Are you planning a trip to Maharashtra? If you have faith in Buddhism from the core of your heart, you must visit the religious Buddhist sites in Maharashtra. Maharashtra is the place where the foundation stone of Buddhism culture is layered. Buddhism is a crucial religion that teaches spiritual development, meditation, and philosophy in many beautiful ways. The Buddhism era is known to pass from the Magadha region, which includes Maharashtra, and spread across the whole world by the followers of Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama, with his fellow people, established many monasteries in India. Buddhism has the primary goal of getting everyone out of agony and reincarnating the cycles of attaining nirvana. There are several Buddhist-related religious sites and temples you will find all over India and also in Maharashtra. But you might find it challenging to find out about those temples and spiritual places, and if you want to plan a holiday trip, you can go through our whole article in detail.
Ajanta caves
You will know about buddhist caves ajanta as it is a famous world heritage site approved by UNESCO and is known to have the house cultured buddhist caves. You will find Buddha’s life sculptured on the caves’ walls. You can also see the masterpieces of sculpture and ajanta paintings of Buddhist religious art on the historical heritage site.
Aurangabad Caves
The Aurangabad Caves are not a patch on Ellora or Ajanta; however, throw some light on early Buddhist design, and, above all, you will get it quiet and peaceful for the outing. Incised out of the slope within the sixth or seventh century A.D., the ten caves, comprising two teams one kilometer apart square, measure all Buddhists. Cave 7, with its sculptures of unclothed lovers in suggestive positions, could be a perennial as your favorites—the cave square measure concerning two-kilometer north of Bibika Maqbara.
Bedse Caves, additionally referred to as Bedsa Caves, square measure located in Mavaltaluka of Pune District in a geographical area. You will find two main caves there. The best proverbial cave is the chaitya (prayer hall) with a relatively large stupa; the opposite cave is a religious residence containing viharas. Each of the caves you will see includes some carvings and square measure facing eastwards, so it’s suggested to go to the caves early in the morning, as the fantastic thing about carvings is increased within the daylight. Also, the Bedse caves square measure the illustrious foursome of Lohagad, Visapur, flowering tree, and Tikona forts.
Bhaja caves
Bhaja caves that are also known as bhaje caves, are another spiritual cave found in 22 groups of rock-cut caves. These caves are known to have been formed in the 2nd century and are located near Lonavala. You will see beautiful wooden architecture in the caves and several stupas in open space, making it unique and a good choice for touring.
Ellora caves
It would be best if you visited the pinnacle of Indian rock-cut architecture, Ellora caves, that are chipped laboriously for five centuries by different generations of a monk. These caves have served every purpose of monasteries, chapels, and temples with a style quotient duly met by an embellished profusion of highly detailed sculpture. You will find elaborate courtyards in front of the shrine’s architecture.
Jogeshwari caves
Jogeshwari Caves are known to be one of the earliest Hindus and Buddhist caves temples you will find in Mumbai. You will have to access the caves through a long flight of stairs into the main hall and find many pillars and a lingam at the end. These caves are also becoming endangered as bats, and wastewater leak is on the premises.
Kanheri caves
You will find kanheri caves on the western outskirts of Mumbai; these caves constitute a group of rock-cut monuments. You will get spiritual and touring pleasure with the added feature that it is located within Sanjay Gandhi national park. The meaning of the word kanheri features the Sanskrit word Krishnagiri, a black mountain, and the caves are influenced by Buddhist art and culture, making them perfect tourist sites.
Famous Buddhist temples in Maharashtra
Deeksha Bhoomi
The sacred monument Deeksha Bhoomi is a temple that resembles Navayana Buddhism; you can visit Nagpur. There is an excellent history of the temple that B.R. Ambedkar has restored Buddhism in India by embracing lakhs of his followers. The architecture of Deeksha Bhoomi hosts a memorial to Ambedkar and has been graded as an A-class tourist spot.
Chaitya Bhoomi
Chaitya Bhoomi will be memorable for you if you admire Ambedkar too. As a tourist, there are also many things you can enjoy in this temple. The specialty of this temple is that it is also the cremation place for B. R. Ambedkar. A temple is a beautiful place that has a statue of Buddha along with a bust of Ambedkar.
Dragon Palace Temple
Dragon palace is also known as the Lotus temple of Nagpur because of its beautiful architectural design and eye-catching structure. The temple consists of dragon palace houses, a sandalwood idol associated with Buddha, and a fantastic pilgrimage site for faith practitioners and tourists like you.
Global Vipassana Pagoda
This special kind of temple is a particular type of meditation hall near Gorai. The pagoda is known as a monument of peace and harmony. You will find the center of the temple built up of the world’s largest stone dome built without any support.
There is also a museum that provides information on Buddha’s teachings and his historic life. The construction and design of the Global vipassana pagoda are so delightful to watch and will be a treat for you and your family.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, the article might have made things clear for you. The teachings of Buddha are spiritual and have many followers. As Maharashtra is a region of the Magadha region, you will find various monuments, as mentioned earlier, and be considered a heaven for followers of Buddhists.