The hilly region of Maharashtra on the western coast of India is famous for a long and rich tradition of rock-cut architecture, with world heritage Buddhist and Brahmanical sites such as Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta.
With the exception of Ellora, little is known about the Jaina caves in the region, although some were briefly mentioned in early reports of the Archaeological Survey of India in the mid-late 19th century. This was at a time when there was general confusion between Jain icons and Buddha which resulted in many caves being attributed as Buddhist, which typically persisted even in caves where there was no iconography to be found at all.
In the intervening 150 years our understanding of rock-cut caves has increased dramatically. Today about 70 Jaina caves have been identified in the hilly regions of Maharashtra distributed across 19 sites, dating from the 1st century BCE to the 14/15th century CE. All these caves are attributed to the Digambara sect, and surprisingly there are still new discoveries occurring in a region you would think has already been extensively explored.
Situated about 60km north-west of Pune near Pale village in Maval tehsil, Pale Cave is one of the smallest and most significant caves in the entire region. It’s located close to an ancient trade route that climbs up the western ghat ridge from the Konkan over to the Deccan plateau near Kusur and Dhak. This ancient trade route was used to transport goods from the eastern economic centers on the Deccan plateau to the ports of Sopara and Kalyan on the west coast of India. There are numerous well-known Buddhist caves sites nearby, including Karle Caves, Bhaje Caves and Bedse Caves.
Pale Cave faces east and was originally a natural cave, in fact it’s a lava tube which is the first time I have ever entered one to my knowledge. Measuring about 23m in length, chisel marks clearly show where the natural cave has been augmented to satisfy the monks needs. The cave is wider at the far end with a small cell (1m wide, 1.9m long, and 1.6m high) accessed via a doorway in the north wall. A small hole on the floor of this cell (0.4m square) could possibly have been used for storage. Outside the entrance to the cell are a few slots, most likely to facilitate a wooden structure immediately outside the cell. At the very back of the cave is a natural niche that has been slightly chiseled into a more robust shelf.
The first section of the cave is narrower (approx 5.5m wide and 7.4m high) with an elevated platform on the north side accessed via some carved steps. On this platform is a small square water cistern about 1m deep, with provision for a wooden cover.
Above the cistern on the wall is a rectangular area that has been purposely smoothed to accommodate an inscription, one that makes this cave extremely important.
Mr. Ramchandra Lambodar Bhide first reported the existence of the cave as recently as the late 1960s, and the inscription in Brāhmī script near the cave entrance was subsequently studied by H.D. Sankalia and Shobhana Gokhale in 1969. Based on the results of paleographical analysis of the letters in the inscription, it was concluded that the inscription was most likely carved by Jain monks around the 1st century BCE, making it the oldest Jain inscription in Maharashtra.
Which translates to :
“Obeisance to arahanta, Donation by Bhayanta Indarakhita along with others for the carving of cave and the water cistern.”
At the time of the discovery, the “Namo arihantanam” mangalacharan (a term used for the opening portion of a prayer or sacred text by Jains) had not been seen anywhere else in Maharashtra.
That was until 2019, when a comparable inscription was discovered at nearby Lohagadwadi Caves (see my previous blog post on that discovery), which also attributes a donation by Bhayanta Indarakhita for excavations there, and starts with the same “Namo arihantanam”. As both inscriptions have been dated to around the same time, it is highly likely this is the same individual dedicated to the Jaina faith making donations for both sets of excavations.
As an archaeologist I was obviously immersed in the historical significance of this small cave, but also curious as to how the cave originally formed. The Jain monks who first stumbled across this place over 2,100 years ago must have thought they were very fortunate to have found somewhere that was relatively easy to modify for their needs.
Lava tubes are by-products of volcanic processes, and form either as the result of surface cooling of lava flows, or the result of sequential lava flows. Lava tubes are known throughout the world, in areas of volcanic activity along moving plates of the Earth’s crust. Typically, lava tubes form very close to the surface, and are long tubes of more or less constant diameter. Amazingly, the longest known lava tube is Kazumura Cave in Hawaii, with 65km of passages and 101 entrances, rarely more than 10m below the surface.
The lava tube at Pale Cave was created around 66 million years ago, a time of intense volcanic activity in the Deccan that some believe could have caused some global climate change. Ash and dust may have blocked sunlight, causing temperatures to drop. Over time, the climate would have warmed as a result of higher levels of greenhouse gases. Some researchers think that this intense volcanism could have contributed to the dinosaurs’ decline well before a comet or asteroid impact sealed their fate.
A visit to Pale Cave could easily be combined with the nearby Uksan Cave, or extended further by combining the two with Nigale (Padmavati) Caves, although the latter does involve a more extensive hike. My thanks to Vivek Kale and Sai Upalekar for showing me the caves and accompanying me.
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Categories: India, Maharashtra, Pale Cave
Kevin Standage 