Pitalkhora Caves are situated in the Aurangabad District (renamed to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) of Maharashtra. These are excavated in the Satmala Range and continue till Ajanta. Pitalkhora, meaning ‘brazen glen’, is generally identified with Pitangalya, the residence of Yaksha Sankarin mentioned in the Buddhist text Mahamyuri. The text goes, “…. Pratishthane cha Khandakah | Pitangalyeshu Sankari Tarangavatyam Sukhavahah | Nasikye Sundaro yaksha Asango Bharukachchhake |.” The first place in the text is Pratishthana (modern Paithan), followed by Pitangalya, Tarangavati, Nasik, and Bharukachchha (modern Bharuch). The sequence of the places closely follows the ancient Pratishthana-Bharukachcha route.1 Pitalkhora is also identified with Petrigala of Ptolemy, confirming its location over the same ancient route.2
Pitalkhora occupied a key position at the crossing of routes from Pratishthana to Nasik towards the Konkan ports and routes going north towards the Tapi river valley to eventually reach the Barygaza (ancient Bharukachchha) port on the coast. The Satmala Range became the backbone connecting these ancient routes, and two essential cave complexes were located over this range, Pitalkhora and Ellora. Both are excavated on the same mountain range but far from the western coastal area. Their presence in the plateau suggests that they received substantial patronage. Such far-from-coast complexes’ prosperity depended on the abundant trade over the land routes connecting the seaports with inland metropolises. Nagaraju says the Pitalkhora complex was the most extensive complex at that time, accommodating about 120 monks at a time. Another large complex was Ajanta; however, it had only six excavations by the first century BCE, and it had a capacity of about 50 monks.
John Wilson was the first modern explorer to leave an account of the caves in 1853. He republishes accounts of Captain James Rose, who visited the caves in 1851. Rose writes, “…but when the Pipal-khora (the name of the ravine in which the caves are concealed) is gained, the scene of grandeur passes any description I can give. It is awfully and fearfully grand and beautiful.” Rose says only one excavation, the chaitya cave at the site, deserved a description as the rest were severely damaged. He describes a few paintings over the pillars. His guide told him that these caves had never been visited by any Europeans before; however, they were visited by Marathas and Brahmins, who came to bathe in the river below.3 The following significant account was from James Fergusson and James Burgess in 1880. They suggest foreign influence over the pillars of the vihara cave, stating that these pillars were exceptional and appear to be copied from some Persian or Assyrian examples, as evident from the double-winged animals resting above the capitals, which is not found elsewhere in India. Many original pillars were lost except eleven left with original shafts and fourteen left with fragments. The wooden ribs of the ceiling were also lost, except for the mortice holes. They opine it appears that during the work, the architects came across a layer of very soft rock that interfered with their work. The architects tried to offset this deficiency by building bases of pillars around the apse with large blocks of stone. They assigned the caves to the period of the first century CE.4
With help from Bhagwanlal Indraji, James Burgess published inscriptions from the cave complex in 1883. It was found that many donors were from the city of Pratishthana.5 It further supported the theory that Pitalkhora was on an ancient route connecting Pratishthana to the western coast and other inland cities. For a long time, until 1941, the caves did not gain attention from the scholar community. M G Dikshit brought back the complex to the attention of scholars by publishing his article in 1941 and later his PhD thesis, detailing new researchers and findings related to the site.6 ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) took up conservation activities in 1957-58 under the command of M N Deshpande. Some unique features were revealed during the clearing operations. In front of the chaitya was found a twelve-step staircase and a figure of yaksha bearing a Brahmi inscription. The clearance of the Vihara cave also revealed an entrance flanked by dvarapalas and elephant figures on the plinth. Reliquaries were discovered from the sockets over the drum of the stupa.7 Deshpande later published a monograph about the site in 1959. He places Pitalkhora on the ancient route that closely follows the modern Chalisgaon-Aurangabad-Paithan road.8 The subsequent critical study is from Vidya Dehejia, who attempted to chronologically sequence the Buddhist caves distributed over the Western Ghats. She assigns the earliest caves at the site to 50-40 BCE, stating that the newly discovered caves on the opposite side of the ravine were among the earliest at Pitalkhora. Some of these may belong to a phase before Bhaja and soon after Kondivte chaitya, the earliest excavation on the western ghats.9 Later, Nagaraju studied the architecture and sculptures at the site to assess the position of the complex amongst the other Buddhist complexes.10 S K Mittra published his thesis on these caves in 1997. He took into account all the previous studies, discovered a few new inscriptions, and carried out a detailed analysis of painted inscriptions.11
Pitalkhora Buddhist Cave Complex – The caves are excavated on either side at the head of a ravine. The rock is made of soft basalt, which allows the excavators to make large caves and halls. However, this softness is also the reason behind the fast deterioration and damage that many excavations are reduced to their bare minimum. All the caves belong to the Hinayana phase. The complex was occupied during the Mahayana phase, as paintings of that period are found over the pillars of the main Chaitya cave. There are a total of fourteen caves divided into two groups. The first group has ten caves, and the other group has four. The group of four caves was discovered in 1957-58 and belongs to the earliest construction phase at the site.
