Aurangabad Caves are artificial caves, dug out of the rather soft rock during the 6th and 7th century. This caves are found on two separate locations, called Western Group Caves (caves 1-5) and Eastern Group Caves (caves 6-10), about 1km from each other. Each group has five caves. The architecture and iconography is influenced by Tantric Hinduism. Cave four of the Western Group Caves is the oldest cave. It is a Hinayana Chaitya with a ridged roof like the Karla Cave near Lonavala. Hinayana (Sanskrit: Lesser Vehicle) is the more orthodox, conservative schools of Buddhism. Chaitya (Sanskrit) is the word for a funeral monument. There is a stupa in front of it, now partially collapsed. The other four Western caves are viharas, which are an early type of Buddhist monastery consisting of an open court surrounded by open cells accessible through an entrance porch. The viharas in India were originally constructed to shelter the monks. Cave 3, the most fascinating cave of the Western Group, is supported by 12 finely carved columns. They show sculptures portraying scenes from the Jataka tales. Cave 6 belongs to the Eastern Group Caves, and shows very well preserved sculptures of women, which are notable for their exotic hairstyles and ornamentation. There is also a large Buddha figure and an idol of Ganesh located in this cave.Cave 7 is the most interesting of the Aurangabad caves. Most impressive are the sculptures, figures of women which are scantily clad and ornately bejewelled. They show the rise of Tantric Buddhism during this period. To the left of Cave 7 is a huge Bodhisattva praying for deliverance from the 8 dangers: fire, the sword of the enemy, chains, shipwreck, lions, snakes, mad elephant and demon (representing death).

Amarnath Cave

Amarnath  is situated in Jammu and Kashmir .This is The Cave which was chosen by Bhole Shankar  for narrating the secrets of immortality and creation of Universe  to Maa Parvati ji . The  story goes like this .   Centuries ago Maa Parvati asked Shiv ji  to  let her know why and when  He  started wearing the beads of heads ( Mund Mala)  .   Bhole Shankar replied when ever you are born  I add one more head in my beads .  Maa Parvati said ,"  My Lord, my body is destroyed every time  and I die again and again, but you are Immortal. Please let me know the secret of this ." Bhole Shankar replied that it is due to Amar Katha ." Maa Parvati insisted that she may be told that secret.  For long Shiva ji continued postponing .   Finally on consistent demand from Maa Parvati He made up his mind to tell the immortal secret . He started  for    lonely  place  where  no living  being  could  listen  it .  He choose Amarnath Cave .  In preparation to that He left His Nandi ( The Bull which He used to ride )  at Pahalgam (Bail gaon) .  At Chandanwari He released Moon from his hairs (Jataon). At the banks of Lake Sheshnag He released the snakes .  He decided to leave his Son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Hill ) . At Panjtarni, Shivji  left the Five Elements behind (Earth , Water, Air , Fire and Sky)  which make living being . He is the Lord of these elements.  It is believed that as a symbol of sacrificing the earthly world , Shivaji and  Maa Parvati  had Tandav Dance . After leaving behind all these, Bhole Shankar enters the Holy Amarnath Cave along with Parvati Maa . Lord Shiva takes his Samadhi on the Deer Skin and concentrate . To ensure that no living being is able to hear the Immortal Tale , He created Rudra named Kalagni and ordered him  to spread fire to eliminate every living  thing in and around the Holy Cave . After this He started narrating  the secret of immortality to Maa Parvati . But as a matter of chance one egg which was lying beneath the  Deer skin remained protected . It is believed to be non living and more over it was protected by Shiva -Parvati Asan (Bed) .  The pair of pigeons which were born out of this  egg became immortal  having listened the secret  of immortality (Amar Katha). Many pilgrims report seeing the pair of pigeons  when they trek the arduous route to pay their obeisance before the Ice-Lingam (the phallic symbol of Shiva).The story narrated by people about the discovery of this Holy Cave  is of  a Gujjar ( shepherd) Buta Malik . He is given the credit of discovering this Holy Cave  . Story goes like this , that a saint gave Buta Malik a bag full of Coal. On reaching his home when he opened the bag , to his  utter surprise the bag was full of gold coins . This made him overwelmed with joy. He  ran to thank the Saint . But,  what he found was that  the  Saint had disappeared . Instead , he found  The Holy Cave and Shiv Lingam there in . He announced the discovery of this  to the Villagers. Then onwards this has become the sacred place of Pilgrimage .The ancient epics narrate an other  story which  goes like this. The valley of Kashmir was under water .It was a big lake. Kashyap Rishi drained the water through number of rivers and rivulets . In those days Bhrigu Rishi came that way on a visit to The Himalyas. He was the first to have Darshans of this Holy Cave . When people heard of the Lingam, Amarnath for them  became Shiva?s abode and a Centre of pilgrimage . Since then Lacs of devotees perform the pilgrimage through tough terrain and avail eternal happiness. The trek to Amarnath, in the month of sharavan ( July?August) has the devout flock to this incredible shrine, where the image of Shiva, in the form of a Lingam, is formed naturally of an Ice Stalagmite, which waxes and wanes with the Moon's cycle . By its side are fascinating, two more Ice Lingams, that of  Maa Parvati and of their son, Ganesha .

