Imagine India’s earliest rock cut caves with glass like interiors that look as if they had been just made yesterday! The metallic lusture of the Mauryan monolithic pillars are well known as they exist at various places between Punjab, Bihar and Nepal. However, a series of Mauryan caves on Barabar and Nagarjuni hills (24 kms from Gaya in Bihar) is well worth a visit by connoisseurs of Indian art.

16 kms from Vanawar Dwar, on the Patna ... Gaya road brings us to these remote and desolate hill caves. One has to enjoy the little frisson of danger that looms from isolation on this stretch of uneven road. Don’t be unnerved by the mention of Hodgekins who was murdered here a century before Cunningham prepared his first archaeological report in 1868. On reaching the hill, the police picket greets you and possibly instills a sense of confidence. The adjoining Siddarth Rest House (managed by the district administration) is an ideal place to spend a day or two. The nearby Nagarjuni museum is the best place to start with the background review of the artistic traditions of the third century B.C.

Four of the Ashokan caves in the Barabar Hills have seven chambers and are collectively referred to as Satgarva. The Sudama or Nigrodha cave is the earliest in the series, dating back to the 12th regnal year of Ashoka (252 B.C) giving an impression of a beehive hut with double chambered halls and hemispherical roofs. The name Sudama ( a poor friend of Krishna) stems from a local legend suggesting his stay here in this cave. However, the Ashokan inscriptions dedicate this cave to the Ajivikas. The interior is dark but the polished walls are quite evident. Equally well polished is the Karna Chaupar, the single cell cave which was excavated seven years later. Vishwa Zopari cave is another interesting twin chambered cave. But the Loma Rishi cave is the most impressive of all. Based on beehive pattern, the conical roof is akin to the dwellings of ancient Rishis. The relief of elephants on the doorway in a semicircular pediment is followed by ends of rafters which was then common on wooden structures.

The largest among the three caves on the Nagarjuni hills (one km away form the Barabar hills) is the tunnel like Gopika cave, with inscriptions that refer to its excavation in 214 B.C when King Dasratha ascended the throne and bestowed the Nagarjuni caves to the Ajivikas. The other two caves are Vapiyaka (with a dried up well in the front) and the double chambered Vedaathika, entered through the cleft. Another remote Mauryan cave can be visited at Sitamarhi, 40 kms from Gaya.

Most of these Mauryan caves give an impression that the artists left them unfinished. Had they been favoured with time or pressed by royal orders, they would have created exquisite doorways with pictorial representations like the entrance at Loma Rishi cave. The interiors would have been polished more uniformly. The caves are believed to have been occupied by the Jains who expelled the Ajivikas. Kharavela, the Chedi king of Orissa, during his invasion of Magadh, carried away a Jain statue form one of these caves and finally, by the fifth century A.D., even the inscriptions were obliterated to make way for a fresh set of engravings by the Guptas. With the arrival of Muslims, the saints and faqirs acquired these caves, which provided a perfect hideaway.

Little is known about the Ajivikas or their founder Makkhali Gosala who was a cotemporary of Buddha and Mahavira. It was a period when more than 500 religious orders and their philosophies were flourishing. Most of them strongly opposed the Vedic system, especially the element of Brahmanical sacrifice and the monistic theories of the Upanishads. Ajivikas had a larger following which continued until the 13th century A.D. as evident form South Indian inscriptions. Unfortunately, one is solely dependent on references found in Jain or Buddhist literature where attemts have been made to defame rather than appreciate the merits of Ajivikas. Buddha is believed to have dubbed Makkhali as a stupid man and his doctrine as the worst while Mahavira is said to have confronted Makkhali with an unpleasant exchange of words.

Ajivikas refers to one who lives on the charity of others. They also went completely unclad, like the Jains. Though ahimsa was important to them, the core of their doctrine was Niyati (destiny) ... that destiny was the sole agent of all change. And unlike Jains or Buddhists, Ajivikas were not averse to the company of women, whom they used for their preaching and propaganda. RESOURCES Getting there : Barabar caves are about 24 kms from Gaya, which is about 100 kms south of Patna.To get there, take a train to Bela (from Gaya), a tonga from there for 10 kms and then it’s a five km walk to the two group of caves on the hill. The other more convenient option is to take the highway route and branch off from Vanavar Dwar from where it is 16 kms of further drive. Where to stay : The Siddarth Guest House adjoining the caves is the best and only place to stay near the c aves. Otherwise one has to return back to Gaya where accommodation options are numerous.

Shahid Akhter Shahid is a freelance writer based in New Delhi and his forte is history. Besides travel writing and photography he enjoys working on ORIGINS. If you are a serious traveler he will gladly talk to you about the places he knows about.