The Rock-cut structures present the most spectacular piece of ancient Indian art specimen. Most of the rock-cut structures were closely associated with various religions and religious activities. In the beginning, remarkable Buddhist and Jain rock-cut structures were built in areas such as Bihar in the east and Maharashtra in the west. Numerous caves were excavated by the Buddhist monks for prayer and residence purposes. The best example of this is Chaityas (prayer halls) and viharas (monasteries). Inside these rock-cut structures, windows and balconies and gates were carved as huge arch shaped openings.

Early Caves

Natural caves were the earliest caves used by local inhabitants. The natives used such caves for different purposes like places of worship and shelters. The Mesolithic period (6000 BC) saw the first use and modifications of the early caves, a fact manifested by archaeological evidences. The overhanging rocks embellished with petroglyphs or rock-cut designs that were created by carving, chiseling and abrading part of rock surfaces forms the early instances of such rock caves. The Bhimbetka rock shelters inside the tiger reserve called ‘Ratapani Wildlife Santuary’ located on the verge of the Deccan Plateau in Raisen District in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, illustrates the settlement of human life in these rock shelters some hundreds of thousands years ago as also of the initiation of Stone Age in India. UNESCO declared this place as a World Heritage Site in 2003 which bears several Stone Age rock paintings, some of which are more than 30,000 years old. Early manifestations of dance art are also palpable from these cave

Cave Temples

The Western Deccan region consists of many early cave temples that date back to a period between 100 BC and 170 AD. Most of these cave temples stood as Buddhist monasteries and shrines. Presumably these caves had wooden structures that decayed with time. The Bhaja Caves tracing back to the 2nd century BC that include a total of 22 rock-cut caves situated in city of Pune, Maharashtra; the Bedse or Bedsa Caves dating back to around 1st century BC, located in Maval taluka, Pune, Maharashtra; the Karla or Karle Caves or Karla Cells that developed as ancient Indian Buddhist rock-cut cave shrines between 2nd century BC to 5th century AD, situated in Karli, Maharashtra; the Kanheri Caves comprising of a group of rock-cut monuments dating back between 1st century BCE to 10th century CE, situated  within the forests of the ‘Sanjay Gandhi National Park’ in  the western outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra; and some of the famous Ajanta Caves comprising of 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE to around 480 or 650 CE, located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra are counted as the earliest surviving cave temples in India.

The Buddhist missionaries employed the caves as shrines and shelters conforming to the religious concepts of asceticism leading a monastic life. The ancient Buddhist and Jain cave basadis, monasteries and temples are instances of early rock-cut architecture. The caves at Kanheri and Ajanta saw eventual occupation by the Buddhist monks. Indications of association between the religion and commerce are palpable from the relics of the caves. Sources mention that traders many a times travelled the active international trade routes through India in company of the Buddhist missionaries. For instance the Bhaja Caves situated 400 feet above the Bhaja village lies on a significant age-old trade route that ran from the Arabian Sea eastward to the Deccan plateau. Buddhism ideology advocated trade practices and these Buddhist monasteries often provided lodging facilities for traders who stopped over in these Buddhist abodes while on trade routes.