The
visit to Kanheri Rock Cut Cave No. 41, of Mumbai, was part of “Rock Cut Cave
Temples of Maharashtra Visit”, from 28th February to 3rd March 2026.
The
largest and one of the earliest Buddhist cave complexes in India is located at
Kanheri, which lies on the eastern side of Borivali in Sanjay Gandhi National
Park, Mumbai. The name Kanheri has been derived from Kanhagiri in Prakrit, as
mentioned in the Nasik inscription of Satvahana king Vashathiputra Pulumavi.
In Sanskrit, it is known as Krishnagiri, meaning dark Hills like the colour of
Krishna. Kanheri was frequently mentioned in the travelogues of foreign
travellers. It is a unique Buddhist monastic establishment which sheds light on
different phases of the development of cave architecture from the 2nd century CE to the 11th century CE. The various Buddhist
sects were coeval and flourished at Kanheri, like the Mahasamghikas, Chetiyas, and Parasellyas. Bhadravaniya. Dharmottariyas, Saddharmapundarika sect in Vajrayana
Buddhism. The site reflects a beautiful blend of art and architecture of the Hinayana and Mahayana sects of Buddhism, with enormous epigraphical data of
their respective contemporary period.
There
are more than 110 caves, hewed out of volcanic breccia (rock composed of broken
fragments of minerals), considered as a single rock. These caves spread over
half a kilometre in length, hewn on different terrace on either side of a
seasonal rivulet. These caves are of two types, chaitya and viharas. The
chaitya consists of a sanctum, verandah and outer courtyard approached through a flight of steps with flanking water cisterns on either side. The water cisterns
are chiselled in the rock, so that the direct rainwater is channelled into these
cisterns. This gives evidence of an ancient rainwater harvesting system. The
viharas are architecturally monotypic but variable in size with one or multiple
cells, a verandah with two or more pillars in front, and an open courtyard with
rock-cut benches along the walls.
The
cave numbers 3, 11, 34, 41, 67, 87 and 90
are most important and are incepted eloquently with pillars, grilled walls and
images. In the early Hinayana caves, Buddha is symbolised in the form of a stupa, a bodhi tree and footprints, while in the later caves of the Mahayana period, Buddha is
displayed in different postures like dharmachakrapravartana mudra,
vyakhyanmudra, varada mudras, etc. The other important images carved in the
caves are Avalokiteshvara, Dipankara Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Muchalinda Naga,
etc. An excellent example of the only sculpture in India of the eleven-headed
Avalokiteshvara, excavated outside the cave 41.
There
are more than 100 inscriptions in the caves revealing the names of donors and
patrons of the caves, which show monks. Goldsmiths, traders and many political
and administrative officials had given donations to caves, cisterns, tanks,
staircases, benches, niches, pillars, paths and walls at Kanheri. The Shaka
inscriptions indicate the Scy thian or Shaka rule over Mumbai and its coastal
regions. An inscription near cave 41 records that Punnaka from Sopara has
constructed a dam with two walls to block the rainwater from getting wasted.
Cave No. 41
The cave is very dark with limited light passing through
the entrance. The walls bear the sculptural panels depicting the Buddhism of the Hinayana sect. The speciality of the sculpture panel is the eleven-headed Padmapani Avalokiteshwara, shown here with the Buddhist Litany.
Avalokiteshwara, as a Mahasatva, is described as having a thousand arms, a thousand
pairs of eyes and eleven heads. He descends into the city of death and delivers
all souls from damnation. He is also known as Ekadashamukha. Even the hands of
this image are exactly similar to the description in the eighth century.
This was known to be the only sculpture of an eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara in India, but later on, another was discovered in bronze, which bears a great resemblance to a Nepalese Sculpture.
LOCATION
OF KANHERI CAVES: CLICK HERE
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OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---
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