Kanheri: A Prominent Buddhist Center of Early India

Abstract

The scattered references to Kanheri can be found in various works by scholars related to the study of art, history and Buddhist monasticism. This study is a survey of the inscriptions focusing on the patronage patterns at the Buddhist monastic establishment of Kanheri. Matters of importance like the life of monastics at Kanheri would be discussed. The work tries to convey what the Buddhist monastic site of Kanheri wants to tell its visitors about itself through its monuments, sculptures, inscriptions, and archaeological space. The inscriptional study conducted suggests that donors from different sections of society made donations together; corporate gifts, as well as individual contributions, existed. The analysis of the inscriptions also raises the possibility that the contributors occasionally came from distinct nearby and distant locations rather than from the same area. Kanheri has its peculiarities like its water management system, its role as a religious, and educational center, and the existence of different practices affiliated to different Buddhist schools.