Cave No. 1 – The cave faces west and is located at the start of the ravine, at its lowest end. It has suffered much deterioration, leaving a few cells and walls remaining. Based on its plan, the cave is divided into three principal parts from left to right. The first part is a rectangular hall with three cells on its right wall and two in the back. The cells have benches inside. The second part is a rectangular hall with three cells on the right wall and three in the back. The third part is ruined; however, remnants of a few cells and benches have survived. An adjacent waterfall has a battering effect on the third part of the cave. The front façade has been completely gone without any traces.
Cave No. 2 – This cave is also much damaged. The front façade is completely damaged. It has a rectangular deep hall with four cells on the right and three on the left wall. The back wall has no cells but an extended bench. Nagaraju opines that the bench in the back wall is an unusual feature not generally seen in Buddhist caves. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether this bench is an original feature or a later addition. Due to the fragile nature of the rock, the caves have undergone repairs at various periods. Therefore, it is possible that initially, cells were provided in the back wall. When these cells were destroyed due to deterioration, the broken parts were demolished, and a plain bench was cut along the wall.12 Two beds facing each other were provided in all the cells. A cavity in the rear wall was provided to store belongings. During the conservation activities, Deshpande found a unique water management technique. A provision was made for pushing drained water out using a rock-cut drain with loose covering slabs. The drained water that would have otherwise flowed into Cave 3 is ingeniously diverted through a wide hole in its vaulted ceiling.
Cave No. 3 – This is the main chaitya cave of the complex. Like other caves in the complex, this is also severely damaged. It is an apsidal vaulted roofed hall, 26m long, 5m high, and 10.5m wide. It is divided into a nave and two side aisles by a row of 37 pillars. Only a few original pillars have survived; the rest are modern restoration. Twelve pillars have survived in total, and nine have survived in fragments, the rest of which are modern restorations. The pillars are simple octagonal shafts with a slight taper at the top, suggesting their affinity for early wooden architecture. The pillars support a quadrantal roof with stone ribs above the aisles and a barrel vault roof with curved wooden rafters above the nave. The stonework is wholly lost except for the remains of mortice.
The stupa at the back was partly rock-cut and partly structural. It is the only such stupa in the whole repertoire of Buddhist caves in Western India. It has survived only with its rock-cut drum and partial masonry dome. Crystal reliquaries have been recovered from five oblong sockets carved on this drum. A hollow chamber at the top of the drum was to receive some principal relics. The idea would be to enshrine the relics in the space provided and put the structural part above to cover the shrine. Traces of paintings can be seen on the original twelve pillars. These paintings have figures of Buddha and Bodhisattvas in different postures, standing and sitting with hands in various mudras. The square spaces between the wooden ribs of the vaulted ceiling were once plastered and painted. A line of mortice holes in the front near the entrance suggests that there was once a front screen in wood.
Inscriptions:
- Lithic Inscriptions: Three inscriptions were found in this cave. Two inscriptions are engraved over the pillars, and one inscription is found over a detached image of a yaksha lying under debris in front of the cave. The two pillar inscriptions mention donations from different families hailing from Pratishthana (modern Paithan). Pratishthana was the capital town of the early Satavahana dynasty. It witnessed a flourishing trade, and the traders travelled to the western coastal ports, thus passing through Pitalkhora on their way. As many traders embraced Buddhism during that period, it is not surprising to see donations from wealthy trade communities to support Buddhist chaityas and monasteries.
