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| Image by StockSnap from Pixabay |
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has identified three more caves in the Trirashmi Buddhist cave complex, also known as Pandav Leni, near Nashik, Maharashtra.
The discovery in May has led archaeologists to believe that there may be hidden caves and invisible caves in the same area. In view of this possibility, the ASI plans to conduct an in-depth study of this hill.
“After the discovery of the caves, a detailed report has been submitted to the Aurangabad circle office. Two of the 3 caves were discovered when the cleaning work was on. We are planning to do a detailed survey of this mountain to check if there are more hidden caves,” stated by Rakesh Shende, senior conservation assistant of ASI, Nashik. After the search of two caves the team led to the third cave.
Trirashmi Caves are a group of 24 caves dated between 1BC and 6-7AD. The caves are located at the top of the hill and attract tourists. ASI staff found three new caves during the cleanup. The site of the Trirashmi Buddhist caves was first recorded in 1823 by Captain James Delamaine and is now an ASI protected area.
Preliminary experiments led archaeologists to believe that these could be older than Trirashmi caves. Atul Bhosekar, director of the Trirashmi Research Institute of Buddhism, Indic Language and Scripts based in Mumbai, said a detailed study of these caves may explain the chronology of Buddhist caves in Maharashtra.
"Whatever we could gather from archeological parameters, historical records, and a comparison with the nearby caves, such as Kanheri near Nashik, Karle-Bhaje near Pune, it appears that these newly discovered caves are in the rudimentary stage of building. Our prima facie guess is that these three caves were built before the other caves. An extensive study and proper documentation have to be done for us to ascertain the accurate age of these caves,” Rakesh Shinde stated.
“There could be still 2-3 more caves in this area that are yet to be discovered. The entire Trirashmi mountain has to be scanned in a proper way. There are 2 factors behind why these caves remained hidden for so long. The first documentation of the complex was done in 1823. At that time, there must be a dense forest in that area. Now also, people visit the caves or directly go to the top of the mountain. There are caverns that remain hidden in the bushes and the trees from the human eye. The third cave which we discovered was very difficult to reach,” Rakesh Shinde stated in the statement.
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