Big Caves of India
Krem Liat Prah, Meghalaya
Prah (Krem is the Khasi word for "cave") is one of approximately 150 known caves in the Shnongrim Ridge of the East Jaintia Hills district in the state of Meghalaya, northeast India. Explored and surveyed as part of the ongoing Abode of the Clouds Expedition project, its current length of about 34 kilometers will likely be increased as nearby caves continue to be connected. Liat Prah's dominant feature is its enormous trunk passage, the Aircraft Hangar.
Bagh Caves, Madhya Pradesh
The Bagh Caves are a group of nine rock-cut monuments, situated among the southern slopes of the Vindhyas in Bagh town of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. These monuments are located at a distance of 97 km from Dhar town. These are renowned for mural paintings by master painters of ancient India. The use of the word "cave" is a bit of a misnomer, since these are not natural, but instead examples of Indian rock-cut architecture.
The Bagh caves, like those at Ajanta, were excavated by master craftsmen on perpendicular sandstone rock face of a hill on the far bank of a seasonal stream, the Baghani. Buddhist in inspiration, of the nine caves, only five have survived. All of them are 'viharas' or resting places of monksmonasteries having quadrangular plan.
Barabar Caves, Bihar
The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, mostly dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district, Bihar, India, 24 km north of Gaya.
These caves are situated in the twin hills of Barabar (four caves) and Nagarjuni (three caves); caves of the 1.6 km (0.99 mi)-distant Nagarjuni Hill are sometimes singled out as the Nagarjuni Caves. These rock-cut chambers date back to the 3rd century BCE, Maurya period,of Ashoka and his grandson, Dasharatha Maurya.
Varaha Caves, Tamil Nadu
Varaha Cave Temple (also Adivaraha Cave Temple) is a rock-cut cave temple located at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in Kancheepuram District in Tamil Nadu, India. It is part of the hill top village, which is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the north of the main Mahabalipurm sites of rathas and the Shore Temple.
It is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century. The temple is one of the finest testimonial to the ancient Vishwakarma Sthapathis, of rock-cur cave architecture, out of many such caves also called mandapas.
Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra
The Ajanta Caves are about 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India.The caves include paintings and rock cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotion through gesture, pose and form.
According to UNESCO, these are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art that influenced Indian art that followed. The caves were built in two phases, the first phase starting around the 2nd century BCE, while the second phase built around 400–650 CE according to older accounts, or in a brief period of 460–480 CE according to later scholarship. The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ellora Caves, Aurangabad
Ellora, in Maharashtra, India, is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, featuring Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments, and artwork, dating from the 600-1000 CE period. Cave 16, in particular, features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailasha temple, a chariot shaped monument dedicated to Shiva.
The Kailasha temple excavation also features the gods, goddesses, and mythologies found in Vaishnavism, Shaktism as well as relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu Epics.
Elephanta Caves, Mumbai
Elephanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to Hindu god Shiva. They are located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves") in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres to the east of the city of Mumbai in the Indian state of Mahārāshtra. The island, located offshore about 2 kilometres west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, consists of Shaivism caves and a few Buddhist stupa mounds.
The Elephanta Caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, that show syncretism of Hindu and Buddhist ideas and iconography. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. Except for a few exceptions, much of the artwork is defaced and damaged. The main temple's orientation as well as the relative location of other temples are placed in a mandala pattern. The carvings narrate Hindu mythologies, with the large monolithic 20 feet Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of dance) and Yogishvara (Lord of Yoga) being the most celebrated.
Bhimbetka Caves, Madhya Pradesh
The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site in central India that spans the prehistoric paleolithic and mesolithic periods, as well as the historic period. It exhibits the earliest traces of human life on the Indian subcontinent and evidence of Stone Age starting at the site in Acheulian times. It is located in the Raisen District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh about 45 kilometres southeast of Bhopal.
It is a UNESCO world heritage site that consists of seven hills and over 750 rock shelters distributed over 10 kilometres. At least some of the shelters were inhabited by Homo erectus more than 100,000 years ago. The rock shelters and caves provide evidence of, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a "rare glimpse" into human settlement and cultural evolution from hunter-gatherers, to agriculture, and expressions of spirituality.
Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Odisha
Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, formerly called Katak Caves or Cuttack caves, are partly natural and partly artificial caves of archaeological, historical and religious importance near the city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. The caves are situated on two adjacent hills, Udayagiri and Khandagiri, mentioned as Kumari Parvat in the Hathigumpha inscription.
They have a number of finely and ornately carved caves built during 2nd century BCE.It is believed that most of these caves were carved out as residential blocks for Jain monks during the reign of King Kharavela. Udayagiri means "Sunrise Hill" and has 18 caves while Khandagiri has 15 caves.
Belum Caves, Andhra Pradesh
The Belum Caves is the largest and longest cave system open to the public on the Indian subcontinent, known for its speleothems, such as stalactite and stalagmite formations. The Belum Caves have long passages, galleries, spacious caverns with fresh water and siphons.
This natural underground cave system was formed over the course of tens of thousands of years by the constant flow of underground water. The cave system reaches its deepest point at the point known as Pataalaganga. In Telugu language, it is called Belum Guhalu. Belum Caves have a length of 3,229 m, making them the second largest natural caves on the Indian Subcontinent after the Krem Liat Prah caves in Meghalaya. It is one of the centrally protected monuments of national importance.
Borra Caves, Andhra Pradesh
The Borra Caves, also called Borra Guhalu (Borra means hole in Odia language and guhalu means caves in Telugu language), are located on the East Coast of India, in the Ananthagiri hills of the Araku Valley of the Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh.
The caves, one of the largest in the country, at an elevation of about 705 m, distinctly exhibit a variety of speleothems ranging in size and irregularly shaped stalactites and stalagmites. The caves are basically karstic limestone structures extending to a depth of 80 m , and are considered the deepest caves in India.