GRIDHRAKUTA CAVE 1
25.005600,85.495800
Description
What appears to be a modified natural sacred cave is situated on Gridhrakuta hill (also called Pandao, Pandava, and Rishi hill), a spur of Chhatha hill, and at a linear distance of about 3 km south-east from New Rajagriha. Marked on the fold-out location map of KURAISHI & GOSH (1959) and STRASSER (1991). Localities: N 25°00'00": E 85°29'35" = Cave (STRASSER 1991 map). N 25°00'15": E 85°29'50" = Chata Giri / Gridhra Kuta (STRASSER 1991 map). N 25°00'25": E 85°29'40" = Chata Giri / Gridhra Kuta (KURAISHI & GOSH 1991 map). Literary sources: 415 A.D.: »Entering the valley and going beyond the mountains fifteen li south-east you come to the peak of "Ki-tche". At the distance of three li from the summit of this mountain there is a cave facing south. Foe sat there in meditation. At thirty paces to the north-east there is a stone grotto; A nan (Ananda) sat there meditating [note 1]. The demon of the heaven, "Phi siun", changed into a vulture, stopped before the cave and terrified A nan. Foe by his supernatural power opened the rock, seized A nan by the arm with his hand, and stayed his fear, the traces of the bird and the hole where Foe put forth his hand exist to this day. It is thus that the hill is the throne of the four Buddhas. All the Arhans had also there every one his cave, where they sat to meditate. The number of these caves is several hundred« (FAXIAN circa 415 translated by LAIDLAY in KITTOE 1847b: 960). 1871: »Hwen Thsang (XUANZANG or: Hiouen Thsang, Hiuen Tsiang, Hsüan Chwang, Hsuan Thang, Hsüan Tsang, Huan Chwang, Yuan Chwang, Yuén Chwàng 648 for 629-645] places the celebrated hill of Gridhrakuta, or 'Vulture's Peak' at a distance of 4 km to the north-east of the old [–>Rajagriha] town." According to Fa Hian [FAXIAN in BEAL, chapter 29] it was 4 km south-east of the new town. Both of our authorities, therefore, agree in fixing the Vulture's Peak on the lofty hill now called Saila Giri, or the "Rocky Mountain;" but I could not hear of any existence of any cave [i.e. man-made rock chambers] on this hill. Fa Hian calls it "Hill of the Vulture's Cave," and notes that there were also several hundreds of caves of the Arhans in which they sat to meditate. I presume that these caves were small rooms built against the cliff, and that the walls having fallen down, the names have been forgotten. The joint authority of the two pilgrims is too strong to be doubted; and future reasearch will perhaps discover some remais of these once holy cave dwellings« (CUNNINGHAM 1871: 466 etc edited 1990: 390-391). 1885: »Rajagriha has … the group of natural caves at Gridhara Kuta, 3 miles north-east from the city, where Sakya and Ananda dwelt« (BALFOUR 1885, 1885 edited 1968, 3: 344-345). 1905: »… the Gijjhakuta of the Pali scriptures and early writers … remarkable that while its natural caves, great and small, are important features of Gridhrakuta mountain, Cunningham "could not hear of any existence of any cave on Sailagiri mountain« (WATTERS 1905 edited 1988, 2: 152). See also –>Kasyapa's Council Cave as »… certain other treatises describe the Council as meeting at the [–>] Pippala Cave on the Gridhrakuta …« (WATTERS 1905 edited 1988, 2: 160) 1939: »After crossing the deep gorge cut by a rocky stream we come to the end of the rocky path and find the remains of the Gridhrakuta to our right. Some scholars doubt this identification. But the indications of the Chinese travellers and the antiquities recovered [plate 8] make this identification highly probable, if not certain. It may be mentioned that the existence of caves in the Gridhrakuta is attested to by a Gandhara sculpture of the second or third century A.D. [MAJUMDAR 1937: 61]. These [Gridhrakuta remains] are two natural caves with steps approaching them, which, in all probability, represent the 'stone houses' (or 'caves' by another translator) mentioned by Hiuen Tsang. Inside one of the caves were found a number of terracotta plaques with the seven Past Buddhas and Maitreya, the Future Buddha, seated in two rows and the Buddhist creed inscribed below each figure in minute characters. Outside the caves we notice large stone walls of structures that once existed in this place« (KURAISHI 1939 etc, revised KURAISHI & GOSH 1958 etc: 32-33 note 1, plate 8). 1982: AUBOYER & NOU (1982 plate 79) give a photograph of Gridhrakuta hill and mention two caves. 1989: »… a stone paved road leads up the Chathagiri [hill, –>Rajgir] where Grdhakuta cave, a favourite resort of Buddha, is located, thought the identification has been doubted by some« (GOSH 1989b, 2: 363). 1991: STRASSER (1991) indicates an unspecified »Cave« at a location close to the road and about half-way up, to Gridhra Kuta or Chata Hill.
NOTE 1: Ananda, literally: happiness (LONELY PLANET, India 1997: 1139), was the name of »Buddha's cousin and personal attendant« (LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 1105; 2009: 1207).
Documents
Bibliography 28/03/2016- Auboyer, Jeannine & Nou, Jean-Louis 1982; Balfour, Edward 1885 edited 1968; Barua, Birindi M a.i.; Cunningham, Alexander 1871a; Faxian [Fa Hian, Fa Hien, Fahian, Fa Hsien] circa 415 for 399-414, translated by Laidlay, J W from Remusat, Klaproth & Landresse 1848 edited 2000; Gosh, A 1989b; Hsuan Tsang (also: Hiouen Thsang; Hiuen Tsiang; Hsüan Chwang; Hsüan Tsang; Huan Chwang; Hwen Thsang; Yuan Chwang; Yuén Chwàng 648 for 629-645); Imperial Gazetteer 1907-1909, 21: 72; Kuraishi, Mohammad Hamid 1939etc; Kuraishi, Mohammad Hamid & Gosh, A 1958etc; Sinha, B P 1995b; Strasser, Robert 1991.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Bhimbisera Cave | ||
| 0.1 | GRIDHRAKUTA CAVE 2 | ||
| 0.5 | VARAHA CAVE, Rajgir | ||
| 0.8 | BRAHMIN's GIRL CAVE | ||
| 0.8 | AJATASATRU (Cave of) | ||
| 0.8 | MANIAR MATH | ||
| 2.6 | DEVADATTA STONE HOUSE, Rajgir | ||
| 2.6 | PIPPALA CAVE | ||
| 2.7 | BUDDHA SAMADHI CAVE, Rajgir |