The Trirashmi Caves,Michell, 383 or Nashik Caves or Pandavleni is a holy Buddhist and Jain site located about 8 km south of the centre of Nashik (or Nasik), Maharashtra, India. Most of the caves are viharas except for Cave 18 which is a chaitya of the 1st century BCE.Michell, 384 The style of some of the elaborate pillars or columns, for example in caves 3 and 10, is an important example of the development of the form.Harle, 55-56 Cave 11 is a Jain cave dedicated to Lord Vrishabhanath (Rishabhanatha), the first Tirthankara of Jainism. Some scholars suggest that the name Pandavleni is derived from the Pandavas, characters in the Mahabharata epic, as some caves contain inscriptions related to early Brahmin or Hindu beliefs. Other caves in this Maharashtra area include the Karla Caves, Bhaja Caves, Patan Caves and Bedse Caves.
Caves These are a group of twenty-four Early Buddhist caves whose excavation was financed by kings, merchants, devotees and foreigners who supported Jainism and Buddhism. Cave No. 3 is a large vihara or monastery with some interesting sculptures. Cave No. 10 is also a vihara, almost identical in design to Cave No. 3, but finer in detail and thought to be nearly as old as the Karla Caves near Lonavala. Cave No. 18 is a chaitya worship hall believed to be similar in date to the Karla Caves, with a finely sculptured and elaborate facade. This cave houses a stone-cut stupa, statues of the Buddha, Jain Tirthankara Ṛṣabhadeva, and icons of the yakṣas Maṇibhadra and Ambikā. The chaitya hall served as a chamber used for communal ceremonies, chanting, walking and seated meditation.There are water tanks that have been skilfully carved out of the solid rock.
The Nasik caves are some of the oldest in Maharashtra. Some are large and contain numerous rock-cut chambers that served as a viharas or monasteries for Jain and Buddhist monks. One of the older viharas contains a particularly elaborate facade, fine in sculptural detail and thought to be nearly as old as the Karla Cave near Lonavala
Some of the caves have images of the Buddha, bodhisattvas, sculptures representing the kings, farmers, merchants and other rich iconography.
The site has an ancient water management system with several water tanks skillfully chiseled out of solid rock.
History
The caves can be traced back to the 1st century BCE by inscriptions that record donations made by kings and laity. Out of the twenty-four caves, two caves are a major attraction - cave No. 18, a chaitya (prayer hall) with a stupa, and cave No. 10, structurally complete with famous inscriptions. Both of the caves have carved images of the Buddha and face eastwards.
The various inscriptions confirm that Nasik was ruled by three dynasties – the Western Kshatrapas, the Satavahanas and the Abhiras. It seems there was always a conflict between Satavahanas and the Kshatrapas over supremacy. However, all the kings supported Buddhism. The inscriptions also confirm that local merchants donated huge sums for cave excavation and development.
Layout and content The group of 24 caves were cut in a long line on the north face of a hill called Trirasmi. The importance of this group lies not only in the number of inscriptions of great historical significance belonging to the reigns of Satavahana and Kshaharata rulers, but also in representing a brilliant phase in the rock-cut architecture of the second century CE. There are 24 excavations though many seem small and less historically important. Starting at the east end, the caves are numbered westward. They are almost entirely of an early date, and while many were excavated to support the schools of Early Buddhism, several show the artistic influence and styles of later schools called Mahayana. Mostly, the interior of the caves are starkly plain, in contrast to the heavily ornamented exterior.
The caves and their inscriptions Inscriptions in caves 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19 and 20 are legible. Other inscriptions note the names Gautamiputra Satkarni and Vashishthiputra Pulumavi of the Satavahanas, Ushavadata and his wife Dakshamitra, of the Western Satraps, and the Yavana (Indo-Greek) Dhammadeva.
Since the caves were inhabited by the Early Buddhism as well as Mahayana sects, one can see a confluence of structure and sculpture.
Caves No. 1-2 Cave No.1Cave No.1: except the ornamental frieze over the front, no part of this cave is finished; it has been planned for a vihara, with four columns between pilasters in front of a narrow veranda, but they are all left as square masses. A cell was begun at each end of the verandah. The front wall has been more recently partly blasted away. There are no inscriptions in this cave.The cave temples of India, Fergusson, James, W.H. Allen &Co p.267ff (Public domain text) Cave No.2Cave No.2 is a small excavation that may have been originally a veranda, 11.5 feet by 4.25 feet, with two cells at the back; but the front wall and dividing partition have been cut away, and the walls nearly covered with sculpture, consisting of sitting and standing Buddhas with attendant chauri-bearers, in some cases unfinished. These are the additions of Mahayana Buddhists of the sixth or seventh century CE. The veranda apparently had two wooden pillars, and the projecting frieze is carved with the "rail pattern", much weather worn and very old. On the remaining section of the back wall of the veranda, close under the roof, is a fragment of an inscription of Satavahana king Sri Pulumavi (2nd century CE):
Between this and the next cave are a tank with two openings above, a large scarped-out place, and two decayed recesses, one of them a tank; all along this space are blocks of rock blasted out or fallen down from above.
Cave No.3, "Gautamiputra vihara" (circa 150 CE)
Cave No.3 at Nasik is one of the most important caves, and the largest, of the Pandavleni caves complex. It was built and dedicated to the sangha in the 2nd century CE by Queen Gotami Balasiri, mother of deceased Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni, and contains many important inscriptions.
