As some of you may know, in a previous life I was a Director of Software Quality for large computer security company. With a group of 160 engineers split across two continents, I frequently flew to Pune to spend time with the team there, many of whom I still see on my annual trip back to the city each year.
At that time the hotel of choice was the JW Marriott on Senapati Bapat (SB) Road, conveniently located for the offices that were on the Baner Road. For all the years I spent in that hotel I had no idea that within walking distance was one the oldest and least known heritage sites in the city.
Ask any Punekar what is the oldest surviving structure in Pune city, and they are likely to respond with Pataleshwar Caves. Situated on Jangli Maharaj Road (JM Road), these caves were carved out of the bedrock most probably in the Rashtrakuta period, around the 8th century C.E. Anyone living to the west of the city around Baner may alternatively suggest the cave at Baneshwar temple, hidden away just below Tukai Devi Mandir that overlooks Baner Road. Some may even suggest the modest cave excavations at the foot of Parvati Hill, but there is another contender…
Located just 550m east of Senapati Bapat (SB) Road on the north-east facing slopes of Hanuman Tekdi Hill, Vrudeshwar Cave Mandir (also known as Vriddheshwar and Vriddheshvar) could equally lay a claim to being the oldest heritage site in Pune, but the lack of any research into the site renders it a bit of a mystery. It also lies in utter obscurity, unknown even to many of the neighbouring community. My good friend Amruta who now manages the southern lower slopes of Hanuman Tekdi was completely unaware of these caves, and she was brought up in her family home just 300m away ! Locals living next to the caves claim they were made by the Pandavas, and the area around them is still known today as Pandav Nagar.
Vrudeshwar Cave Mandir consists of two living temples cut into the rock-face of Hanuman Tekdi Hill, with a number of other excavations dotted around the vicinity, and a modern temple set in the middle of the paved courtyard in front. The site is almost swallowed up by Pune’s unceasing encroachment, thankfully the steep slopes of the hill have prevented the worst from happening here.
The main temple is a large rock-cut vihara measuring approx 6m square and 2.5m high. The entrance as it appears today is a later alteration, with the use of stone blocks butting up against what appears to have been a wider entrance cut into the cliff face, or one that perhaps collapsed at some point.
There is an inscription, oddly placed on the stone threshold at the base of the entrance. Unfortunately I’m not able to read it as it has been worn away considerably and I have failed to find any documentation concerning it. The placement of this inscription suggests to me that it was probably not part of the original construction process.
Enshrined within are idols of Vitthal-Rukmini and Ganesh, with the Vriddheshwar Mahadev Pindi in front flanked by brass tridents. Dating when this excavation occurred is almost impossible with no legible inscription or any other details within the cave itself to give us clues (e.g. any remains of a stupa on the floor or ceiling, benches, carvings, etc).
The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence (a popular phrase among archaeologists), and my feeling is that this was probably originally a Buddhist excavation that has been adopted as a later Hindu shrine.
A short distance further east along the ridge of Hanuman Tekdi Hill is another rock-cut excavation now used as a Hindu temple. This is slightly higher up and can only be accessed via a flight of metal stairs. This cave is smaller, with a wide bench opposite the entrance and a rock-cut ledge/shelf in the right corner. The style of these benches and shelves doesn’t really correlate well with other Buddhist/Jain caves I have come across. Perhaps this was once an even simpler excavation that has been augmented at a later date, it is really hard to be sure. The temple today appears to be a shrine dedicated to Shivaji.
It appears these caves are on the radar of the Pune Municipal Corporation, currently classified as “PMC Heritage Grade III”, although I have no idea what that really means in reality. Today the two living cave temples are well maintained by the community, but the environs are not so good with rubbish strewn all over the ground, and the obvious pressure from adjacent dwellings that seem to be almost cutting off access to some of the more simple excavations here. I hope somebody researches these temples in the near future so we can get a better insight into their origins and development over time.
If any of my readers have any additional info on these cave temples, please do comment below !
Accessing the Vrudeshwar cave temples can be done one of two ways :
a) Climb up to the top of Hanuman Tekdi Hill and head in a northerly direction descending down to the edge of the hill. Then simply follow hill profile keeping a lookout for a large orange flag that marks the location (and seen in my photographs above).
b) At Maharshi Dadhichi Chowk on Senapati Bapat (SB) Road, head east on Wadarvadi Road and then take a right into Pandav Nagar. From here you will not see the cave site at all, but take a right under the building shown below, and this path will rise up, turn to the right, and take you to the cave temple site. As always, there’s a google maps link at the end of this blog.
After visiting Vrudeshwar I headed to another obscure buddhist site on the north-west outskirts of Pune. Click here to read about Maan Cave!
Please ‘Like’ or add a comment if you enjoyed this blog post. If you’d like to be notified of any new content, just sign up by clicking the ‘Follow’ button. If you have enjoyed this or any other of my posts, please consider buying me a coffee. There’s a facility to do so on the righthand side of this website for desktop users, and just above the comment section for mobile users. Thank you !
If you’re interested in using any of my photography or articles please get in touch. I’m also available for any freelance work worldwide, my duffel bag is always packed ready to go…
KevinStandage1@gmail.com
kevinstandagephotography.wordpress.com
Categories: India, Maharashtra, Pune, Vrudeshwar Cave Mandir - Pune
Kevin Standage 
Well done
What’s ironic is we hindus forgot about own heritage
LikeLiked by 1 person