Book explores Maharashtra's Buddhist caves, Kanheri one of the most significant heritage sites in Mumbai region

Dr Suraj Pandit’s new book, in Marathi, on Maharashtra’s Buddhist caves will be released online on Sunday

Deep within the concrete jungle of Mumbai sits the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. And inside this is located the famous Kanheri caves — 129 caves in a single location.

“Kanheri is one of the most significant Buddhist heritage sites in the Mumbai region,” says Dr Suraj Pandit, an archaeologist and historian, who is the Head of Department of Buddhist Studies at Sathaye College, Vile Parle, in Mumbai.

Pandit’s new book in Marathi on Maharashtra’s Buddhist caves will be released online on Sunday by Dr AP Jamkhedkar in presence of Dr Suhas Bahulkar, Dr Deepak Kannal, Vibha Oak and Dr Keshavchaitanya Kunte.

More than 80 per cent of the caves in India are located in Maharashtra; a large number of them are associated with Buddhism.

In the book, Pandit speaks about 100-odd caves spread across various regions – the Mumbai cluster, Lonavala-Pune cluster, Nashik cluster, Marathwada cluster, Satara-Karad cluster and the Ratnagiri-Dapoli cluster.

As far as the Mumbai region is concerned, he mentions the Kanheri caves, Mahakali caves, Mandapeshwar caves, Jivdani caves and a lost site of Padan.

Pandit, who has researched extensively on Kanheri, said the site gained popularity and importance as a Buddhist centre of North Konkan. It also needs to be noted that Kanheri was surrounded by several port cities. According to him, Kanheri has stood witness to multifold power shifts and political changes in 1,600 years. Merchants, farmers, artisans from a wide geographical areas have made donations.

The chronological time span of Kanheri is from 1st Century BCE to 11th Century CE. Kanheri is also close to the ancient trade route of Sopara to Kalyan.

Chinese Buddhist monk and traveller Xuanzang visited these places to learn the form of Buddhism existing in this part of the subcontinent.

Xuanzang stayed in Kanheri – and he wrote very highly of the monks and acharyas.

During his visit to monasteries in India, Xuanzang collected various Buddhist manuscripts from the Krishnagiri (Kanheri) – and later translated it from Sanskrit to Chinese.

Ekadashmukh Avalokiteshvara Dharini is one of the important texts that he translated.

While leaving Kanheri, he got himself a wooden image of Avalokiteshvara (probably with 11 heads). He took it with him to China, which led to formation and spread of the eleven-headed Avalokiteshwara cult in the neighbouring country.