Karla - An unfrequented Buddhist site

While tourists throng to places like Sarnath and Sanchi to visit places noted in history and lore of Buddhism, Karla, which just about forty kilometres from Pune in Maharashtra, just off the main Pune-Mumbai highway, is far less frequented. And yet Karla boasts of a history dating back to the 2nd century BCE, when Buddhism was fast spreading into peninsular India. Of course, the approach to Karla is over a fairly long stone stairway and "senior citizens" will need to take this carefully.

The picture above shows the front facade of the Karla cave with its distinctive architecture and entrance-way.

The "chaitya" hall, or where the Buddhist monks once assembled for prayers more than two thousand years ago, is fairly large and is marked by a stupa to designate the impression of the Buddha, while overhead the roof is sculpted in imitation of the wooden rafters that were used even earlier for such prayer halls. Along the two sides are pillars with capitals similar to those in Ajanta and other Buddhist sites, and marks the places where monks used to sit for the prayers.