ઢાંક ગુફાઓ

Dhank Caves

Useful Information

Location:	Dhank village near Upleta, Rajkot district, Gujarat, India. (21.781408, 70.124257)
Open:	All year daily 8-17. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Church
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Dhank Caves.
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History

7th century

caves built.

Description

The ઢાંક ગુફાઓ (Dhank Caves) were named after the small village where they are located. They are also known as Dhankgiri. They were cut into an outcrop of calcareous sandstone during the regime of the Western Satraps in the 7th century AD. The design is rather simple and influenced by both Buddhist and Jain cultures. The caves contain early Jaina sculptures of Adinath, Santinatha and Pārśva. The Buddhist caves show figures of Bodhisattva.

This is considered one of the oldest sites in Gujarat, despite the fact that it was created in the 7th century, while others were created two or three centuries earlier, or even BC. We have found numerous examples of such nonsense in India, it seems people tend to stop thinking when repeating "facts" others have postulated, even if they can be falsified so easily. Another problem is that many "scientific" explanations are religious or superstitious, depending on your point of view.

It seems these caves are mostly not caves at all. There is one excavated room, with a buddha sculpture at the far end, the other caves are actually sculpted friezes along the escarpment.