Mandapeshwar Caves

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The Mandapeshwar Caves

These are Hindu caves surprisingly built by Buddhists with the probably the help of Persians and not by Hindus themselves. These caves are recorded as built around the same time as the Jogeshwari Caves and contained the largest Mandapa and a prominent Garbagriha. The caves were witness to a series of invasions by different rulers and each time the caves were used for a different reason, sometimes even for things like housing. Years later the cave was also used as a church by the Fraciscian Priest. The church and its graveyard form one of the edges of the cave precincts. There are ruins of an old structure over the caves.

The caves also have in their proximity other educational institutions such as St. Francis D’Assisi High School and Junior College, Technical Institute, Engineering College, School of Interior Design and Decoration. There are encroachments on the other side of the Borivali-Dahisar road. There is an open space towards the road.

[edit] History

This cave is not a temple as it is mistakenly called but is actually "a hall of paintings". The Buddhists of Western India had close ties with the Persians whose supremacy in commerce then was unmatched in the eastern part of the globe. Hence it is believed that the Mandapeshwar caves were planned and sculpted by the Persian artists. Their works depicted the mythical tales of the Hindu gods and goddesses. Even today an elaborate sculpture representing the marriage of Shiva with Parvati may be viewed from the large square window at the south end of these caves.