SONBHANDAR GUHA
25.004200,85.462500
Description
A relatively small »group of two rock-cut caves« (GOSH 1989b, 2: 363) which are all »adjacent to each other« (travels.talash.com/jain-shrines-bihar accessed 2005.12.31) consists of two man-made Jaina »cave temples« (rock-cut chambers used for religious purposes) that have been excavated in the 3rd or 4th century CE and are characterised by polished vertical walls and vaulted ceilings. SITUATION: At the south-eastern foot of Vaibhara hill, and at a linear distance of about 2 km south-south-west from New Rajagriha, Sonbhandar is shown on the fold-out location maps of KITTOE (1847, plate XLII), KURAISHI & GOSH (1959) and STRASSER (1991). 1834 »in the side of one of the hills« (unidentified »T. R.« 1834: 366). 1847 »To the left or west side of the pass« connecting old and new Rajgir (KITTOE 1847b: 958). 1956 »On the southern scarp of the Vaibhara hill« (BUDDHIST SHRINES (1956: 47). 1989 »At the southern foot of Vaibhara« (GOSH 1989b, 2: 363). 2005 »On the southern face of the Vaibhara hill, facing the western portion of the valley« (travels.talash.com/jain-shrines-bihar/nalanda-jain… accessed 2005.12.31). IDENTITY: Both BALLANTYNE (1848: 500-501) and CUNNINGHAM (1861-1862:21; 1871 edited 1990: 390-391, 1872-1873: viii) identified Sonbhandar Guha with –>Sattapanna Guha. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1834: »T. R.« (1834: 366) narrates not only having heard the tradition of a great battle at Rajgir / Rajagriha in »Behar« (Bihar) but also of »… a cave in the side of one of the hills, similar in shape to those near Gyah [–>Barabar Caves, Gaya district], is pointed out as the place where one of the parties concealed all his treasures. Tradition says it is still to be found.« CAVE DESCRIPTION 1847: »To the left or west side of the pass [connecting old and new Rajgir] is a chamber called Sône Bhundar, of precisely the same shape as those of Burabur [–>Barabar]. There are sockets to admit a timber roofing on the exterior of the cave, and there have been buildings extending to some distance in front. … several short inscriptions, but the cave has been sadly used by the Zemindar [note 1], who tried to blow it up many years ago, hoping to find hidden treasure, and a large piece of rock has been broken away at the very spot were we should have expected to find an inscription. … this cave is venerated by both Hindus and Jains« (KITTOE 1847b: 958, plate 42). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1885: BALFOUR (1885 edited 1968, 3: 344-345): »Rajagriha … has the two Son-Bhandar caves or Golden Treasury …« [indicated by Manfred Moser 1998]. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1939: KURAISHI (1939 etc) revised by KURAISHI & GOSH (1958, 1975: 26-28, plate VIIa) describes access and provides a location map [indicated by Manfred Moser 1998]. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1956: BUDDHIST SHRINES… (1956: 45, 47) with a photograph (page 45) showing an about 10 m broad and 5 m high rock face with a door and a window explains (page: 47) that »The cave known as Sonbhandar, on the southern scarp of the Vaibhara hill, might have been a Buddhist excavation, though the possibility of its having been a Jain establishment cannot be entirely ruled out. The cave is believed by the local people to have a great amount of gold hidden in a closet.« CAVE DESCRIPTION 1989: »At the southern foot of Vaibhara [hill, –>Rajgir] is a group of two rock-cut caves, one of which has fallen and the other has an inscription in characters of about the 4th century A.D., proclaiming that they were excavated by a Jaina monk and contained images of tirthankaras, which are carved in low relief, still exist in the interior of the eastern face of the wall. According to some however, the architectural features of the cave betray an earlier date as they resemble those of the Mauryan caves of Barabar and Nagarjuni, not far off (Saraswati 1960, p. 503). The second cave, now fallen, was at some stage provided with a portico with a brick pavement and rafters fixed into the out rock surface« (GOSH 1989b, 2: 363). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2005: »The Son Bhandar Caves … are two rock-cut caves adjacent to each other, excavated on the southern face of the Vaibhara hill, facing the western portion of the valley. Inside the cave is placed a Jain Chaumukha with the figures of the first four Tirthankaras carved on the four faces. The adjacent cave is in more ruinous state. It consists of a rock-cut chamber, part of its front having fallen. Inside on the southern wall of the cave are six small figures of Jain Tirthankaras carved in relief. Further the Vaibhara hill on the side of which they were excavated contains, on its top, a number of ancient as well as modern Jain monuments« (travels.talash.com/jain-shrines-bihar/nalanda-jain… accessed 2005.12.31).
NOTE 1: »Zemindar« (KITTOE 1847) or »Zamindar, a landholder. Zamindary, (1) An estate; (2) the rights of a landholder; (3) the system of tenure in which land revenue is imposed on an individual or community occupying the position of a landlord« (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 25: xxx).
Documents
Bibliography 31/05/2016- Balfour, Edward 1885 edited 1968; Ballantyne 1848; Beal, Samuel 1884-1885 / 1981; Buddhist Shrines in India 1956; Burgess, James & Fergusson, James 1880 edited 1988; Cunningham, Alexander 1871a, 1878; Gosh, A 1989b; Hsuan Tsang 648 (for 629-645); Imperial Gazetteer 1907-1909; Kittoe, Markham 1847a; Kuraishi, Mohammad Hamid 1939etc; Kuraishi, Mohammad Hamid & Gosh, A 1958etc.; »T R « 1834; Saraswati, S K 1960; Stein Marc, Aurel 1901; Strasser, Robert 1991.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1847: Captain Markham KITTOE (1847b: 958) published the first description.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.6 | SATTAPANNA GUHA | ||
| 0.6 | SATTAPANNA GUHA (Stein 1901) 2nd | ||
| 0.8 | BUDDHA SAMADHI CAVE, Rajgir | ||
| 0.8 | GAMBHIRA GUHA | ||
| 1.2 | PIPPALA CAVE | ||
| 1.5 | SNAKE-ROCK POND, Rajgir (Cave of the) | ||
| 1.5 | DEVADATTA STONE HOUSE, Rajgir | ||
| 1.5 | SATTAPANNA GUHA (Beglar 1873) | ||
| 1.7 | Makhdum ShahSharfu'd Din i Bihar (Cave of) |