Number of words – 705
The caves in Barabar and Nagarjuni hills are the first known excavated caves. They were excavated by Ashoka the Great, for the Ajivika monks, a religious sect extant during the Buddhist and Jain period. The Buddhist took up this ‘creation in rock’ to newer heights and thus we see magnificent structures from Orissa to Andhra Pradesh to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra especially in the western and coastal region.
James Fergusson observed that when the Europeans first became acquainted with the Buddhist caves, they were so struck by their monolithic grandeur, and the apparent eternity of duration that resulted from it, that they jumped at once to the conclusion that they must be among the most ancient monuments of the world, rivaling in this respect, as was then supposed, even those of Egypt. There was also a mystery hanging over their deserted condition, added to the fact that almost all of them were situated in remote and lonely valleys, or cut into bare mountain-side.
One noticeable factor while observing these Buddhist caves is that they display a remarkable skill in carving out structure in rocks. The craftsmen seem to be skilled workers because none of the caves show any signs of experimentation. None of the caves show any primary design forms; hence it is difficult to understand the actual stages of carving. The carvings do not follow any architecture principles. They do not trace any construction guidelines; neither do the columns and arches have any load bearing properties, nor do they counteract any thrust. There are virtually no architecturally functional properties displayed. Hence they should be termed “cave sculpture”, not cave architecture. The Buddhist cave sculpture is an art, carved within the rocks, albeit by artists who knew their medium quite well!
Rock sculpture in the form of Buddhist caves emerged as a fully developed art form. Each cave displays mathematical accuracy in terms of width and length of pillars in the halls, a perfectly semi circular dome, steps carved in stone and sharp features of various sculptures. Though these masons or monks have not left us any floor plans of these excavations, the unfinished caves show us the probable stages involved in sculpting this art.
Religion played an important role in the development of art and architecture. The design of these Buddhist caves must have been made by monks and masons who carved out the viharās, chaityas, monk cells and the stupas. However, since rock sculpting was not seen prior to this period, designs in wood would have been the only known architecture previously. Masons would have replicated the design of wooden architecture into stone. This is quite noticeable when one sees the cave arches, the façade, the ribs of chaitya to strengthen the roof, the arched pillars for support and the lattice windows for ventilation and light. The progression from wood to stone was a great leap in immortalizing Buddhist art and culture.
In India, the first cave excavation took place in 3rd BCE. The Buddhist monks and their donors continued this art till 11th CE. In a way, these Buddhist caves graph the rise and spread from Ashoka’s period till its extinction in the 12th CE. It is noteworthy to mention that these caves are the only sculpture in stone whose designs are indigenous.
Approximately 1200 caves have been excavated in India; out of which nearly 1000 are seen in Maharashtra alone. The Western Ghats are made up of amygdaloidal rocks (a volcanic rock in which rounded cavities are formed by the expansion of gas or steam which later on gets filled with deposits of various minerals) that are quite thick and have uniform texture; a perfect medium for rock sculpture. These caves are rich not only in art, but also as a wealth of information about a bygone era. The sculptures represent a socio-economic, political and religious culture. The inscriptions present in these caves introduce us to the kings, their kingdoms, their lineage and their era. The study of donors of these magnificent cave sculptures is again interesting. We see caves donated by kings, farmers, merchants, money-lenders, travelers and even an entire village. Well, the Dhamma seems to attract all!
Excerpted from ‘A History of the Trirashmi caves’ by Atul Bhosekar