MAGHATAN CAVES
19.233300,72.850000
Description
A group of man-made 'cave temples' (rock-cut chambers), once used for religious purposes and troglodyte retreats by Buddhists (note 1), in addition to rock-cut cisterns are situated at the village of Maghetan in Panseer (obsolete: Poinsar), 0.8 km east of Borivli Railway Station, and 35 km from Mumbai (ex- Bombay) city. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1828: »A low roofed and rudely executed cave temple, with various cells and smaller excavations in the adjoining rock, situated with a short distance of the village of Panseer, on the island of Salsette« (HAMILTON, W1828, 2: 154-155). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1882: »Bombay Province … Salsette Island (Shatshashthi) … [is] peculiarly rich in rock-temples, the most famous of which are the 109 Boodhist caves of Kanheri … The other groups of caves are at Marol to S. and at Magathana, Mandapeswar (Montpezor), and Jogeswari …« (SMITH, G 1882: 258). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1908: »Borivli … Situated half a mile east of Borivli station, close to the border lands of Poinsar and the deserted village of Magathan, are some Buddhist rock-cut cisterns and some half-underground Buddhist caves« (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 9: 6). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1909: »Maghatan … Situated half a mile east of Borivli station, and 35 km from Bombay, Maghatan village is noted for the Maghatan or Poinsar caves, including a chapel cave [vihara] on the south and a monastery cave on the north … To the south are other plain caves. To the east is a rock-cut cistern« (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER (1907-1909, 16: 410).
NOTE 1: WEST (1861a: 13 item 61) refers to »an inscription on a squared stone, 9 inches x 5 inches x 5 inches [23 by 13 by 13 cm], found in a large modern temple with a tiled roof, close to the village of Devíka-párá, less than a quarter mile east of the caves of Magathán. It is a loose stone, in good preservation, and lies upon a bench inside the temple, near some modern sculptures, being smeared with red paint on the face. The temple stands on the site of a large ancient temple. The copyist has been misled, in places, by natural markings; but the inscription is clearly Buddhist, and reads "ye dhamá hetu prabhavá hetu teshán tathágato hyaadat teshán cha yo nirodha evam v´dí mahá shramana.“ As the chief sculpture at Magathán, though very much decayed, has evidently been a sitting figure of Buddha, there can be no doubt that these caves were Buddhist.«
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | MANDAPESHWAR CAVES | ||
| 7.2 | SALSETTE CAVES | ||
| 7.2 | KANHERI CAVE 02 | ||
| 7.2 | KANHERI CAVE 03 | ||
| 7.2 | KANHERI CAVE 05 | ||
| 7.2 | KANHERI CAVE 12 | ||
| 7.2 | KANHERI CAVE 19 | ||
| 7.2 | KANHERI CAVE 29 | ||
| 7.2 | KANHERI CAVE 36 |