Kanheri Caves :
These are Buddhist caves or monasteries
where monks practiced their austerities
around the first century AD. And unlike
the artistic extravagance of Elephanta,
they are spartan and bare. Situated in the
heart of Mumbai's National Park, the complex
contains more than a hundred tiny cells
cut into the flank of a hill, each fitted
with a stone plinth that evidently served
as a bed. There is also a congregation hall
supported by huge stone pillars that contains
the dagoba, a kind of Buddhist shrine. And
if you pick your way up the hill you will
find channels and cisterns that are remnants
of an ancient water system that channeled
rainwater into huge urns. In fact, Kanheri
is probably the only clue to the rise and
fall of Buddhism in Western India.
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