BEDSA CAVES
18.716700,73.583300
Description
Ancient man-made Buddhist cave temples / rock-cut temples (note 1), in parts still used for religious purposes by Hindus and Buddhists but less by tourists, are situated in the Supati hills, which rise at a walking distance of 3 km from the village of Bedsa (note 2) to a height of about 100 m above the surrounding plain, or to 685 m above sea-level. The village of Bedsa lies about 30 km east of Lonavla (note 3) or 15 km from Lonavla past the –>Karla and –>Bhaja turnoffs, or 6 km in a direct line south-east of the Kamshet Railway Station, and north of Pawan / Pawana Dam (note 4). SITUATION 1882: »The –>Bhaja Caves are on the … S. side of the Lanoli (Lenavali = "grove of the caves") railway station. The Bedsa Caves are on the S. side of the hills, in which Bhaja is.« (SMITH, G 1882: 276).CULTURAL HISTORY - cult spot: »The goddess Yamai has a shallow relief image carved into the Bedsa Vihara cave. A goat is sacrificed to her in front of the cave in navrata [note 5], once a year. Occasionally a fowl, or more common coconut [nux Cocos nuciferae], repays a vow or assures tranquility to the villager whose sleep Yamai is sure to disturb -- if neglected too long -- by a nightmare« (KOSAMBI 1960b: 135). »When I reached the caves, a group of Buddhists were praying inside the chaitya« (KOSAMBI 1960c: 135). CULTURAL HISTORY - tourist attraction: The »Bedsa Caves« were noted in LONELY PLANET, South India (2001: 203) and the LONELY PLANET, India (1981; 1990; 1993; 1994; 1997: 842; 1999; 2001: 753-754) but did not turn up any more in the LONELY PLANET, India (2003, 2005), except for still showing up on the location maps "Karla & Bhaja Caves" (2003: 771) and "Lonavla & Around" (2005: 745). GAUR (2004): »Tourists certainly hadn't discovered Bedse for there wasn't even one cola hoarding in the village. Even the Archaeological Survey of India hadn't imposed an entry fee at the site.« CAVE LIFE – bats (Chiroptera): Concerning Hipposideros galeritus Cantor 1848 (note 6), BROSSET (1961: 426) »… rencontré le'espèce dans les grottes de Betsa …« (encountered this species in the Bedsa caves) while BROSSET (1962c: 620) reports to have seen Hipposideros galeritus at »Bedsar Caves« in »a dungeon adjacent to the principal cave.« This »H. galeritus Cantor 1848« (BROSSET 1962b: 8, 1962c: 618) calls SRINIVASULU C. (2004a) Cantor's Roundleaf Bat (ex Leaf-nosed bat = Hipposideros galeritus Cantor 1846) but I have neither seen CANTOR 1846 nor came across a CANTOR 1848.
NOTE 1: Man-made rock-cut chambers used for religious purposes. IMPERIAL GAZETTEER (1907-1909, 7: 140-141) says »The two chief caves are a chapel or chaitya and a dwelling cave or layana …« LONELY PLANET (1990: 638; 1993: 778; 1999: 893; 2001: 754) considers »… the main cave --a chaitya thought to be later than Karla-- is much poorer in design and execution.« NOTE 2: Bedsa (N18°43': E073°35' IMPERIAL GAZETTEER (1907-1909, 7: 140) is found spelled Bedsa IMPERIAL GAZETTEER (1907-1909, 7: 140); India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth (2006: 90 C2) Bedsar BROSSET, A (1962c: 620) Bedse GAUR, A (2004) Betsa BROSSET, A (1961: 426). NOTE 3: "lanavli" (Sanskrit) is said to denote a »city surrounded by caves« (NEWAR 2002). The small town of Lonavla (Lonauli, Lonavala, Lonawala) near N18°45': E073°24' (Everest 1830, IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909) or near N18°45': E073°25' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) lies on the Bor Pass (Borghat, Bor Ghat) and 106 km from Bombay (renamed Mumbai), on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the main railway line to Pune (LONELY PLANET 1997: 839; 2001: 752) and about 60 km along the road north-west of Pune / Poona (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 16: 172). NOTE 4: KOSAMBI (1960b: 28) places the “caves” of Bedsa and –>Selarwadi (Shelarwadi / Ghorvadi) on the ancient »Paüna« (Pauna, Pavna, Poona, Pune] valley trade route (leading past Tungi to the Sudhagad / Sudhaghat passes and Chaul harbour) that touched the microlith findspot Phagne. NOTE 5: Navrata (Sanskrit, Hindi, etc.) is the first (of the) nine days of the bright half (before the full moon) of a month in the Hindu lunar calender. NOTE 6: »H. galeritus Cantor 1848« (BROSSET 1962b: 8, 1962c: 618) is the same as »Cantor's Roundleaf Bat (ex Leaf-nosed bat = Hipposideros galeritus Cantor 1846)« (SRINIVASULU C 2004a) but I have neither seen CANTOR 1846 nor came across a CANTOR 1848.
Documents
Bibliography 21/03/2016- Brosset, André 1961, 1962c; Burgess, James 1883; Burgess, James & Fergusson, James 1880 edited 1988; Gaur, Abhilash 2004; Hill Station Holidays 2001; Imperial Gazetteer 1907-1909; Indien Handbuch 1984, 1994, 1998; Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand 1960b; Lonely Planet, India 1981, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999; 2001, 2003, 2005; Lonely Planet, South India 2001; Smith, George 1882; Ward, Philip 1991, 1992; Watson 1884.18.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | BHAJA CAVES | ||
| 14.2 | SHELARVADI CAVES | ||
| 14.3 | KARLA (Cave at) | ||
| 17.9 | BHAJA CAVE | ||
| 17.9 | LONAVLA UNDERGROUND | ||
| 17.9 | TUNNEL, Lonavla (Sarkar et al. 1998) (aa -) | ||
| 17.9 | KANHUR PATHAR CAVE | ||
| 17.9 | BHAMCHANDAR CAVES | ||
| 22.3 | KONDANE CAVES |