The Pandava Caves are a group of caves located near

Kadri Manjunath temple Kadri Manjunatha Temple is a historic temple in Mangaluru in the state of Karnataka, India. The incharge and priests in the temple are Shivalli Madhva Brahmins. History The temple of Manjunatheshwara on the hills of Kadri is said to be built d ...

Mangaluru Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the stat ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Historians found that the current temple was a

Buddhist monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

known as ''Kandarika'' Vihara. The shrine had a standing

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

image in it. This image was replaced by the King ''Kundvarma'' of the ''Alupa'' dynasty, who was a devotee of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. However, it was not the Buddha but a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

who was historically integrated with Shiva. Historians concluded that the vihara was originally a centre of the cult of the bodhisattva

Manjusri Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...

. This temple was one of the famous centres of learning and pilgrimage until the 11th century CE. This particular doctrine opened the doors for Tantric religion. Both Shilinga and the bodhisattva were worshipped for many centuries until the Buddhist temple was converted to a purely Saivite temple. According to the mythological sources,

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

stayed here during their exile in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

period. It is said by the locals that whoever entered these caves never returned. The locals also say that these caves are so long that through it one can reach

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi most commonly refers to: * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India Kashi may also refer to: Places **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwana ...

in the north.

References

{{Indian Buddhist Caves Buddhist caves in India History of Mangalore Buddhist monasteries in India Rock-cut architecture of India Former populated places in India Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Architecture in India Buddhist sites in Karnataka Buildings and structures in Mangalore Geography of Mangalore