Work / monument · monument

Bhaja Caves

2nd century BCE · 2nd century BCE

The Bhaja Caves are a group of twenty-two rock-cut Buddhist caves near Lonavala in Maharashtra, India, dating from about the second century BCE. They include one of the earliest chaityas, or prayer halls, with a horseshoe-shaped facade imitating wooden architecture, and early relief sculptures. Lay and merchant donors recorded their gifts in Prakrit inscriptions.

Bhaja Caves
Image: Elroy Serrao · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bhaja Caves. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bhaja-caves
MLA
“Bhaja Caves.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bhaja-caves. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bhaja Caves.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bhaja-caves.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bhaja Caves’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/bhaja-caves (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