Fil Khana 1: Vihara

Various descriptions

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A man-made Buddhist cave temple (vihara: rock-cut chamber used for religious purposes). SITUATION: In the same cliff as the –>Fil Khana Cave (Pheel Khana Cave), to which it adjoins, and on the eastern end of the –>Fil Khana Caves (Pheel Khana Caves) below the Fil Khana Tope (note 1). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1 (MASSON in: WILSON 1841: 87-88, plate VII, nos. 1, 2) just about mentions caves… at [Tope] Gudara. CAVE DESCRIPTION 2 (ARCHÆOLOGY IN AFGHANISTAN 1879: 554) notices a large central pillar of rock has been left about 15 feet square, leaving a passage round, about 13.5 feet wide, two windows, an indefinite shaped roof, and ten cells being holes only a few feet wide. CAVE DESCRIPTION 3 (SIMPSON 1882a: 324, plate 3; 1882b): There was a stair which led up to the Cave, which is now all but gone, some worn remains of a few of the steps are still to be seen; a large square chamber has been formed [note 2], about 42 feet by 41 feet [12.5 by 12.8m]: a large square mass has been left as a suppot in the centre, 14 feet square [4.3m]. On three sides there are cells, three on two of the sides and four on the other, making ten at all, and on the fourth side there are two apertures which open out to the cliff to let in light. The whole Cave is very rudely formed, —a cornice perhaps existed round the central support, but it is all so rough, this is uncertain; the cells are, if anything, still ruder, —the better formed ones being round in the roof like the other Caves of the region, — some of them being little better than holes … CAVE DESCRIPTION 4 (SIMPSON 1879), the “Special Artist” of the Illustrated London News, describes a regular vihara cave … having a central chamber about 15 feet square, with several cells opening from it, and two windows on one side in addition to a series of caves, consisting of a long corridor… from which a large number of caves, varying in size from a small cell to a large chamber … CAVE DESCRIPTION 5 (SIMPSON 1881: 204) mentions small cells placed al round a large rectangular cave.l round a large rectangular cave.