The Ancient Cave Dwelling Sangha of Maharashtra

the Cave Monasteries of Maharashtra

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The ecologically diverse state of Maharashtra represents one of India’ most unique landscapes and heritages. Located at a great cultural and geographical crossroads of the Indian Subcontinent, Maharashtra marks the collision of Northern and Southern. This majestic region on India’s central west coast has witnessed some of the most dominant empires and spiritual movements rise and fall, all while preserving pieces of its rich history through every century. From the palm tree laden beaches, to the luscious green hills replete with raging waterfalls dropping dramatically from sheer cliff faces in the state’s interior, traces of Maharashtra’s past are etched into every corner.

Notably, the state rests upon an abundance of basalt rock as the bedrock of this landmass, providing the perfect support for long-lasting shelters. As a result, Maharashtra was long ago host to large monastic communities of the early Buddhist sangha, living mainly in cave dwellings cut deeply into the hillsides. Due to the incredible durability of the basalt carvings, these spectacular monasteries are still standing strong. Many of these astonishing rock structures are over 2,000 years old, bringing pilgrims back to a time when Buddhism was India’s most popular religion.

These stone shelters represent some of the earliest formal Buddhist monasteries India had witnessed. Though the sangha had been established for roughly 500 years before these monasteries were cut into the cliffs, the community of monks had mainly existed as wandering almsman lacking any type of formal dwellings. Even after the great spread of Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE during the Great Dharama King Ashoka’s reign, it would be another several centuries before the establishment of monasteries capable of housing hundreds of monks in one area. This was largely because King Ashoka (268-232 BCE) promoted Buddhism as the main religion for his far-reaching empire, but never provided the type of financial royal patronage that would be needed for structural support.

Lacking any type of central authority, the early sangha depended mainly on wealthy lay donors to provide them with essentials. This tradition remains the case today in Buddhist countries across Asia. Fortunately, the early sangha did gain support from the lay community and was able to not only sustain itself but thrive for the centuries that followed Ashoka’s rule. By the 1st century CE, Buddhism had become India’s most dominant religion. With that, the wealthy patrons of India further understood the importance of supporting the sangha through generosity.

India is quite unique in how it values its spiritual seekers, and how on an ideological level, there is an ingrained understanding that the pursuits of the material world are ultimately a hinderance to deepening one’s understanding of the ultimate truth. Looking at India’s caste system for instance, we see the priestly caste (brahmins) ranked highest of all, above even the kings and warriors (kshatriya). There is also a deep history of renunciation as a legitimate means to spiritual growth. Long before the time of the Buddha, the tradition of the sannyasin, or the caster-off, had been in practiced for centuries as prescribed in the ancient Vedas. Indeed, it was through the Buddha’s early encounter with a sannyasin during one of his journeys outside the palace walls that struck young Siddhartha to the core of his bones, inspiring his own renunciation and eventual enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree.

Through the example of the Buddha’s turning away from worldly sense pleasures, and into a life of truth seeking, we see the formation of the Buddhist renunciant tradition of the Bhikkhu, literally meaning “beggar”. Around this same time, the teachings of the great sage Mahavira developed into the Jain tradition. From this begins the Jain version of wandering almsman, known as yatis. These three groups, the Brahmanical sannyasin, the Buddhist bhikkhu, and the Jain yati, are still alive today in India some 2,500 years later. This is truly remarkable, considering the very basis of their tradition is at odds with the norms of any society. Yet, through the kindness and support of the lay community, mainly the merchant and householder caste (vaishyas), these groups have persisted through empire after empire in India and beyond.  

It was through this merchant class that the Buddhist sangha began to grow in numbers outside of the early Magadha region where it had formed. One of the first areas to see an increase in monastic dwellings after the fall of Ashoka’s Mauryan Empire was Western India along the central and southern coast and into the interior, under the Satavahana empire. These monasteries were not built from brick in open land as they were earlier in Northern India, but carved into the existing rock faces, found in great number throughout the region.

In Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India, Sukumar Dutt points out two main periods of construction of cave monasteries in this area. First built were the actual living quarters of the monks, known as bhiksu-gharas. Once these had been established and the community of monks were well situated, further funding went towards the construction of temples centered around stupas (cetiya-gharas), and large pillared assembly halls (mandapas). The stupas served as the focal point of blessings for the monasteries, with the pillared halls often leading to the main stupa at the end of the assembly area.  

As a result of these temples being carved from existing rock, rather than assembled bit by bit, a large number of these sites are still beautifully intact, missing only the active sangha that once inhabited the living quarters, chanting the words of the Buddha in their exquisite shrine halls. Today, these sites are treated more as archeological wonders of India’s distant past rather than sites of great blessings and reverence. Hordes of Indian tourists line up to take selfie photos in front of the great stupas, rather than offering prostrations and circumambulations. Still, for those with the pure perception of the devoted pilgrim, this serves as a teaching to the fleeting nature or all things, not excluding the presence of the sangha where it once flourished.

But it is exactly through this impermanent, ever evolving nature of things that gave space for the sites of Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar, which were all nearly wiped away through the shifting tides in India away from Buddhadharma, to have re-blossomed over the last century into spiritual destinations for Buddhists from all over the world. So too could be the case for these sites of the early Sangha, becoming once again vibrant with offerings and praises to the Buddha. For now, it is up to us to make the most of these places while we still can, as even the simple act of visiting these sites with reverence to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, while deeply reflecting the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence and selflessness, is beyond sufficient as an offering.  

locations of Caves around Maharashtra

Mumbai

The bustling city of Mumbai serves as an easy starting point for entering the state of Maharashtra. Though the city seems modern in many ways, there are many well preserved caves far predated the what Mumbai has become.

PUnE

Near the city of Pune, just a short distance from Mumbai, you’ll find some of the most beautiful monasteries still standing in India, such as the Karle Cave and the Bhaja Cave.

Deccan

Continuing south of Pune and Mumbai are dozens of cave dwellings, such as the Karad Caves. These sites are less visited than the above two regions, but contain truly amazing glimpses into the past.

Konkan

The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the east.

Aurangabad

This region is home to the most well known collection of caves, the Ajanta Caves, and receives a high number of visitors. The area is located in north-central Maharashtra, and requires several hours to reach from Mumbai or Pune.

Kathiwar

Though located outside the state of Maharashtra, in the neighboring state fo Gujarat, the caves near the Kathiwar Penisula developed at the same time as the other caves mentioned in this section, long before such state boarders had been determined.