The Discovery

In the early 19th century, some British soldiers spotted a horseshoe shaped rock while out hunting in the Deccan plateau. What caught his attention was the entrance of a cave and this made the soldiers cross the ravine of the Waghora River.They discovered several caves, against which bush, shrubs earth, stones had piled up and some were even being used as shelters. Archaeologists started excavations and the news of the discovery spread far and wide. All the rock cut caves had paintings on verandahs, inner walls and ceilings, these revealed some of the most beautiful masterpieces of world art.More symbolic Buddhist mounds like the stupas and the dwelling cells for monks, called the viharas, were also discovered in these caves. An inscription of King Harisena of the Vakataka dynasty was also unearthed in cave No.17. It seems that the local Vakatakas had relations, through marriage, with the great Gupta kings of North India.