The Barabar Caves, cut directly into granite hillsides south of Gaya, are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, predating the more famous cave complexes of Ajanta and Ellora by centuries. Their interiors are pol…
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Introduction
The Barabar Caves, cut directly into granite hillsides south of Gaya, are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, predating the more famous cave complexes of Ajanta and Ellora by centuries. Their interiors are polished to an extraordinary mirror-like shine, an engineering feat achieved with Mauryan-era tools that continues to puzzle visitors and archaeologists alike, and the caves' acoustics — a whisper carries clearly from one end to the other — add to their sense of ancient sophistication.
The caves have a literary afterlife too: E.M. Forster used them as the model for the fictional Marabar Caves in his novel 'A Passage to India', lending the site an additional layer of cultural resonance for English-language readers.
History
The caves were commissioned by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka and his grandson Dasaratha in the 3rd century BCE as a gift to the Ajivika sect, a now-extinct ascetic tradition contemporary with early Buddhism and Jainism, and several bear inscriptions recording their dedication.
