theories of when these were excavated. Given the simplicity of Caves I, II–V and the iconography, some scholars place them in the 6th-century and credit the Vishnukundins dynasty. Other scholars consider Cave II, note the similarities with the simpler caves here, and place all of them in the second half of the 7th-century, crediting them to the Eastern Chalukya dynasty.John Brockington (2020), in Editor: Danuta Stasik, ''Oral-Written-Performed: The Ramayana Narratives in Indian Literature and Arts'', Heidelberg, , p. 41 with footnote 14Description
The Mogalrajapuram consist of five excavations. Some of them look similar at a glance, but differ in the architectural elements and details. ;Cave I The Cave I has a simple facade with two pillars and two pilasters. Between these, above each bay, the facade has a notch. The pillars are square, surmounted by an ''uttira'' with ''bhuta-gana'' decoration. The ''kapota'' exterior merges into the ceiling. The interior is more sophisticated, and of a square plan. It consists of three mandapas – mukha-mandapa (entrance hall), maha-mandapa (main gathering hall) and ardha-mandapa (devotional hall). Each mandapa has its own ''vajana'' frame, with ''ganas'' and ''hamsa'' malavahakas motifs. The single sanctum is on a faux-jagati carved from the rock. In front are profiles of two Shaiva dvarapalas, deliberately mutilated and gouged out. Their elegant ''kati-vastras'' can be traced, suggestive of the clothing popular around the 7th-century. Their profile is similar to those found in Pallava and Pandyan rock-cut monuments.KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 256–259 ;Cave II
The Cave II is in the south side of the Shivalayam hill in Vijayawada, and is the most evolved of five Mogalrajapuram caves. It has a more elaborate front court that was created by cutting out about 9 meters of rock. The facade consists of two pillars and two pilasters. Inside is a rectangular mandapa supported by four pillars and two pilasters. The mandapa leads to three sanctums.KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 248–252
The front is flanked by two dvarapalas (damaged). They are in tribhanga-pose, both equipped with Shaiva motifs. Between them are two pillars, square at their ends and octagonal between. Three ''gavaskas'' decorate the top of the facade. The ''nasika kudus'', ''vyalamukhas'' and ''sakti-dvaja'' artwork can readily traced. The entablatures here include playful elephants, lions, bulls and mythical fused animals. Inside the damaged stambha torana, at the top of the rock face is a Tandava Shiva (dancing Shiva). It is damaged, but three items can be identified – the damaru, the parasu and the trisula. A notable aspect of this dancing Shiva and Naga (snake) is that it reflects the Odisha-tradition; it was likely carved by a ''shilpin'' from Odisha. This iconic style of Nataraja becomes a standard relief on the ''sukanasi'' or the ceiling in the Eastern Chalukyan temples of later times.
The facade pillars are notable for their upper ''shadurams'' with 7th-century Vaishnava artwork. In particular, one shows Krishna with Putana legend, another showing Krishna with Kuvalayapida elephant legend, while a third shown Kaliya-damana legend of Krishna. Thus, like other parts of India, Chalukyan artists were reverentially including Shaiva and Vaishnava themes within the same temple before the 7th-century. The steps between the pillars lead into the mandapa inside. It is small, yet suffices for few families of devotees inside the temple. The three sanctums are dedicated to the Hindu trinity – Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. The central sanctum is provided with a circular monolithic linga-pitha. The statues of Brahma and Vishnu are missing.
On the western wall is a niche, likely a secondary shrine for a unknown deity. This is now empty. Outside, however, near one of the dvarapala is a niche where the profile of a ''valampuri'' Ganesha can be traced. He has a broken tusk in one of his hands and of course, a bowl of sweet ''modaka'' in another.
;Cave III and IV
Cave III and IV are small, one sanctum shrines. They are close to each other, on the southern side of the same rocky hill. Both have a facade with two pillars flanked by two pilasters, and a square sanctum. Cave III is larger of the two, with auxiliary shrines to the main rock-cut temple. Cave III is notable for the traces of Durga Mahisasuramardini bas-relief in the sanctum, though it is gouged out and damaged. Cave IV, in contrast, has a square pitha for a Shiva linga (lost), as well as with niches with ''padma-pitha'' of a four-armed Vishnu to the north and a four-armed Brahma to the south.A.H. Longhurst, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, Number 17 Part 1, pp. 24–26KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 254––256, 259–261
;Cave V
Cave V is on the north side of the same hill that contains Cave III and IV. Cave V is unfinished, three shrines excavation. It is about 26.5 feet by 5.5 feet in size, with three square sanctums of 7.5 feet side each (they are almost a cube). The mandapa pillars are square in their cross section and plain. The pilasters have a series of animal friezes. Eight of these can be traced, the rest have been gouged out. The floor of this cave is restored with a thin layer of plaster poured in modern times.KV Soundara Rajan (1981), Cave Temples of the Deccan, Architectural Survey of Temples: Number 3, Archaeological Survey of India, pp. 252––254
Gallery
References
{{Reflist Caves of Andhra Pradesh Hindu cave temples in India Tourist attractions in Vijayawada 7th-century Hindu temples 7th-century establishments in India Buildings and structures in Vijayawada Hindu temples in Krishna district Geography of Krishna district