The cave The cave is a vihara meant to provide shelter to Buddhist monks. It is, with cave No.10, the largest vihara cave in the Pandavleni Caves complex. The hall is 41 feet wide and 46 deep, with a bench round three sides. The cave has six pillars on the front porch, roughly similar to those of the early cave No. 10 built by the viceroy of Nahapana circa 120 CE. Inside, 18 monk cells are laid out according to a square plan, seven on the right side, six in the back, and five in the left.
Entrance The central door into this vihara is sculptured in a style reminiscent of the Sanchi gateways; the side pilasters are divided into six compartments, each filled mostly with two men and a woman, in different stages of some story which seems to end in the woman being carried off by one of the men. Over the door are the three symbols, the Bodhi tree, the dagoba, and the chakra wheel with worshipers; at each side is a dvarapala or doorkeeper, holding up a bunch of flowers. If the carving on this door be compared with any of those at Ajanta, it may be found more crude and less bold, but the style of headdress agrees with that on the screen walls at Karle, Kanheri, and in the paintings in Cave X at Ajanta, which probably belong to about the same age. Cave No.3, Entrance gate details
Pillars Pillars of cave No.3 The veranda has six octagonal columns without bases between highly sculptured pilasters. The capitals of these pillars are distinguished from those in the Nahapana Cave No. 10 by the shorter and less elegant form of the bell-shaped portion of them, and by the corners of the frame that encloses the torus having small figures attached; both alike have a series of five thin members, overlapping one another and supporting four animals on each capital, bullocks, elephants, horses, sphinxes, etc..., between the front and back pairs of which runs the architrave, supporting a projecting frieze, with all the details of a wooden framing copied in it. The upper part of the frieze in this case is richly carved with a string course of animals under a richly carved rail, resembling in its design and elaborateness the rails at Amravati, with which this vihara must be nearly, if not quite contemporary. The pillars stand on a bench in the veranda, and in front of them is a carved screen, supported by three dwarfs on each side the steps to the entrance. The details of this cave and No. 10 are so alike that the one must be regarded as a copy of the other, but the capitals in No. 10 are so like those of the Karla Caves' chaitya, while those in the veranda of this cave are so much poorer in proportion, that one is tempted to suppose this belongs to a later period, when art had begun to decay.
Comparison with other sites The architecture of the Nahapana cave (Cave No.10) is very similar to that of the Karla Caves Great Chaitya. Conversely, the architecture of cave No. 3 is very similar to that of the Kanheri Chaitya. This suggests that the two viharas cannot be very far apart in date from the two chaitya halls.
Cave No.3, "Gautamiputra Vihara" (reign of Sri Pulumavi)
Inscriptions
One long inscription (No. 2) in the 19th year of Satavahana king Sri Pulumavi (2nd century CE), explains that Queen Gotami Balasiri, mother of glorious king Gotamiputra, caused this cave to be built and gave it to the sangha.Epigraphia Indica p.60ff There is also another long inscription (No.3) by Sri Pulumavi himself, also in the 22nd year of his reign. There are also inscriptions (No. 4 and No. 5) at the entrance of the cave by Gautamiputra Satakarni (2nd century) in the 18th year of his reign, who claims a great victory.Epigraphia Indica p.71ff
As mentioned above, one of the most important Nasik Caves inscription was made by Gautamiputra's mother the great queen Gotami Balasiri, during the reign of her grandson Vasishthiputra Pulumavi, in order to record the gift of Cave No.3. The full inscription consists in a long eulogy of Gautamiputra Satakarni, mentioning his valour, his military victories, and then her gift of a cave in the Nasik Caves complex.
The most important passages on this inscription related to the military victories of Gautamiputra Satakarni, in particular: the claim that Gautamiputra Satakarni "destroyed the Sakas, Yavanas and Palhavas", alluding respectively to the Western Satraps, the Indo-Greeks and the Indo-Parthians the claim that Gautamitra Satakarni "rooted out the Khakharata race" and "restored the glory of the Satavahana family". The Khakharata refers to the Kshaharata dynasty, the family branch of Nahapana, the important Western Satraps ruler.
The full inscription, located on the back wall of the veranda above the entrance, reads:
Inscription of Queen Gotami BalasiriNasik Cave No.3, inscription No.2, 19th year of the reign of Sri Pulumavi(back wall of the veranda, above the left window of the entrance)
The above inscription shows an odd but fascinating blend of Vedic-Bramanic beliefs, religious and cultural, in mentioning caste (the "twice born" Brahmins and the "varnas," or Four Castes) and characters from the Mahabharata (Arjuna, Bhima) and Puranas (Nahusha), while also espousing beliefs in Buddhism ("Renunciation to the enjoyments of every kind," "..this meritorious donation") and openly supporting the sangha. Despite the eventual antagonism between Buddhists and Brahmins over royal patronage, the Satavahanas clearly supported both religious groups, perhaps trying to curry favor not only with the humans but also the divinities.
The next inscription is located right under the inscription of the Queen, only separated by a swastika and another symbol. The inscription (inscription No.3) was made by Sri Pulumavi himself, in the 22nd year of his reign, and records the gift of a village for the welfare of the monks dwelling in the cave built by his grandmother.