Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Ancient · Jain · India

Son Bhandar Caves

सोन भंडार गुफा

Rajgir, Nalanda, Bihar · 25.0042°, 85.4167°

Jain TirthankarasMaurya
Sacred since
319 BCE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
Maurya period; dedicatory inscription 4th c. CE
Maurya

History & significance

Two man-made Jain caves cut into the Vaibhar hill at Rajgir, the main one rectangular with a trapezoidal doorway and vaulted ceiling in the manner of the Barabar caves but less finely finished. A dedicatory inscription of about the fourth century CE credits the Jain monk Vairadeva with their excavation, while some scholars push the cutting back to the Mauryan period; a chaumukha of the seventh or eighth century shows Ajitanatha, Sambhavanatha, Shantinatha and Rishabhanatha.

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Related sites

Sanchi Stupa
Sanchi · India
3rd c. BCE core; toranas 1st c. BCE/CE
Dharmarajika Stupa, Taxila
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Mauryan core, Kushan rebuilding
Sankissa
Sankisa, Farrukhabad · India
3rd c. BCE (Ashokan pillar and stupa)
Maya Devi Temple, Lumbini
Lumbini · Nepal
Ashokan brick temple c. 249 BCE; timber shrine of the 6th c. BCE beneath
Lauria Nandangarh
Lauriya, West Champaran · India
c. 3rd c. BCE (Maurya)
Barabar Caves
Barabar Hills, Jehanabad · India
c. 258-230 BCE (Maurya)

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Maurya