Caves of Barabar and Nagarjuni

The Caves of Barabar and Nagarjuni are a group of seven rock-cut granite caves with polished interior walls situated inside the twin hills of Barabar (Lomas Rishi, Sudama, Karan Chaupuar, Visva) and Nagarjuni (Gopi-ka-Kubha, Vadithi-ka-Kubha, Vapiya-ka-Kubha) in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district, Bihar, India, typically dated to the Maurya Empire (322–185 BC) and thought to be imperially-sponsored religious sites, crafted during the reign of the third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and his inheritors and used by members of the Ajivika school. They are believed to be the oldest surviving artificial caves of the Indian rock-cut architectural tradition.

Reading

• Martin, Robert Montgomery (1838), History, Topography, Antiquities of the Bihar, p. 103-105, https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.91965/page/n127/  — written for the directors of the East India Company
• Cunningham, Alexander (1871), "Barabar", Archaeological Survey of India, Report of 1861-62, 1, Simla: Printed at the Government Central Press, p. 40-53, https://books.google.com/books?id=xM4OAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA3-PA40 
• Fergusson, James; Burgess, James (1880), "Eastern Caves: Barabar Group", The Cave Temples of India, London: Allen, p. 37-43, https://archive.org/details/cavetemplesofind00ferguoft/page/n63/mode/2up 
• Drinker, Henry S. (1883), "Hindu Tunneling", A Treatise on Explosive Compounds, Machine Rock Drills and Blasting, New York: Wiley & Sons, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89085752004&view=1up&seq=23 
• Law, B. C. (1944), "Evolution of Cave Architecture in India and Ceylon: Barabar and Nagarjuni Caves", Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Seventh Session, p. 54, https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283641/page/n65/mode/2up/search/Barabar 
• Valisinha, Devapriya (1948), "Rock Cut Caves of Barabar, Kanheri, etc.", Buddhist Shrines in India, Colombo: Maha Bodhi Society of Ceylon, p. 231-232, https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.3110/page/n261/mode/2up 
• Ghosh, A., ed. (1964), "Rock-Cut Monuments", Archaeological Remains, Monuments and Museums, Part I, New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, p. 110-112, https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56584/page/n125/ 
• Ching, Francis D. K.; Jarzombek, Mark; Prakash, Vikramaditya (2011), "Barabar Hills Caves", A Global History of Architecture, John Wiley & Sons, p. 145, https://archive.org/details/AGlobalHistoryOfArchitecture/page/n161/mode/2up 

Pictorial and Photographic Records

• Anonymous (January 1814), General view of cave temples in the Barabar Hills, Gaya (Bihar), https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019wdz000000703u00000000.html 
• Peppé, Thomas Fraser (1870), Sculptured doorway, Lomas Rishi cave, Barabar, Gya, https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/s/019pho0000125s1u00056000.html 
• Peppé, Thomas Fraser (1870), Sudama [and] Lomas Rishi Caves at Barabar [Hills], Gya, https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/s/019pho0000125s1u00055000.html 
• Peppé, Thomas Fraser (1870), Gopi & Kalpi caves, Barabar, Gaya, https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/g/019pho0000125s1u00058000.html 
• Caddy, Alexander E. (1895), Entrance to the Lomas Rishi Cave, Barabar Hills (100344a), https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/e/019pho000001003u0044a000.html 
• Caddy, Alexander E. (1895), Entrance to the Lomas Rishi Cave, Barabar Hills (100344b), https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/e/019pho000001003u0044b000.html