Shiva; Cave II holds sanctums for Brahma, Shiva and VishnuVishnukundin or Early Eastern ChalukyaRock-cut
Sacred since
600 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
c. 7th c.
Vishnukundin or Early Eastern Chalukya
History & significance
A group of five rock-cut cave shrines on a hill in eastern Vijayawada, excavated around the 7th century and variously credited to the Vishnukundins or the early Eastern Chalukyas. Cave II is the most developed of them, with Shiva as Nataraja and Ardhanarisvara among its carvings; the site is centrally protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.