Nagarjuni Caves
Cave · dedicated to the Ajivikas by Dasharatha Maurya; later Hindu images installed by · Nagarjuni hill, Jehanabad, Bihar
They are visited as the companion set to Barabar and as some of the oldest dated rock-cut chambers and...
Three caves cut about 230 BCE by Dasharatha Maurya, Ashoka's grandson, and dedicated to the Ajivika ascetics. Gopika is the largest, 13.95 x 5.84 m (about 46.5 by 19.16 ft) with semi-circular ends, a single south-facing entrance and stone steps, and carries a 5th-6th century Sanskrit inscription of the Maukhari king Anantavarman that is among the earliest Indian inscriptions to use full matras. Vadathika is a rectangular room with a porch, with an eight-line Anantavarman inscription recording an Ardhanarishvara image. Vapiyaka is a single rectangular room with a vaulted hall. The Hindu statues had already vanished by the time 18th-century surveyors arrived. All three are ASI Monuments of National Importance.
Plan your visit
- Area
- Barabar
- Status
- Coming Soon
Yatras that include Nagarjuni Caves
- Mauryan and Ashokan Bihar: The neighbouring hill, cut by Ashoka's grandson, and almost always empty.
Experiences here
- Sit in a cave: People have gone to these rooms to be alone for two thousand two hundred years
Tirtham can arrange here
Guide, car and stay around Barabar
Nearby places
- Barabar Caves: Shaiva devotees climb to the Siddheshwar Nath temple, and the caves draw pilgrims and visitors as the...
- Lomas Rishi Cave: Visitors come for the facade; devotional use of the cave itself is historical rather than current
- Kauvadol: It is a secondary stop on the Barabar circuit; images at the foot of the hill still receive local...
- Siddheshwar Nath Temple, Barabar: It is the active place of worship on Barabar hill; Shaiva pilgrims climb for jalabhishek, particularly...
Questions pilgrims ask
Why is Nagarjuni Caves important?
Three caves cut about 230 BCE by Dasharatha Maurya, Ashoka's grandson, and dedicated to the Ajivika ascetics. Gopika is the largest, 13.95 x 5.84 m (about 46.5 by 19.16 ft) with semi-circular ends, a single south-facing entrance and stone steps, and carries a 5th-6th century Sanskrit inscription of the Maukhari king Anantavarman that is among the earliest Indian inscriptions to use full matras. Vadathika is a rectangular room with a porch, with an eight-line Anantavarman inscription recording an Ardhanarishvara image. Vapiyaka is a single rectangular room with a vaulted hall. The Hindu statues had already vanished by the time 18th-century surveyors arrived. All three are ASI Monuments of National Importance.
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