Bhaja Cave Lessons- Tenzin Dasel

Unlike the first field trip, the Bhaja caves had a comfortable reporting time at 8:30 A.M, this time even the weather favoured us. Not carrying a sun lotion bugged me and the thought of getting tanned and the aftermath of the tedious de-tanning process was definitely not I wanted. As we were seated in the bus I noticed this trip was going to be a pleasant one- it was an AC bus. It was the usual scene in the bus, some munching, some earphones plugged in, some dozing off, some simply singing away. My research on what these caves were really about made me realise that this is probably the closest to home I can get, these caves belong to an era when Hinayana Buddhism was still an integral part of India. I haven’t visited a temple or a monastery to prayer in three months. 

Bhaja caves were located somewhere near Lonavala as I looked in my Google map. As read the caves were roughly 3km away from the main road amidst lush green surroundings in western Deccan where many other caves were also located dating back to 100BC and 170 AD.

I stretch my legs as I got out of the bus after we reached our destination. The Faculty in-charge hollered us towards an uphill unpaved road, as the climb began we were greeted by the waterfall near the caves where visitors usually seem to go in for a dip as I concluded seeing other tourists under the waterfall.  The climb kind of reminded me of my hike to Taktsang (The Tiger’s Nest) monastery, however this climb was a gentle one with huge slabs of stone steps. I noticed my class crowd halt taking pictures of the Bhaja caves, it had an almost an inverted horse shoe shape. The structure was accompanied by wooden arch which had deteriorated over time. It has signs of fine craftsmen ship, the structure resembled timber texture, grains. I recognised a familiar structure, it was a stupa.

We were then taken in the cave and were asked to sit and settle down for the lecture to begin. There was a familiar stench of bat droppings in the air as I hesitantly sat on the stone floor. The lecture began with Professor Sagar Kamanth giving a brief on what the site was based on relics found were trade route where Buddhist missionaries were often accompanied traders on the trade route and its history. He described the shape of the stupa as the truest image of the Buddha before idol worship began, I could recollect my lessons from high school. The Stupa more familiarly called “Chorten” in Tibetan and Dzongkha is rather the epiphany of the Buddha, of his teachings- the Dharma that rules the universe. The form of the stupa suggests the apparent aspect of the vault of the sky, it implies its total presence and intangibility of the Buddha, who in this way is seen not as a human teacher but as the essence of the universe. He elaborated that from afar the stupa resembles folded palms and then came the explanation of Hinayana Buddhism, Professor Sagar Kamanth emphasised on Hinayana being a derogatory term and it translated to ‘lesser vehicle. Questions were asked regarding Hinayana Buddhism. I was familiar with Hinayana Buddhism and could understand and relate to the topic although it isn’t practised in Bhutan. The caves also housed Hindu stupas which were built much later when Hinduism had spread in India.

  With the lecture over we dispersed on our own to see and explore the site that was 2000 years old. It was an exhilarating experience. The caves in total were 22 which mostly were residential complexes of the monks who used it as shelter while travelling. The residential complexes were small and had hard stone beds.My colleagues began taking their artsy picturesque photos, some played under the waterfall despite the sudden pour. Everyone one was savouring their moment it was smiles, photos and good time.

We retreated back to our bus after, people raced down the stairs competing who reached first. It was a refreshing scene. I opened a packet of biscuits to calm my hunger. After traveling for another 15-20 minutes we halted for lunch at a ‘Punjabi Dhaba’. The food was served instantly, I lined up to get my share of food before the line got any longer. I savoured every morsel of food knowing the hostel food isn’t any closer to this delicious meal served. It was a sumptuous satisfying. The travel back was unlike the morning ride, `it was rainy. I was glad to have been able to experience an essence of Buddhism although it is a bygone era in the place of its birth