Son Bhandar Caves

The Son Bhandar Caves are two Jain man-made caves carved into the base of the Vaibhar Hills in Rajgir in the state of Bihar in India. Based on the dedicatory inscription found in the largest cave — which uses Gupta script of the 4th century CE — the caves are generally dated to the 3rd or 4th century CE, although some authors have suggested the caves could actually go back to the period of the Maurya Empire, possibly as early as 319 BCE. The main cave is rectangular with a trapezoidal entrance and a vaulted ceiling, reminiscent of the structure of the earlier Barabar Caves. The quality of the polish and the finish are nevertheless much inferior to that of the Barabar Caves. The stone of Son Bhandar is also much less hard than the granite of the Barabar caves, and therefore did not require the same degree of effort and technique.

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cave, Q668, 

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Location: 25.03, 85.42, KML, Cluster Map, Maps,
4 places

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  Saptaparni Cave ⓘ
  human settlement in India

• 

  Sitamarhi Cave ⓘ
  artificial cave in Bihar, India

• 

  Son Bhandar Caves ⓘ
  Two man-made caves in Bihar, India

• 

  Unknown ⓘ
  cave in India

Frameless

Son Bhandar cave inscription

Son Bhandar Jain votive stele

Son Bhandar cave Rajgir

Son Bhandar cave plan

IA Son Bhandar cave

SONE BHANDAR(2)

SONE BHANDAR(1)

Cave of sone bhander

Sone Bhandar of Rajgir

Main gate of sone bhander

Type	Subtype	Date	Description	Notes	Source
site	cave		Saptaparni Cave	cave	Wikidata
site	cave		Sitamarhi Cave	grotto, architectural structure	Wikidata
site	cave		Son Bhandar Caves	cave	Wikidata
site	cave		Unknown	cave	Wikidata
commons	image		Son Bhandar cave inscription		Commons
commons	image		Son Bhandar Jain votive stele		Commons
commons	image		Son Bhandar cave Rajgir		Commons
commons	image		Son Bhandar cave plan		Commons
commons	image		IA Son Bhandar cave		Commons
commons	image		SONE BHANDAR(2)		Commons
commons	image		SONE BHANDAR(1)		Commons
commons	image		Cave of sone bhander		Commons
commons	image		Sone Bhandar of Rajgir		Commons
commons	image		Main gate of sone bhander		Commons