- On the 10th pillar of the right row in the Chaitya cave13 – it reads, “The pillar, the gift of Mitradeva of the Gadhi family, from Pratishthana (Paithan)”. As gadhi means perfume, thus Mitradeva was a perfume trader hailing from Pratishthana.
- On the 11th pillar of the right row in the Chaitya cave14 – it reads, “The pillar, gift of the sons of Samghaka, from Patithana.”
- On the palm of a yaksha image found in the debris in front of Cave 315 – reads, “Kanhadasena hiramnakarena kata”, suggesting that the yaksha image was curved by a sculptor named Kanhadasa, hailing from Hiranya.
- Painted Inscriptions: These inscriptions were first noticed by M K Dikshit; however, he needed help to decipher them successfully due to soot and dust. Later, M K Deshpande placed these records in the 5th—6th century CE but was required to provide proper readings. S K Mittra was the first scholar to offer an appropriate reading of these inscriptions. There are ten inscriptions in total.
- Donation from an anonymous donor16 – “The meritorious gift (of an anonymous donor) which can be seen (in the painting of Lord Buddha) and donations. May whatever merit is in this, be for (betterment of his) mother, father, ancestors, and all sentient beings. He is happy over this.”
- Donation of Vishnu17 – “Donation by Vishnu, the son of Pramadavana. The merit of this donation should be for the good of the sentient beings.”
- Donation of Buddhadasa18 – The record registers the donation of the mother of Sakya-bhikshu Buddhadasa, and its religious merit is dedicated to the good of all.
- Donation of Kanhadama(sa)19 – “A donation of Kanhadasa for the spiritual merit of all sentient beings”
- Donation of Hakusiri20 – The record starts with the usual donative formula, Deyadharmaoyam. It is followed by the donor’s name, Sakya Bhiksh Dhamma hemo, a resident of Mayatara. The name Hakusiri is also found among the lines.
- A mutilated sixth-century CE record21 – “Deyadham (dharmo) yam Sakya (a floral pattern) bhikshu (ksho) bhakra (ku) ma, dvapya ya (da) da tra (tu) pu an (ta) sa da (tada), tupvavabhava sa (a floral pattern)”
- A mutilated short inscription22 – the word “Chapala”, the name of the donor, is legible
- Another short mutilated inscription23 – the word “deyadharmaoyam” is legible
- Another short mutilated inscription24 – the word “dukkhave” is legible
- Another short inscription25 – M K Dikhsit first noticed this inscription and read it as “Sakyabhikshu Rathasya suvrana pratima”. Mittra mentions that this inscription is not traceable anymore, and the words suvarna pratima are not found in the remaining parts of the inscription.
Cave No. 4 (Vihara Cave) – This excavation is in a much-ruined state; however, it would have been a magnificent edifice in its prime. It is a square hall with seven cells in the back wall and six in the eastern wall, the latter of which has not survived. Cells are provided with one, two, or three beds. There are a total of 22 beds overall. All the cells have grated windows on the front. The ceiling of the cells is barrel vaulted with curved beams and crossing rafters. This is the only excavation that has barrel vault roofs for cells. The doorways of the cells carry chaitya arches decorated with dentils, making ends of beams. The semicircular portion of the arches is decorated with a half-lotus motif topped with some lattice work. The doorway pilasters have bell-shaped capitals followed by an inverted pyramidal member crowned by addorsed animals, horses, lions, elephants, and bulls. Except for bulls, all other animals are shown with wings. These winged animals let Fergusson suggest foreign influence from Persia and Assyria. The hall had a matrix of pillars arranged in three rows, and only the front row survived. It is the only vihara with pillars, as pillars are not generally found in viharas. However, these might be required here due to the fragile nature of the rock. The façade of the cave was once elaborately decorated. Most of it has weathered away, leaving only the traces of a few sculptures. A row of chaitya arches with a vedika pattern and a sculpture of a yaksha/yakshi or mithuna couple are traceable from the remains.
