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walls and flat ceilings. These caves are oft visited by tourists looking for deeper insights into the art forms and architectural designs of the
Buddhist period. The caves are a focal point of interest for scholars, researchers and students too. A walk through Sana Caves takes you to exciting viharas, which refers to pillared verandahs containing one or two cells. These cells have rock cut benches inside them that were probably used for resting, sitting or taking shelter during the rains. Sana Caves is also known for its scenic beauty and provides a retreat to tourists wishing to enjoy the beauty and charm of the topographical landscapes beyond.
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amongst them. These caves were located in the precincts of the Sana Hill, which is located 25 km north-east of Una and witnessed the rise and fall of a once flourishing monastery. With several water tanks and shelters to their credit, Sana Caves were constructed on the three slopes of an elevated plateau sloping down to the waters of River Rupen on the western face of the elevation.
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of multiple tanks in this group of caves bears evidence to the importance given to water harvesting. With rock cut walls present on three sides and an oblong mouth on the other, these tanks were perfect for retaining water during the bleaker seasons. This architectural design has also been noticed in the
Kanheri caves near Mumbai in Maharashtra.
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Buddhism started spreading across the nation and
Gujarat in particular between the periods 27 B.C. to 470 A.D. Various archaeological remains and historical facts point to the development of embellishments and shelters in and around the areas of Somnath and Vadnagar. Sana Caves was the most prominent
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Footprints of
Buddhism in Gujarat can be traced back to 270 BC. This was the period when Ashoka the Great ruled Saurashtra and was striving to spread the teachings and philosophy of Gautam Buddha across his empire. The ideology of Buddhism started gaining roots in various places in Gujarat, including
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caves in western India and boasts of rock cut pillars, stupas, benches, chaityas, viharas, a pillared hall and various domes. The shelters have been carved at various levels on and around a hillock. Some of the best archaeological symbols representing the preaching
Buddhism can be seen at Sana Caves.
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Sana Caves of
Junagadh is a group of about 62 rock shelters which were carved out of soft rock. These caves were created in the period ranging between 1st century BC and 1st century AD and provided shelter to monks looking for refuge during the monsoons. Sana Caves are undoubtedly the oldest Buddhist
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There is another set of Sana
Buddhist Caves in Veraval - Somnath region, which is also located in the newly former Gir Somnath district. These caves are simply called as ancient Buddhist caves of Prabhas Patan, and not so much as Sana caves. Nonetheless, information about these caves has gotten mixed
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Buddhist caves of
Prabhas Patan are simple in design and only two in number. These two caves are believed to a part of Buddhist vihara from the 3rd and 4th century AD. Each is about 8.7 m x 9.45 m, and 2.5 m high with four square pillars. An opening connects them at the rear. The eastern cave has an
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These caves are distinctive in nature and are marked by their austere and simplistic designs. Most tourists notice a complete absence of engravings and ornate carvings—which are present in most of the other
Buddhist caves in Gujarat. The caves also contain three chaitya grihas, which possess apsidal
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The layout of Cave 48 is very different from the rest. It contains two halls of different dimensions. These halls contain benches around their perimeter. Most of the caves were carved at different heights and levels in the spur and could be approached by simple stairs cut into the rock. The presence
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Cave 26 and Cave 13 are different from the others. They have long verandahs with simple pillars resting on raised basements. These function as a support system for the beams above. The monasteries are also exquisitely designed with pillared verandahs which usually contain up to 4 cells at the back.
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The largest cave, Cave 2, is named Bhima-ni-Cori and is considered to be similar to Ebhala- Mandapa, which is located at Talaja. This cave is approximately 21 meters in depth and has a width of 18.3 meters. The ceiling is 5.3 meters high and provides ample space to tourists wishing to walk through
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Junagadh, Somnath, Velavar and the mouth of the River Indus—along with a host of other far flung areas in the state. The accounts written by
Chinese scholars and travelers of the likes of Hiuen Tsiang and I-Tsing bear testimony to the spread of Buddhism in these parts of the world.
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are located about 7 km south-east of Vearval and 2km north-east of Somnath Mahadev mandir. Do not confuse the caves in Prabhas Patan with the majestic Shana Dungar Buddhist Caves at Vankiya, which are located about 105 km far, easterly from this place.
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antechamber. Except for a row of niches on the outside there is no ornamentation. Buddhism, under Kshatrapa patronage was prevalent in the region during the early centuries of the Christian era.
