Talaja Caves

The Talaja Caves are located in Bhavnagar district of the Indian state of Gujarat at Talaja. The rock cuts are carved out into deserted conical rocks. The rock cut group include 30 caves among which about 15 are water tanks. The cave has unique architecture known as Ebhal Mandapa. The halls are plain. "On the facade there are chaitya windows with a broad bank below them." The chaitya and cells were carved during a time of Buddhist influence in the 2nd century BC.^[1]

Talaja Caves
Talaja caves, external view.
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Location	Talaja, Gujarat
Coordinates	21.355474°N 72.032298°E / 21.355474; 72.032298

During the Kshatrapas' regime in the 2nd century CE, Jain emblems were carved on the cells and the halls.^[2][3] The caves were carved out before rock cut architecture begins in the Maharashtra.^[4] According to some historians, the date of caves can not be traced out, however some believe that carving started by the end of 1st century CE.^[5]

• 
  Inside view of a Talaja Cave.

References

1. "Talaja, Palitana - Shatrunjaya, Rajkot, Tourism Hubs, Gujarat, India". www.gujarattourism.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
2. Archaeological Survey of India, Vadodara Circle. "Talaja Caves". Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
3. Census of India, 1991: Kheda. Government Photo Litho Press. 1992.
4. "Talaja". Gujarat Tourism, Govt. of Gujarat. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
5. Brancaccio, Pia (2010). The caves at Aurangabad : Buddhist art in transformation. Leiden: Brill Publishers. p. 63. ISBN 978-9004185258.

Further reading

• Fergusson, James; Burgess, James (6 May 2013). The cave temples of India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 201–202. ISBN 978-1108055529.

• India portal