Vaishno Devi Cave

The holy cave shrine of Vaishno Devi is believed to have been built by the five Pandavas. The length of the cave is about 98 ft. The symbols of a many of gods and goddesses of the Hindu religion can be seen here. At the mouth of the original tunnel to the holy cave can be seen the symbols of Vakra Tunda Ganesha, Surya Dev and Chandra Dev. When one crawls into the cave by the tunnel, he/she passes over the Dhadh of Bhairon Nath. The symbol of Lord Hanuman, called Launkra Beer, can also be seen and the pilgrims have to go through water beyond the Launkra Beer point. Twenty-three feet beyond Launkra Beer, on the upper left-hand side, the roof of the cave flares out and the weight of this overhang appears to be resting on the countless heads of Shesh Nag. Immediately below Shesh Nag can be seen the symbols of Shankh, Chakra, Gada and Padam. Higher up, almost touching the ceiling of the cave, are the symbols of the five Pandavas, the Sapt Rishi, the udders of the divine cow, Kamadhenu, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Parvati.

Elephanta cave Temples

Elephanta caves are locted in Mumbai ,Maharashtra.Elephanta Island was known in ancient times as "Gharapuri" or The Place of Caves. Once known as Puri - later Gharapuri - this island was the proud capital of a powerful coastal kingdom and the great cave shrine in praise of Shiva, excavated in the sixth century, added to the ruling dynasty. Several centuries later the Portugese took possession of the island and named it Elephanta after the great statue of elephant which they found on the seashore.

There are seven caves of which the most important is the Mahesha-Murti Cave. The main body of the cave, excluding the porticoes on the three open sides and the back aisle, is 27 m square and is supported by rows of six columns. The gigantic figures of Dvarapalas, or doorkeepers are very impressive.The cave temple, which is the pride of Elephanta, sprawled over an area of approximately 5000 square metres, is reached by climbing a flight of more than 100 steps, to the top of a hill. Inside the temple, is a large pillared hall with rows of columns, that appear to hold up the roof of the cave.

Cross beams complete the illusion of a ceiling. One's attention is immediately drawn to the series of marvellous sculptured panels, nine in all, which are set like tableaux on the walls. Little is known about the architects and sculptors, who worked on this gem of ancient architecture. What is almost tangible is their intense faith, which seems to create an energy field in the cave premises. Each of the panel captures the volatility of Shiva's essentially paradoxic nature, and the magical interplay of light and shade, only intensifies the overall effect.

Badami Cave Temples

Situated in North Karnataka, Badami was founded by Pulakesin I in the 6th century A.D and was once the capital of the Chalukya empire. The Chalukyas are to be acknowledged with path-finding a new architectural style, examples of which can be seen in Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and other neighboring areas. They built a number of temples, and other monuments that marked the beginning of the Hindu style of architecture. This new style combined the best of two distinct styles - the North Indian, Indo-Aryan Nagara style and the South Indian Dravidian style. Known as the Chalukyan style, this style is manifested in many cave temples, dedicated to Brahmanical deities, as well as the many Buddhist and Jain monasteries in the region.The caves found here are as follows -

Cave 1 : The first cave made of red sandstone, dates back to 578 A.D. and was probably the first to be carved. One has to climb up 40 odd steps to reach the colonnaded verandah, a hall with numerous pillars and a square shaped sanctum hollowed in the control back wall.

Cave 2 : Dedicated to lord Vishnu depicted here as a dwarf or 'Trivikrama' of awesome dimensions with one foot mastering the Earth and the other the sky, the second cave is atop a sandstone hill.

Cave 3 : Still going higher up one comes across this cave antedating 578 A.D. The facade of the cave is nearly 70 feet wide, on the plinth one can see the carvings of ganas. The sheer artistry and sculptural genius makes this cave the highlight of Deccan art.

Cave 4 : The only Jain cave, the construction of Cave four started in the 6th century and completed after nearly 100 years later then the earlier three caves.

Pandavleni Caves

The Pandavleni Caves are situated in Nashik, Maharashtra.These caves are located on a tableland on Trivashmi Hill. Built by Jain kings these Caves are around 2000 years old. There are some 24 Caves that were home to Jain saints such as Tirthankara Vrishabdeo, Veer Manibhadraji, and Ambikadevi. There are sculptures of the Buddha and bodhisattvas as well. The cave complex consists of large Caves, which were probably the meeting place of disciples and areas of preaching sermons. There are several water tanks chiseled into the rock.

