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SIGHT-SEEING AROUND MUMBAI
KARLA CAVES
After the monsoon magic of Khandala and Lonavala, let's go back to the caves.
This time round we have Karla Caves.
The Buddhist Karla caves lie in the Western Ghats about 114 kms away from
Mumbai. They were carved out almost 2,000 years ago. Although as exquisite
as the more famous Ajanta and Ellora caves, these caves are less crowded
and make for an extremely pleasant outing.
Buddhists believed that the holy men should live
neither too near nor too far from the cities. Thus
natural cave was a good option. Karla was
excellently situated. It was a natural cave and
also used to be one of the major caravan trading
routes
The Caves
The façade of the caves is formed by carved
temple screens, sculpted with railing ornaments
and human couples. Outer and inner screens form
an ante chamber to the main cave. The panels of the wooden doors and
windows are finely decorated with intricate sculptures of couples embracing.
You will also come across a 45-metre (148- foot) long Chaitya possibly the
finest of its kind in the country. The gigantic hall, built in the first century
AD
is adorned with architectural motifs; lions and elephants whose tusks were
probably of genuine ivory but no longer exist.
At the entrance are two enormous 50 feet high columns crowned by glorious
lion sculptures. Three important features of the interior of the hall are columns
or pillars, the roof vault and the great sun windows. There are 37 columns in all,
of which 30 have interesting captions showing prosperous men and women
riding elephants and horses yet bowing in humility to the Great Buddha. The
vaulted roof has wooden supports. This woodwork is 2000 years old.
Two rows of octagonal columns with pot-shaped bases divide the interior into
three, forming a wide central aisle and, on the outside, a hall that allowed
devotees to circumambulate the monolithic stupa at the back. Surmounting
the stupa are the remains of a carved wooden umbrella.
By the central doorway, you'll find sculptures of the Buddha preaching while
seated on a lion-supported throne, along with magnificent carvings of three
elephants. On each side, fifteen pillars separate the narrow aisles from the
central arch.
History
The Karla caves are centuries old. Built in the time of the Hinayana
sect,
during the Satavahanas rule, these caves do not actually show the Buddha.
By the seventh century AD, the Mahayana sect took over and representations
of the Buddha became more common.
Until the arrival of the Buddhists, there had been little building activity of any
consequence in this difficult terrain. To avoid the fury of the rains and to make
the Good Law of the Buddha outlast time itself, the Buddhist monks decided to
carve their sanctuaries out of the living rock of the immovable mountains.
From the late second century BC till the mid-second century AD, thousands of
caves like Karla were built in the Sahyadri Hills. They were apparently all for
Buddhist communities.
How to get there?
By Air: Nearest airport is Pune, 56 kms.
By Rail: Nearest railhead is Malavli, 2kms. on Central Railway but the more
convenient railhead is Lonavla, 10 kms.
By Road: Karla is 114 kms from Mumbai and 56 kms from Pune on Mumbai-Pune
road.
State Transport buses ply from Mumbai, Pune to Lonavala to Karla.
The MTDC Holiday Resort spreads over 30-35 acres of lush greenery. Besides
charming rooms with views, it also houses a water park and a children's park.  |
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