Karla Cave: Exterior, with lion capital of left, Hinayana temple, 2nd Century A.D.

The site of Karla is located on an ancient highway connecting Aparanta (or Konkana) with the eastern plains of Sahyadri in the hills of Bhorghat, There is one large chaitya hall at Karla and beside it three viharas, In both architectural and sculptural terms this monument is one of the most excellent rock-cut sanctuaries produced by the Buddhist movement, for its decorations are magnificently handled with a skill unmatched in any of the rock-cut temples in India, The facade consists of the following components: two free-standing pillars surmounted by lion capitals, an entrance gallery or porch, supported by columns, with a lower and upper storey, a minstral's gallery made of wood projecting from the midsection of the porch, a huge chaitya window partially closed with wooden trellis work, and a screened portal penetrated by three doors giving access to the nave proper, We can properly refer to this cave structure as kirti, which in Sanskrit means literally 'an excavation,' for the shrine was chiseled out of the solid rock, and its features take advantage of the natrual rock formations, To the left of the slide is the lion column which originally was the mate of a second such column and stood with it before the portal, It has been moved to its present position to give room for a modern shrine, visible on the right, [formerly IA-480, number crossed out and replaced with IA-475(2)