9th Century Jain rock-cut caves at Ananthagiri seek urgent protection, conservation

Archaeologist E Sivanagireddy, who visited the caves on Saturday, stated that there are 15 caves with square and rectangular layouts, ranging in size from two to six meters in length, two to three meters in width, and about 2.5 meters in depth, all featuring openings facing east.

Hyderabad: A group of 15 rock-cut Jain caves belonging to the ninth century CE are craving for protection at Ananthagiri, a hill station in Vikarabad district.

According to Archaeologist E Sivanagireddy, who visited the caves on Saturday, there are 15 caves that are square and rectangular on plan and vary in size between two to six meters in length and two to three metres in width and 2.5 meters in depth with openings to the east.

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They belong to the Jain faith and should have been excavated to facilitate the Jain ascetics to spend the rainy season, besides observing Sallekhana Vrata (fast unto death), he said.

“Out of the 15 rock-cut caves, six caves are intact and the rest are damaged during the widening of the pathway leading to the origin point of the River Musi, from where its journey starts,” Sivanagireddy explained.

The rock-cut beds on the floor and niches in the walls to keep lamps and a mutilated Jain statue seated in Artha Paryankasana give enough indications about the caves Jain affiliation, he added.

Sivanagireddy appealed to the authorities of the Ananta Padmanabha swamy temple and Vikarabad Municipality to remove the white wash coated on the caves walls. Pathways should be developed and signages explaining the historical and religious significance of the caves should be established, he urged, adding that Dr. Padmanabham, Chairman of the temple assured that he would extend necessary support in this regard.

Heritage activists D R Syamsundar Rao, B Venkatareddy, B Sai Kiran Reddy and Ellayya participated in the exploration.