हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Barabar and Nagarjuni Caves

The oldest rock-cut caves in Bharat, hollowed out of solid granite and polished to a mirror finish, which Ashoka and Dasharatha gave to the Ajivika ascetics.

Built: 3rd century BCE, Ashoka and his grandson DasharathaWhere: Bihar25.00° N, 85.06° E
  1. c. 261 BCE
  2. late 3rd century BCE
  3. 6th century
Photo: Srijitakundan · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Polished granite

Four caves are cut into the Barabar hill and three into nearby Nagarjuni. Inside, the walls carry the Mauryan polish, so smooth that a whisper echoes for seconds. Ashoka’s inscriptions in two of the Barabar caves record their gift to the Ajivikas in the 12th and 19th years of his reign, and Dasharatha’s inscriptions at Nagarjuni do the same. The Lomas Rishi cave has the finest doorway: a carved wooden-style arch with a frieze of elephants moving towards a stupa, the form every later chaitya facade follows, from Karle to Ajanta.

02Later worship

In the 6th century a Maukhari prince, Anantavarman, installed images in some of the caves and left Sanskrit inscriptions: one of Bhagwan Krishna, one of Shiva as Bhutapati with the Devi, one of Katyayani. On the top of Barabar hill stands the Siddheshwarnath temple of Mahadev, crowded with kanwariyas in the month of Shravan, who carry Ganga water up the steep path to pour on the linga. Anantavarman’s inscriptions, in late Brahmi, can still be read on the cave doorways.

The life of this place

  1. c. 261 BCEIn his 12th regnal year Ashoka gives the first Barabar caves to the Ajivikas.
  2. late 3rd century BCEDasharatha dedicates the Nagarjuni caves.
  3. 6th centuryThe Maukhari Anantavarman installs images of Krishna, Shiva and Devi.
Visiting

About 25 km north of Gaya via Bela; steps lead up to the caves. Carry a torch to see the polish inside.

People

AshokaRuler
Reigned c. 268–232 BCE

Ashoka

Maurya emperor of the Dhamma edicts

KharavelaRuler
1st century BCE (dating debated, 2nd–1st century BCE)

Kharavela

Jain emperor of Kalinga

Nearby

Mangla Gauri Temple, GayaStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Mangla Gauri Temple, Gaya

Gayayam Mangalya Gauri: on the hill above the Vishnupad temple, the Devi is worshipped in the form of the breast of Sati, the giver of nourishment. Pilgrims who come to Gaya for pinda-daan climb here for her darshan.

Vishnupad Temple, GayaRebuilt
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Vishnupad Temple, Gaya

On the bank of the Phalgu, a footprint of Bhagwan Vishnu about 40 cm long is pressed into a basalt rock, set in a silver basin. Gaya is the first tirtha for pinda-daan, and Ahilyabai Holkar raised the present temple over it in 1787.

Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh GayaStanding
The Gupta Age

Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya

The place under the Bodhi tree where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment, the holiest site of the Buddhist world. Hindus who count the Buddha among Vishnu’s avatars come here too, and Hindu monks of the Giri order kept the temple for centuries.

Rajgir (Rajagriha)Ruined
Janapadas and the Rise of Magadha

Rajgir (Rajagriha)

The ring of five hills that was Magadha’s first capital: Jarasandha’s Girivraja in the Mahabharata, Bimbisara’s Rajagriha, and a place equally holy to Buddhists and Jains. Its stone walls run for some 40 km over the hills.