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them. It also has six pillars which are located between the pilasters in front. One of the pillars depicts unique features of a concave neck between the drum and the dome.
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The Shana Dungar Buddhist Caves or simply called as Sana Buddhist Caves are located in Shana Vankiya in Una Taluka,
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There are two sets of Buddhist caves in two different places taking the name of Shana (or Sana) caves.
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Plan, section and drawings of pillars of Sana caves (Chaitya Cave and Bhima Chauri Vihara)
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The presence of benches around the hall is also an important feature of these caves.
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The rock cut carving includes 62 caves spread over the hill consisting
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The Buddhist Caves at Aurangabad: Transformations in Art and Religion
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Architecture of Shana Dungar Buddhist Caves, Una Taluk
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Architecture of Shana Buddhist caves of Prabhas Patan
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537:Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited.
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1144:Caves containing pictograms in India
419:town, about 38km south-easterly to
1129:Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India
513:Foreign influence on ancient India
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1124:Former populated places in India
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566:. Brill Publishers. p. 63.
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510:Sagar, Krishna Chandra (1992).
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1134:Buddhist monasteries in India
731:Junagadh Buddhist Cave Groups
1119:Indian rock-cut architecture
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897:Ghorawadi/Shelarwadi Caves
1139:Buddhist temples in India
115:20.9624188°N 71.2023475°E
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1067:Hathiagor Buddhist Caves
1062:Binnayaga Buddhist Caves
1003:Kondivite/Mahakali Caves
560:Brancaccio, Pia (2010).
1109:Buddhist caves in India
887:Mahad/Gandharpale Caves
932:Nasik/Pandavleni Caves
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120:20.9624188; 71.2023475
660:Pandavula Metta Caves
614:Indian Buddhist caves
205:Four Additional Sites
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962:Nadsur/Thanale Caves
655:Kotturu Dhanadibbalu
409:Gir Somnath district
796:Badami cave temples
736:Khapra Kodiya Caves
172:The Four Main Sites
154:Buddha's Holy Sites
111: /
84:Show map of Gujarat
1008:Mandapeshwar Caves
753:Kadia Dungar Caves
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937:Panhalakaji Caves
892:Ghatotkacha Caves
758:Khambhalida Caves
423:and 35km west of
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59:Show map of India
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857:Aurangabad Caves
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1093:India portal
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952:Pohale Caves
882:Ellora Caves
862:Bahrot Caves
847:Ajanta Caves
773:Talaja Caves
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698:Vulture Peak
665:Ramateertham
630:Adapur Caves
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543:. Retrieved
539:"Sana Caves"
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364:Vikramashila
274:Ellora Caves
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1072:Kolvi Caves
1044:Tulja Caves
942:Patan caves
907:Karad Caves
902:Karla Caves
872:Bhaja Caves
867:Bedse Caves
839:Maharashtra
768:Siyot Caves
726:Dhank Caves
640:Chandavaram
635:Belum Caves
314:Pataliputra
279:Kapilavastu
264:Chandavaram
238:Other Sites
118: /
94:Coordinates
1103:Categories
947:Pitalkhora
922:Kuda Caves
912:Khed Caves
819:Bagh Caves
763:Sana Caves
545:1 December
523:8172110286
498:References
421:Tulsishyam
354:Tilaurakot
329:Pushpagiri
183:Kushinagar
106:71°12′08″E
103:20°57′45″N
32:Sana Caves
21:Sana Caves
1054:Rajasthan
972:Wai Caves
829:Saru Maru
783:Karnataka
349:Udayagiri
339:Ratnagiri
294:Lalitgiri
249:Amaravati
221:Shravasti
178:Bodh Gaya
1029:Lenyadri
670:Sankaram
450:chaityas
359:Varanasi
324:Piprahwa
226:Vaishali
216:Sankissa
1019:In the
983:In the
718:Gujarat
476:History
413:Gujarat
304:Nalanda
299:Mathura
289:Kosambi
269:Devdaha
259:Bharhut
193:Sarnath
188:Lumbini
1021:Junnar
985:Mumbai
791:Aihole
570:
520:
446:stupas
425:Rajula
344:Sanchi
244:Ajanta
211:Rajgir
1023:area:
987:area:
685:Bihar
309:Nasik
568:ISBN
547:2013
518:ISBN
319:Pāvā
417:Una
411:of
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