Mahakali Caves (Mumbai)

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Mahakali caves

The total of 19 Buddhist Mahakali caves ( Marathi : महाकाली गुंफा; English Mahakali Caves ) are also known under the name Kondivita Caves ; they belong to the largely unknown and correspondingly rarely visited cave monasteries in the vicinity of Mumbai ( India ).

location

The Mahakali Caves are located in the coastal foothills of the Western Ghats not far from an old trade route about 35 km north of today's center of Mumbai in the suburb of Andheri at a height of about 25  m . The Andheri Railway Station or the Jogeshvari Railway Station are easily accessible by suburban trains; the remaining approx. 3 km in an easterly direction are best covered by taxis or motor rickshaws . The neighboring Hindu Jogeshwari Caves are only about 3 km (driving distance) to the northwest.

Dating

Building inscriptions are largely absent - but the archaeologists have reasons to believe that the 19 caves were built in the 1st century BC. BC to the 6th century AD. Almost nothing is known about the clients and donors. The only and badly preserved inscription in the worship hall ( chaitya ) can be translated roughly as follows: “Foundation of a vihara together with his brother von Pittimba, a Brahmin and Gautama worshiper; a resident of Pachi Kama. "

caves

The two groups of Mahakali Caves (4 caves in the northwest and 15 caves in the southeast) were carved out of the volcanic granite rock of the Dekkan-Trapp together with the pillars , the stupa , the monk cells and the figural reliefs . Overall, they are nowhere near the architectural and artistic quality of some of the caves in Ajanta and Ellora . Most of the caves are slightly elevated to protect against floods ( monsoon rains ) and free-range animals and can only be reached via steps carved into the rock.

Cave 2 with portico ( mandapa ) and stone fence ( vedika )
Side chamber of cave 2
  • Caves 1-3 form an architectural ensemble of viharas , with caves 1 and 3 remaining unfinished. The also not completely finished cave 2 also has a portico ( mandapa ) in front of it and separated from the outside world by relief stone fences ( vedikas ), behind which - again slightly increased - the actual living hall is located. Small "moon windows" ( chandrasalas ) can be seen above the portico and above the portal between the portico and the hall . The square pillars of the vestibule are undecorated; their capital zone is only marked by notches. A small votive stupa is carved into the back wall of a deeply hollowed side chamber; in front of it is a kind of altar stone, which can also be interpreted as the empty throne seat of Buddha . Overall, both the simple architecture with its vedikas and the almost lack of ornamentation point to an early period (2nd / 3rd century).
  • Cave 4 is the largest of all the Mahakali viharas . The side of kapitelllosen separate octagonal pillars rooms are slightly higher than in the actual hall.
Cave 5 with stupa
  • Cave 5 is probably the oldest part of the Mahakali caves; a previously existing vestibule has largely been broken away. It is a hall of worship ( chaitya ) with a space for the aniconical stupa with a diameter of 2.35 m and a height of approximately 4 m, separated by two rounded wall segments pierced by Jali windows , which was used by the monks ( in later times, perhaps also by high-ranking or wealthy people) could be contested in a pradakshina ceremony. The two stone lattice windows ( jalis ) are just as unusual as the architecture of the Chaitya Hall, which can only be compared approximately to two caves ( Lomas-Rishi-Cave and Sudama Cave ) in the Barabar Hills in the state of Bihar, about 1500 km away. which - next to a similar window in the cave sanctuary of Bhaja located about 120 km southeast - are probably the oldest surviving windows of their kind in all of India: The horizontal and vertical lattice elements are arranged slightly offset one behind the other, which suggests the will to imitate wooden models in stone closes. In the right wall there is a deep relief, which was attached later (5th / 6th century), depicting a seated Buddha, accompanied by two standing bodhisattvas ( Padmapani and Vajrapani ). Smaller Buddha figures in different sitting positions and hand postures ( mudras ) are attached above. To the right of it stands another Bodhisattva figure with a Buddha meditating in the lotus position over her - destroyed - head in a pronounced counter post ; further to the right there are again small Buddhas in 'European sitting posture'.
Cave 6
  • Caves 6–12 have remained unfinished or have been poorly preserved. In cave 6 there is a beautifully designed portal to the actual sanctuary chamber ( garbhagriha ).
  • Cave 13 is a combined living and cult cave consisting of a vestibule and a main hall supported by four pillars, adjoining the annex rooms, one of which contained a Buddha statue. The supports of the cave with its 13 amalaka - capitals are far more sophisticated, suggesting than in the other caves a later date.
  • Caves 14-19 are rather poorly preserved and no longer offer any architectural or artistic features.

See also

In the coastal foothills of the Western Ghats north of Mumbai there are further cave monasteries and rock temples:

Buddhist
Hindu

literature

  • Campbell, JM: Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency vol XIV. Government Central Press, Bombay 1882.
  • James Fergusson, James Burgess: The Cave Temples of India. Munshiram Manoharlal. New Delhi (1880), ISBN 8-12150-251-9 .
  • Dulari Qureshi: Rock-cut Temples of Western India. Bharatiya Kala Prakashan. Delhi 2010, ISBN 978-8-18090-202-4 .
  • Soundara Rajan, KV: Cave Temples of the Deccan. Archaeological Survey of India . New Delhi 1981.
  • Bernd Rosenheim: The world of the Buddha. Early Buddhist Art Sites in India. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-8053-3665-9 .

Web links

Commons : Mahakali Caves  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adrian Snodgrass: The Symbolism of the Stupa. M. Banarsidas Publ., Delhi 1992, p. 153, ISBN 81-208-0781-2

Coordinates: 19 ° 8 '  N , 72 ° 52'  E