Manmodi Caves, Pune_ Voiceover

Existence

The Manmodi caverns are a collection of rock-cut caverns that were allegedly constructed during the Western Kshatrapa period along trade routes that connected the coast to the Western Ghats.Although there is no record of Nahapana ruling the region, numismatic evidence shows that the well-known monarch Nahapana may have been a time-contemporary and had the title of Mahakshatrapa.

The caves are separated into three groups: the Amba-Ambika group, the Bhimsonka group, and the Bhutalinga group, which includes an inscription by Ayama, Nahapana’s minister in 124 CE. The Bhutalinga group was a donation from a Yavana donor.

Amba-Ambika Caves

The incomplete Chaitya cave and a number of decrepit cells and viharas make up these caves, which are located at the southeast end of the hill. It features a large window and two octagonal columns, but it is unfinished because it has not even been begun.

Inscriptions on the unfinished surface also show that people visited it long after the project was finished. A dagoba and chhatri (umbrella) are carved on the roof of a cell on the east side of the cave, but the staff has been shattered. Additionally, there are five cells above that include three disfigured, possibly Jain, figures.

The goddess Ambika and the Sassanadevi, or 23rd Tirithankara Neminatha, are honored in the Amba-Ambika caves. A standing and seated image of Tirithankara has existed inside one of these cells, but they are now almost completely gone. Today, the desecrated Jain statue is revered as a Shiva goddess.

Life

The great Satavahana monarch Nahapana was defeated by Gautamiputra Satakarni, another powerful Satavahana king, in around 124 CE (according to M.K. Dhavalikar) or after 71 CE (according to R.CC Fynes). In a collection of coins at Jogalthalmbi, Nashik District, Nahapana coins have been discovered to have been overstruck by Gautamiputra coins, providing evidence of this defeat. Furthermore, Nashik Cave №3, Inscription №2, claims that Nahapana, or “Khakhrata’s race,” was eradicated, implying that all of his potential heirs were probably slaughtered.

Since Satakarni notes that Ushavadata, rather than Nahapana, ruled the lands that Gautamiputra conquered, initially it was thought by scholars like James Burgess that Gautamiputra and Nahapana were not contemporaneous.

It is thought that Buddhism’s expansion in the Deccan region was aided by the rise of the powerful Satavahanas and Ikshavakus. The numerous Buddhist monastic sites that arose throughout this time provide as proof of this.

Nahapana is depicted as being tolerant of both Buddhism and Hinduism in an inscription. These monasteries were typically placed in strategic locations, such as by large cities or trade routes. For instance, the ones in Maharashtra were situated along busy trade routes, whereas Bharhut’s were situated in a region rich in minerals.

The largest collection of caves was in Junnar, which was close to the Naneghat pass. Amravati and Nagarjunakonda were close to the prosperous capitals of the Satavahanas and Ikshvakus, while Kanheri was close to the port of Kalyan. Other monasteries could be found near busy roads or in the fertile and abundant Krishna Delta.

Hue

According to Professor A. K. Narayan, the Sarvastivadins were probably the first civilization to depict the Buddha in the first century BC.The Buddha was not to be represented in a concrete form, such as through painting, carving, or pottery, because he had transcended physical existence. This opened the door for Mahayanists to create a three-tiered system of Buddha images. The stupa was the object of reverence before to the fourth century CE because there were no images of the Buddha inside any of the rock-cut monasteries or other buildings.

Before samples from the Kanheri and Ajanta caves (c. 462–478CE) were found, Buddhist stupa did not have images of the Buddha. Buddhist architecture in India spans a variety of styles and dates back to the reign of Ashoka in the 2nd century BC, when caves were carved out in the Nagarjuna and Barabar hills (District Gaya). More than 1200 caverns, many of which contained inscriptions, were carved during the rule of the Satavahanas and Kshatrapas in 75 different locations.

There were many caverns that were created, but Junagadh, Sana, Talaja, Dhank, Jhinjhurijhara, and Khambalida among the most significant. Mahayana Buddhist art began to develop in western India around 450 CE. Maharashtra is highly rich in Mahayana Buddhist caves, which are decorated with sculptures, murals, and skillfully dug caves.

Whisper

On the first coins of the Western Satraps, the Kharosthi script was used alongside the Brahmi script and Greek script. But by the time of Chastana, it had been forgotten, and the only writing system still used to represent the Prakrit language used by the Western Satraps was the Brahmi script.

The legend was translated into Prakrit and printed in Greek script on Nahapana coins. The coins of Castana contained a readable legend in Greek writing as well, which was also the case.Even though the Greek legend continued to have aesthetic appeal after these two kings, it seemed to lose all of its original meaning. By the fourth century CE, Rudraksinha II’s coins had a nonsensical legend written in tainted Greek.

In conclusion, the Greek script legend on coins of the Western Satraps became increasingly useless, probably for purely aesthetic reasons, and the Kharosthi script was supplanted by the Brahmi script and Greek script for writing the Prakrit language.

Prakrit, which is thought to be a Sanskrit ancestor, was utilised by early kings until the Western Kshatrapa era. The first Sanskrit inscription was written in 150 CE, under the reign of Rudraman II.This inscription is significant because it may have served as a model for the lengthy Sanskrit inscriptions that were created during the Gupta Empire Period.

Fresh

The caves, which are on top of the hill, receive little traffic, thus a lot of plant flourishes there. The caverns are in precarious condition. The steps that were cut into the mountain are going away. Water flow both within and outside the caves has left a natural marking. The weathering impact is causing the chaitya to deform.

The heritage monument hasn’t received any upkeep, and the three caverns are in bad shape. The Amba-Ambika Caves’ stone sculptures are corroding. These caves’ inscriptions on its pillars are no longer legible.There are currently only 8 inscriptions visible in the Amba- Ambika caves. The caverns of the Manmodi group are eroding.

Three different sets of excavations may be found on the Manmodi Hill, which is 3 km south of Junnar. The first group lies a little further up the northwest face of the hill, close to where it curves northeast, while the second group is the closest to the road. The Bhutalinga, Amba-Ambika, and Bhimasankar caves are the three names for these caverns.