Buddhist Monasteries in Rock Art Sites of Central India

In the present book an attempt has been made to locate the Buddhist monasteries in rock art sites of Central India. The constituents and dynamics of these hill monasteries have been thoroughly surveyed and documented. A comprehensive study on the Buddhist viharas located in the rock art site of Madhyadesa along with their paraphernalia has been undertaken.

These viharas made in rock openings share equal importance with the structural and rock-cut viharas found elsewhere. Vindhyan plateau in Central India is dotted with a number of rock art sites showcasing the life of early men in form of hunting pursuits, dancing activities and war affairs. Since these sites are marked with shelters formation located on hilly terrain amidst deep jungles, they are ideally suited for Buddhist mendicants. In process, rock shelters lying here have been transformed and adapted as dwelling units ideally suited to mendicants for their reclusive landscape. The whole landscape has been exploited to facilitate their requisite needs and pious deeds in observance of the Dhamma initiated by Lord Buddha. Here rock art sites manifesting Buddhist monasticism reveal Buddhist edifices, symbolic representations through petroglyphs and pictographs related with Buddha's doctrine. Ruined structures of stupas, chaityas, platforms, benches and boundary wall (simarekha) occur here scattered in dry stone masonry. Epigraphical records have been found painted and engraved in these shelters mentioning the stay of Buddhist mendicants along with their teacher for vassavasa in these hilly viharas. Presently, these rock shelter sites stand in parallel to the structural and rock cut monasteries of Buddhist mendicants noticed at various Buddhist centers in the subcontinent.