The Dhamnar Caves are caves located in the village of Dhamnar, located in

Mandsaur district Mandsaur district is a District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Mandsaur is the administrative headquarters of the district.The ancient pashupatinath temple is situated in Mandsaur. Large quantities of opium are produced in ...

in the state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

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 ...

. This rock cut site consists of 51 caves, stupas,

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 ...

s, passages, and compact dwellings, carved in the 7th century CE. The site includes large statues of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

in sitting and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

mudra. Fourteen caves on the northern side are considered historically significant, among which ''Bari Kacheri'' (big courthouse) and ''Bhima Bazar'' are the most so. The Bari Kacheri cave measures 20 feet square and includes stupas and chaityas. The porch includes stone railing with the wooden architecture. Bhima Bazar cave is the largest among the group, measuring 115 feet by 80 and including vzhara and ''chaityagruha''. It consists of stupas. The roof is in poor condition with the support of wooden architecture.

Architecture

The Dhamnar caves include 51 rock cut caves containing

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 ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

structures like

stupas 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 ...

, chaityas, porch and small chambers both of

Hinayana Hīnayāna (, ) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle". Classical Chinese and Tibetan teachers translate it as "smaller vehicle". The term is applied collectively to the ''Śrāvakayāna'' and ''Pratyekabuddhayāna'' pa ...

and

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

sects of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

constructed around 5th-6th centuries AD. This structure includes colossal seating figure of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

and it also includes Brahminical rock cut caves (7th-8th century AD) and a single monolithic temple dedicated to Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

(8th-9th century AD). The structure was crumbling before its restoration by Archeological Survey of India mainly because of being constructed by porous laterite rocks which got weathered badly over the centuries, destabilizing and weakening the structure.

Gallery

File:ASI Dhamnar Caves plan.jpg, Dhamnar Caves plan Dhamnar caves2.JPG, The caves. Dhamnar caves1.JPG, Rock cut Dhamnar caves Buddist sculpture caves.jpg, Buddhist sculpture caves Dhamnar caves.JPG, Dhamnar caves Dhamnar caves3.JPG, Badi Kachahari (Cave-6) File:ASI Dhamnar Caves facade.jpg, Dhamnar Caves facade File:ASI Dhamnar Caves stupas.jpg, Dhamnar Caves stupas

Citations

{{Portal, India Buddhist monasteries in India Buddhist caves in India Caves of Madhya Pradesh Tourist attractions in Mandsaur district Indian rock-cut architecture Colossal Buddha statues Former populated places in India Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Architecture in India Caves containing pictograms in India

Architecture

Gallery

See also

Further reading

Citations