In front of this vihara is a large court shared with Cave 3. The court is at a lower level. A flight of eleven steps connects the court with the vihara. Parapets on either side of the stairway were provided to cover the first nine steps. The entrance to the staircase has dvarapalas on either side, one holding a spear and another a shield. To the right of this doorway is a three-hooded snake facing east. The hoods have water spouts to function as water fountains. The watermarks on the spouts are very evident. The rainwater drainage made in the ceiling of Cave 3 was connected to this. Over the head of each dvarapala is an elephant in profile, with their trunks missing. Over the left elephant is a damaged figure of a kinnara. Between these two elephants was an oblong panel of Gaja-Lakshmi, now removed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai. The whole panel is pieced together from the fragments unearthed in front of Cave 4. Goddess Lakshmi is shown seated over a lotus with her soles touching each other. She is holding lotus stems in her two hands. On either side of her are two standing elephants holding water pitchers in their trunks in the posture of pouring water over the goddess.
The plinth of the platform has a series of nine elephants and a sculpture of a horse at the end. The elephants are accompanied by their mahouts standing between the forelegs and trunk. The figures of mahouts have only survived for their feet in situ. The elephants are bereft of tusks, but there are holes to attach to tusks made of ivory, wood, or stone. The horse has a male figure in front and a chauri-bearer at the back. It probably depicts Buddha’s Great Departure theme. After this is a sculpture of a seated lady with her attendants; she is shown seated below an umbrella held by an attendant, and the latter survives only with his left foot. The last two sculptures, the horse and the lady, are entirely obliterated.
Nagaraju opines that the front court was an afterthought as the staircase has been provided on its left end rather than in the centre. Also, this frontcourt is at a lower level than the caves, probably to balance the high-level front facade decorations of the vihara cave. It is generally seen that the vihara is excavated with two levels so that it balances the height of the adjoining chaitya cave. However, Pitalkhora has only one level in the vihara. As we find decoration of the front facade at a higher level, 12m above the floor, this suggests that the initial plan was to excavate two levels; however, it was later abandoned due to the fragile nature of the rock.
Inscriptions: A total of eleven inscriptions have been found in this cave. Five of these belong to the family of the royal physician, Magila. Three inscriptions were mutilated when provisions were made in Cave 4 for an opening in a lintel to allow ventilation for Caves 2, 3, and 4.26. Dehejia opines Magila may be of Yavana origin.27 The alphabets of these records belong to an early phase of Brahmi script closely related to the Ashokan edicts, i.e. Girnar Edict. Luders assigned these royal physician family inscriptions to 250-200 BCE.28
- An inscription in the vihara29 – only fragment could be read, “….trasa Magilasa danam”
- An inscription in the vihara30 – only fragments could be read, “….Rajave…..sa”
- The third inscription in the vihara31 – reads, “Gift of the royal physician Magila (or Mrigila), the son of the Vachhi (or mother of the Vatsa family).”
- The fourth inscription in the vihara32 – reads, “Gift of Datta, daughter of the royal physician Magila, the son of the Vachhi (or Vatsi mother).”
- The fifth inscription in the vihara33 – reads, “Gift of Dattaka, son of the royal physician Magila, the son of the Vatsi (mother).”
- On a pilaster in the left wall of the vihara34 – it reads, “…..ya bhichhuniya dana[m] tha[bho]”
- In the front of the vihara, above the sculpture of a horse35 – This inscription was discovered by M N Deshpande in 1959 while clearing the mass of debris accumulated in the courtyard in front of Cave 4 – the inscription reads, “[Dhe]nuk[aka] tasa Samasa-putena kata”, suggesting a sculptor named Kanha, son of Sama, from Dhenukataka was called in to execute the sculpture
- An inscription of Bhutarakhita36 – it is engraved over a pilaster on the right and was discovered by S K Mittra during his field studies (p. 14). It is a single-word inscription reading “Bhutarakhitaya” and appears to be a pilgrim record.
- Three mutilated inscriptions on the lintel of three cells37 – S K Mittra discovered these during his field studies. The contents are much mutilated; only a few words are legible, “Rajavejasa”, “Vacchiputasa”, and “danam“.
Cave No. 5 – This cave is also so ruined that it looks like a natural cavern. It had a rectangular hall with five cells on either side and four in the back. The central two cells in the back were provided with an inner cell each. All cells were supplied with benches. Adjacent to this cave is an apsidal hall, partly rock-cut and structural. This hall once had a stupa inside. In the front are two benches on the sides.
