History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c16.s3.20

c16.s3.20

The caves themselves are impressive monuments to the patience and skill of Mauryan craftsmen and to the honour in which the Ājīvikas were held at the time. The hills in which they are located must have been especially popular with hermits, for they seem to be covered with the traces of religious occupants, both Buddhist and Hindu.² In the time of Cunningham the caves were visited by thousands of pilgrims annually,³ and presumably are still so visited. When Cunningham inspected them the floors were strewn to a depth of three feet with broken pottery and brick, among which were mixed fragments of stone pillars, indicating that at one time the caves had had porticos or cloisters of some sort.