Pataleshwar Caves, Pune, Maharashtra India

Pataleshwar cave temple of Pune, situated just across the river on the Jungli Maharaj Road, is a heritage site for Pune with a long history dating back to the 8th century AD. A remarkable feature of the Pataleshwar cave temple of Pune is that it bears resemblance with the massive rock-cut temples of Ellora. 

The Pataleshwar Cave Temple (also called Panchaleshvara or Bamburde) is a rock-cut cave temple, carved out in the 8th century in the Rashtrakuta period. It is located in what is now Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was originally situated outside the town, but the city limits have expanded so that it is now located on the downtown Jangli Maharaj Road. It has been declared as a protected monument by the government.

The temple, made of basalt rock, is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The sanctum - a cube-shaped room about 3-4 metres on each side - houses a linga - the symbol of Shiva and there are two smaller cells on each side. In front of the cave is a circular Nandi mandapa, its umbrella shaped canopy supported by massive square pillars. This mandapa is one of the peculiar structures of Pataleshwar.

The temple was left incomplete, possibly because of a fault line found at the back of the sanctum sanctorum, which made the further sculpting unsafe, or political upheaval resulting in loss of patronage. Still in use, the linga is anointed with ghee and yogurt. A brass temple bell hangs outside the basalt entryway.

Pataleshwar cave temple was carved out in the 8th century. The Pataleshwar cave temple was dedicated to the Lord Pataleshwar (God of Underworld). The most striking feature are cave temple is the unique sound of the bells.

Pataleshwar cave temple is a huge temple carved out of a single rock. The entire temple is hewn out of a single block of stone, and houses gigantic pillars, a shrine of Lord Shiva (also known as Pataleshwar) and a Nandi bull.

The Pataleshwar cave temple at Pune has an exotic arrangement of circular stone at the entrance. The entrance is a sight worth seeing, as it highlights acute sense of geometry of these architects. The temple also has a wide array of seating arrangement, including smaller rooms for the visitors.

The sculpture of the Pataleshwar cave temple in Pune, which, although mesmerizing, is incomplete. Although we find an elaborate design in the main worship area, other parts of the rock temple is devoid of much beautification. The sculpture in the principle worship area include beautiful statues of Sita, Rama, Laxman and a host of other Hindu Gods and Goddesses located in the cube-shaped room at the heart of the temple.

Beside the Pataleshwar cave temple of Pune, there is a museum which is enlisted in the Guinness Book of World Records. The museum exhibits a grain of rice that has around 5,000 characters inscribed on it. We also come across a temple dedicated to a Hindu ascetic adjacent to the temple.