Khambhalida Buddhist Caves Temple, Gujarat

Address

Khambhalida Buddhist Caves Temple, Khambhalida, Rajkot district Gujarat 360370

Diety

Buddha

Introduction

Khambhalida Caves, are three Buddhist caves located in Jetpur in Gujarat, India. Khambalida is where Buddhism made a deep impact around the 4th century. Remnants of this can be seen in the clutch of 15 caves that have a chaitya-griha or a shrine in the centre. Intricate sculptures of Boddhisatvas, Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani flank the entrance of these limestone caves. Khambhalida Caves, also known as Rajkot Caves, are a set of three Buddhist caves. They are located near the Gondal town in the Rajkot district of Gujarat. They were discovered in the year 1958. Out of the three caves, the centre cave is named chaitya and is a worn out stupa. Maintained by the Archaeology Department of Gujarat. The Khambhalida Caves are located at a distance of 28 km from Gondal and about 65 km from Rajkot. The caves are situated on the banks of a spring, at the foot of small hills.

Puranic Significance

Two sentinel statues (the left one being the stone of Bodhisattva and the right one being that of Vajrapani) also stand guard atop a nearby cliff face which looks down on a hound of Buddhist Caves which date back to the 4th century AD. These caves date back to the 4th century AD and are believed to be the oldest caves in Rajkot. The Khambhalida Caves are being maintained by the Archaeology Department of Gujarat. The caves were cut out of limestone rocks. The central cave, called ‘Chaitya Grih’, contains the ruins stupa. There are two Bodhisattva sculptures on either side of this cave’s entrance. These intricately carved sculptures were found to be similar to the late Kushana-Kshatapa period. It is believed that Buddhist monks had meditated inside these caves during ancient times and that the spiritual vibrations can be felt to this day. There are 15 other caves surrounding the main Khambhalida Caves.