Patal Bhavaneshwar Caves

Patal Bhavaneshwar caves are situated in Pithoraghar , Uttarakhand. In hindi Patal means "hell" .Patal Bhavaneshwar  is a underground cave complex. You have to crawl down through a very slippery narrow tunnel. The tunnel opens in to a underground autrium. This is 90 feet below the ground level. The autrium leads to several smaller caves. The ground is very slippery inside as water is trickling down continously. There are interesting natural rock formations which the guide will relate it with hindu mythology. A modified natural cave used by pious pilgrims as a temple and by tourists as a sightseeing spot.

Mahabalipuram Cave Temples

Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram, was the second capital of the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. 58 kilometres from Madras, situated on the Bay of Bengal.In total there are Nine caves in Mahabalipuram.Out of these most famous is Krishna Mandapam, where one can see a huge bas-relief in which Lord Krishna is seen lifting the Govardhana hill on his finger tips to protect his people from Indra. Varaha cave is one among the rock-cut mandapams which is in finished state. The small stone hall houses two incarnations of Lord Vishnu - Varaha, the boar and Vamana, the dwarf. The four stone panels where the doorkeepers are on guard are noteworthy and they are masterpieces of art.Built around the same time, the Dharmaraja cave remains empty with three shrines. Around the sprawling area of around 8 sq. km, we see some of the monuments unfinished. The Mahishasuramardini cave which was built in mid-seventh century is known for its excellent bas-reliefs like the Somaskanda sculpture and Lord Vishnu in his omniscient repose. Goddess Durga's fight with the demon Mahishasura is depicted on the huge panel opposite to this. The mythological story of Goddess Durga's fight with the demon, form the basis of this beautiful panel.

Kanheri Caves

The Kanheri caves are located 10 km away from Borivali, and in the midst of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai.In fact the location of these caves is so picturesque that you have a feeling of a kind of religious gateway through the verdant wilds of Sanjay Gandhi National Park.Kanheri caves are the seat for the Buddhist monks during the period of 1st Century BC to 9th Century AD. These caves are simple and bare, quite different from that of Elephanta caves which are artistically magnificent. Kanheri caves are mostly tiny cells that are cut into the edges of a hill, each having a stone plinth that might have served as a bed. There is also a congregation hall supported by huge stone pillars that contains the dagoba, a kind of Buddhist shrine.

While going up the hill, you come across several water channels that are testimony to the ancient water system an example of rainwater harvesting. Kanheri caves are a good study in realizing the rise and fall of Buddhism in Western India.

These Spartan caves have a serene look to them. Among the most exquisite piece of artistic example, are the striking sculptures of Goddess Tara and Goddess Bhrukti along with the central structure of Avalokiteswara, with five symbols each in the right and the left is housed. Also appealing is the Chaitya cave, built sometime during the 4th to 5th Century AD, with signs of decorative woodwork on the roof still extant are quite popular among tourists.

Gavi Gangadhareshwara Cave Temple

Gavi Gangadhareshwara cave Temple is situated in Banglore,Karnataka.This ancient temple was built inside a natural cave in Gavipuram and was earlier known as Gowthama Kshethra as Sage Gowthama performed penance here. It was renovated by Kempe Gowda in 16th century. The highlights of the temple are the granite pillars and the linga inside the cave. A special festival is held during Makar Sankranti and devotees in large numbers gather at the temple premise to see the unique phenomena-sun?s rays passing between Nandi?s horns and falling directly on the linga inside the cave.Rare idol of Agni, goddess of fire and huge monolithic cave attract attention of the visitors. This cave temple witnesses a unique phenomenon that speaks volumes for the architectural and astronomical skills of ancient sculptors. There is also an image of Shakti Ganapathi with 12 hands to the left of the main entrance. There are four monolith pillars representing Damaru, Thrishula and two fans in the courtyard.

Yana Caves

Yana Caves are located amongst the evergreen forest of the Sahyadri Mountains,Karnataka.The trek to the Yana Caves is through the rocky limestone wilderness and is an experience in itself. The area is renown for its majestic mountains, the variety of rock formations, trickling waterfalls and a holy temple. Yana cave is a   large cave, measuring about three meters at the entrance, has a Shivalinga. Water drips from the  projecting rocks over the linga, and devotees call it  Gangodbhava. The  cave also has  a bronze icon of Chandika, an incarnation of mother Goddess Durga. Trickled from the rocks form a small river, 'Chandihole' which joins the Aghanashini river at Uppinapattana.