| These are
Buddhist caves or monasteries where monks practiced their
austerities around the first century AD. And unlike the
artistic extravagance of Elephanta, they are spartan and
bare. Situated in the heart of Mumbai's National Park,
the complex contains more than a hundred tiny cells cut
into the flank of a hill, each fitted with a stone plinth
that evidently served as a bed. There is also a
congregation hall supported by huge stone pillars that
contains the dagoba, a kind of Buddhist shrine. And if
you pick your way up the hill you will find channels and
cisterns that are remnants of an ancient water system
that channeled rainwater into huge urns. In fact, Kanheri
is probably the only clue to the rise and fall of
Buddhism in Western India. |
