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are excatly the architectural features, quite characteristically and rarely to be found only at the Barabar caves. What is most interesting is the fact that the cave is highly polished inside. These caves show in their architectural features so close an affinity with the Barabar caves of Asoka and Dasaratha, that the opinion of Fergusson and Dr. Burgess, who attribute their construction to the period of the Maurya dynasty, has everything in its favour. The Sonbhandara cave may thus be considered to be among the earliest Jain monuments at Rajgir datable probably to the 2nd or 3rd century B.C. Inside the Cave is placed a Sikhara-shaped sculpture of black stone depicting a Jain Tirthankara on each of its four faces Chaumukha). On the pedestals of these images are the figures in pairs of bulls, elephants, horses and monkeys, each pair flanking a wheel, thus indicating the first four Tirthankaras, Rsabhadeva, Ajitnatha, Sambhavanatha and Abhinandana. It was also noticed by Buchanan."
The adjacent cave is in a more ruinous.state. It consists of a rock-cut chamber 22 1/2' x 17'. Inside, on the southern wall of the cave, are six small figures of Jaina Tirthankaras carved in relief and representing Padmaprabha, Parsvanatha and Mahavira.
On the hill-tops of Udaygiri a very large number of Jain temples are found built in comparatively recent times. As observed by Broadley they all contain charanas or foot-prints of the Tirthankaras, generally carved in black basalt, but sometimes in marble and invariably surrounded by a Nagari inscription. The earliest of these inscriptions is dated V.S. 1504 (1447 A.D.).
On the Vaibhara hill, there is a small Jaina temple built by one Hukumat Rai. A little distance to the south of temple we have a small Jaina temple, dedicated to Dharmanatha and Santinatha, the 15th and 16th Tirthankaras. It contains two images and carana with an inscription about 200 years old. Just about a quarter of a mile away, there is another Jaina temple of considerable dimension. Square in form and surmounted by four handsome minarets and a cupola, the temple was built by one Pratap singh of Murshidabad. There is a pradaksina (passage) encircling the central shrine. There is also an octagon chapel, containing caranas at each corner.
A. Ghosh has given a description of an ancient ruined Jaina temple which does not find mention by any other explorer." Kuraishi's list does
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Shri Vijyanand Suri Swargarohan Shatabdi Granth
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