How Many Doors Were There in Karle Chaitya

Introduction

The magnificent Chaitya at Karle represents the pinnacle of Hinayana rock construction. The lower half of this Chaitya has three doors and has a double-story facade. It has an upper gallery with the typical arch above it. Of all the cave temples, the chaitya at Karle is by far the biggest. It is located in the Maharashtra district of Pune in Karle. It is believed to have been carved somewhere between 100 and 125 A.D. It is separated from solid rock at a depth of approximately 124 feet. It measures 40 metres long by 15 metres high by 15 metres wide. There are 37 exquisitely crafted octagonal pillars inside. A water jar supports each column. Capitals are found on the tops of some of these pillars. Elephants kneeling on bell-shaped bases are shown as figures on the capitals.

A large stupa with a wooden parasol perched atop it is located at the interior end. The umbrella still contains some of its original wood. The outer extremity of the cave's entrance is marked by a sizable horseshoe arch. Elephants with metal decorations and ivory tusks seem to support the entire edifice on their backs. The façade screen of the Karle Chaitya is built of teak wood, setting it apart from other Chaityas in that respect. There is a connection between the Buddhist faith and this chaitya hall. Prayers and gatherings were held in the hall.

About

Karli, close to Lonavala in Maharashtra, is home to the Karla Caves, also known as Karli Caves, Karle Caves, or Karla Cells, a collection of historic Buddhist Indian rock-cut caves. Only 10.9 kilometres separate it from Lonavala. Bhaja Caves, Bedse Caves, Nasik Caves, and Patan Buddhis Caves are other caves in the region. From the second century BCE until the fifth-century CE shrines were built. The oldest of the cave shrines is thought to have existed about 160 BCE and was built close to a significant ancient trade route that ran towards east from the Arabian Sea into the Deccan.

The Karla group is among the smaller and older rock-cut Buddhist sites in Maharashtra. Still, it is also one of the most well-known due to the renowned "Grand Chaitya" (Cave 8), which is "the largest and most completely preserved" chaitya hall from the time and also houses unusually large amounts of exquisite sculpture.

Architecture

The Karla cave complex was discovered in the early first millennium CE, and it is one of many similar caves that were found in the Sahyadri Hills. About 60 kilometres away from Pune, this Karla cave complex is built into a rocky hillside with large windows carved into the rock to light the cave interiors. The group consists of a total of 16 caverns, three of which are Mahayana caves. With the Great Chaitya, Cave No. 8, being the main exception, the majority of the caves are lenas.

The largest and most ornately carved chaitya, or prayer hall, in the main cave, also known as Cave No. 8 or the Great Chaitya cave, dates to 120 CE. At 45 metres (148 feet) long and up to 14 metres (46 feet) height, this is India's largest rock-cut chaitya. This biggest Great Chaitya cave in South Asia was built between 50 and 70 CE. The hall has sculptures of both men and women as well as animals like lions and elephants. And 120 CE, when the Western Satraps' leader Nahapana was in charge. It was Nahapana who inscribed the cave's dedication on a piece of stone.

Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as a large number of local business people, many of whom were Yavanas, donated money for the construction of the chaitya cave, which is attested by their dedicatory inscriptions. A local businessman or banker from Vaijayanti named Bhutapala is mentioned in an inscription among the sculptured ornaments at the left end of the veranda as having completed the cave.

Bhutapala may have been referring to the elaborate sculptures on the veranda that were added during the last stages of ornamentation when he said the cave was finished. A generation or so after Nahapana, the Satavahana prince Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (130-159 CE) also left a dedicatory inscription.

Chronology

The numerous other Chaitya caverns that had been constructed in Western India under royal sponsorship are followed, but improved upon, by the Great Chaitya cave of Karla. Approximately in the first century BCE, Cave 9 at Kondivite Caves, Cave 12 at the Bhaja Caves, and Cave 10 at Ajanta Caves are regarded to be the order in which these early Chaitya Caves were constructed.

Then, from oldest to newest: Cave 1 at Kondana Caves, Cave 3 at Pitalkhora, and Cave 9 at Ajanta, which, given its more elaborate decorations, may have been constructed around a century later.

The "ultimate perfection" of the Great Chaitya at Karla Caves marks the culmination of Cave 18 at Nasik Caves, Cave 7 at Bedse Caves, and other caves. The chaitya follows the typical style for the period but is extremely huge. It is notable for maintaining original wood components like the canopy over the stupa, other roof beams, and the noticeable lateral ribs. Only a few rock-cut replicas of the chaitya hall now exist, but they faithfully reproduce the design of earlier wood and thatch models. The roof timbers of the majority of rock-cut chaityas are modelled in stone to significant artistic effect. However, in some, real wood was utilised solely for decorative as opposed to functional purposes. In most of these instances, the wood has long since deteriorated.

How many doors were there in Karle Chaitya?

The entry is made up of three portals beneath a gallery, one leading to the centre and one to each of the side aisles. In all chaitya halls, over the gallery, the entire end of the hall is open, creating one large window through which all of the light is allowed.

Conclusion

These caves were built with endowments from several traders, Western Satraps of Saka descent, and Satavahana kings. Buddhists, who had become associated with commerce and manufacturing through their early association with traders, tend to locate their monastic establishments in natural geographic formations that were closer to major trade routes in order to provide lodging houses for travelling traders.

Today, the cave complex is a protected site under the Archaeological Surveillance Act. Karli is located in a region that divides North India from South India