Pitalkhora Buddhist Caves

The Pitalkhora Caves, in the Satmala range of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India, are an ancient Buddhist site consisting of 14 rock-cut cave monuments which date back to the third century BCE, making them one of the earliest examples of rock-cut architecture in India [1]. The caves are cut in a variety of basalt rock, but some of the caves have crumbled and are damaged [1]. Out of the 14, four are chaityas (one housing votive stupas, one apsidal and single-cell) and the rest are viharas [1]. All the caves belong to the Early Buddhist schools period, but the reasonably well preserved paintings are of the Mahayana period [1]. The caves are in two groups, one of 10 caves and the second of four [1]. It is believed that Pitalkhora can be identified with Ptolemy’s "Petrigala" as well as the "Pitangalya" of Mahamayuri, a Buddhist chronicle [1]. The inscriptions date from c. 250 BCE to the 3rd and 4th centuries CE [1]. The Chaitya hall, Cave 3 of Pitalkhora, represents an important marker in the chronology of the Chaitya hall design in western India [1].