Inscriptions:
- A fragment of an inscription on the fallen-off facade of the cave38 – dateable to 170-150 BCE – reads, “da (de) Ya, aviseniya”, (of the) workshop (of the) artisans. M N Deshpande reads it as the guild of bankers.
Cave No. 6 – It is a rectangular hall with cells on all sides. Remains of four cells in the back, six in the left, and five in the right wall can be traced. All the cells except for two have two beds on opposite sides. The beds in the back wall are decorated with relief work in the front. The back wall has a projecting cornice supported by quadrantal brackets. Over the cornice is a row of stepped merlons.
Cave No. 7 – It is a rectangular hall with fifteen cells in total, five on each side. Each cell is approached via a step in the front. All cells are provided with benches. One cell in the back wall has an exceptional treatment with the decoration of stepped merlons over a cornice supported over quadrantal brackets. The ceiling of this cell is vaulted. Grooves were provided for wooden ribs. Caves 8 and 9 are in significantly damaged condition. Thus, we are skipping the description of these caves in the article.
Cave No. 10 – The second group of caves starts with this excavation. This group lies opposite the last cave of the first group, across the river Aruna. No. 10 is a unique chaitya excavation. The excavation is carried out deep, leaving projecting rocks on either side, forming a small forecourt in the front. A rough doorway is hewn in the front wall. A semi-circular niche was tried above the doorway but left incomplete. A large window is carved in the niche for light. The inside apsidal hall is about 17.5 feet deep and 8.5 feet wide. There is a stupa at the apse. Its drum tapers upwards, a feature not noticed elsewhere. At its top is a vedika railing followed by a semicircular dome (anda). A portion of harmika has survived.
Cave No. 11 – The front portion of this cave has fallen. Inside, there are three rock-cut stupas. The two front stupas are dilapidated, but the third innermost stupa is well-preserved. The innermost stupa is inside a cell and has its harmika intact. A lotus chhatra (umbrella) is carved over the ceiling above the harmika. It appears that initially, the stupa inside the chamber was conceived; however, additional stupas were added later.
Cave No. 12 – Cave Nos. 12 & 13 share the same forecourt. These both are chaitya excavations. It is an apsidal hall with a stupa at its apse. The hall is pillarless and very narrow, 7.5 feet wide. It is 21.5 feet deep and 15 feet high. The stupa has survived with its base and anda. An oblong socket was made above the anda to receive the stem of the harmika. The base and the anda joint are decorated with the vedika pattern. The centre of each side of this vedika has sculptures of male and female heads. The corners have bracket figures supporting the rectangular portion above. This type of decoration is unique and cannot be found elsewhere.
Cave No. 13 – This is an apsidal chaitya hall, about 27.5 feet deep, 15 feet wide, and 15 feet high. Fourteen pillars arranged in two rows divide the hall into a central nave and two aisles. All the pillars have fallen, leaving only a few stumps in situ. The vaulted roof has stone ribs and rafters. The stupa has only survived with its drum.
Sculptures from Museums – Sculptural panels from the excavation at Pitalkhora are housed in the galleries of various museums, including the National Museum in Delhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum) in Mumbai.
Couple – The sculpture shows a female and a male figure standing beside each other. The female holds the male’s right hand in her left hand. The male wears an elaborate and peculiar headdress. The female figure also has elaborate braids on either side of her forehead. She wears a five-stringed waistband over her slender waist.
The Great Departure – This sculptural panel was found during the excavation of 1957-58. It is the only panel at Pitalkhora that depicts a scene from Buddha’s life. The panel is broken at its upper right corner; what is left is well preserved. In the background is a torana (gate) from which a horse, Kanthaka, emerges, with an attendant behind it holding an umbrella. The horse is caparisoned and well decorated. In front of the horse is a male figure, probably Chhandaka. He acts as a torch-bearer and is ready to move forward. As an attendant is shown holding an umbrella over the horse, this scene symbolically represents the departure of Prince Siddhartha from his royal palace in search of knowledge. This scene is generally referred to as Mahabhinishkramana in Buddhist texts.
A Royal Couple – This sculpture was found in the debris in front of Cave No. 4. The panel depicts a royal couple; the king is shown seated over a pedestal covered with an animal hide, and his queen sits beside him on his right thigh. The queen wears elaborate jewellery, and her face is turned towards the king. On her right are three female attendants. One attendant holds a basket from which the queen takes a few objects. It may be a basket of flowers.
Yaksha – This sculpture was discovered in the debris in front of Cave 3. This was originally standing to the left door jamb of Cave 3 as a dvarapala. Its counterpart sculpture was also recovered from the debris but was significantly damaged. He is shown wearing a large wig that has elephant-like ears. Many scholars generally consider this figure among the finest pieces of Indian art. One of the prominent features attributed to this categorisation is the smile he bears and his rich jewellery. Robert Decaroli suggests that it may be Sankarin, the resident spirit deity mentioned in the Buddhist text Mahamayuri, as he is represented in royal garb but with elephant’s ears, suggesting his royal status but primitive attributes of a spirit deity.39 However, as we have recovered his counterpart in the same debris, it is more appropriate to take him as the dvarapala of the complex.
Yaksha – This magnificent sculpture was unearthed from the debris in front of Cave 3. This corpulent figure is one of the few early Indian sculptures carved in the round. He is shown standing with his hands raised above, holding a bowl. His hairs are arranged in two distinct rows of curls over his forehead. He wears large spiral earrings with six spirals. On his neck is a necklace with human head amulets. These human heads are arranged, looking like an inverted triratna Buddhist symbol. This is an excellent example of synthesising the earlier Yaksha cult with Buddhism. M N Deshpande identifies it with Yaksha Sankarin, a resident of Pitangalaya, as mentioned in Mahamayuri, a Buddhist text. A Brahmi inscription on the right palm of the figure mentions the name of the sculptor as Kanhadasa from Hiranya. The inscription dates back to the 2nd century BCE.
1 Deshpande, M N (1959). The Rock-cut Caves of Pitalkhora in the Deccan published in Ancient India, vol. V. p. 69
2 Deshpande, M N (1959). The Rock-cut Caves of Pitalkhora in the Deccan published in Ancient India, vol. V. p. 69
3 Wilson, John (1853). Second Memoir on the Cave-Temples and Monasteries, and other Ancient Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina Remains of Western India published in the Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. IV. Pp. 357-359
4 Fergusson, James & Burgess, James (1880, reprint 1969). The Cave Temples of India. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. Delhi. pp. 242-246
5 Burgess, Jas. (1883). Report on the Buddhist Cave Temples and their Inscriptions. Trubner & Co. London. pp. 83-84
6 M G Dikshit (1941). Fresh Light on the Pitalkhora Caves published in the Journal of the Bombay Historical Society, vol. VI, Nos 1-2. pp. 112-121
7 Indian Archaeology – 1957-58. p. 65-66
8 Deshpande, M N (1959). The Rock-cut Caves of Pitalkhora in the Deccan published in Ancient India, vol. V. pp. 66-93
9 Dehejia, Vidya (1972). Early Buddhist Rock Temples. Cornell University Press. New York. ISBN 080140651X. p. 155
10 Nagaraju, S (1981). Buddhist Architecture of Western India. Agam Kala Prakashan. Delhi. pp. 283-293
11 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad.
12 Nagaraju, S (1981). Buddhist Architecture of Western India. Agam Kala Prakashan. Delhi. p. 284
13 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 21-22
14 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 21-22
15 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 32-33
16 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 41
17 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 43
18 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 44
19 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 48
20 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 50
21 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 51-52
22 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 52
23 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 53
24 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 54
25 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 55
26 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 14
27 Dehejia, Vidya (1972). Early Buddhist Rock Temples. Cornell University Press. New York. ISBN 080140651X. p. 143
28 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 24
29 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 23-27
30 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 23-27
31 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 23-27
32 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 23-27
33 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 23-27
34 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 31-32
35 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 27-29
36 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 29-31
37 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. pp. 36-37
38 Mittra, S K (1997). Pitalkhora: Art and Architecture, a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Dr. Balasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. p. 34
39 Decaroli, Robert (2004). Haunting the Buddha – Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195168380. p. 77
Acknowledgement: Some of the photos above are in CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain from the collection released by the Tapesh Yadav Foundation for Indian Heritage.