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Jaina Rock-cut Caves in Western India in having lañchhanas in an unusual way. It can be dated to the early 13th century CE on the basis of the occurrence of the lañchhanas and also the style of the sculpture. The rest of the icons are difficult to date as the Jina figures are almost devoid of parikara except the triple chhatra, while the execution of the Jina figures is standardised and monotonous, making even stylistic comparisons quite difficult. But the figures with flower-shaped śrivatsa, the crude, angular features and the stiff postures are quite late. The seated icons are within niches with arched border, which is stylistically closer to arches in Muslim architecture. Of these, the icons in C on Tungi and C on Mangi are with fine facial features and easy posture are slightly early, dated to the late 13th or early 14th century CE, while the rest can be dated to late 14th to 15th century CE.
Other sites
Some of the other sites such as Jintur in Parbhani district, Bhose in Satara district and Bhamachandra in Pune district were reported to have Jaina caves. But the caves at Bhamachandra are Saivite, while 'caves' at Jintur are rooms built in fort-like structure on the top of a hill nearby and house large loose icons of Jinas, most of which carry inscriptions and belong to 14th-15th century. At Bhose, there is a cave, now known as Dandoba Mahadeva in a hill, to the southeast of the village. Originally, it was an oblong cave, about 17m by 1lm, but now has been altered. About 8.4m by 9m portion is walled up, at the right angles to which is a wall, right across the cave with a door leading to a hall or mandapa. In front of the door are two stone figures, of a man and a woman with a Marathi inscription below them. The inscriptions are not very clear, but one contains the date Saka 1695 (1773 A. D.), while the other contains the names of Sinapa and Balapa Tatavte bin. In the centre of the mandapa is a masonry structure, forming the shrine and containing the linga. In front of the door of the shrine is a small Nandi figure of stone. To its right is an eight-armed figure of Bhavani. Close by it is a slab, in the central western pillar with a Kannada inscription. Near the northwestern pillar is another stone image of Virabhadra. Upon the summit of the hill and supposed to be directly above the linga, is constructed a phāmsaņā roof (Satara District Gazetteer 1969: 671). The aforementioned Kannada inscription, though badly damaged, mentions Vamanandi Bratisvara of Mula sangha and Kanur gana (Annual Report on Epigraphy 1946-47: 40), obviously a Jaina sect. There are no Jaina icons in the cave and no indications of association with Jainism except this inscription. Since the inscription is on a loose stone slab, it is quite possible that it was brought in the cave from nearby area. Again, it is also possible that the cave was used by the Jainas before it was occupied by the Saivites. However, it is difficult to determine it with certainty. But it appears that in some way, it was associated with Jainism as even today, among the people, gathered on each Monday of Sravana month to worship the deity, large number are Jainas (Satara District Gazetteer, 1969: 671). There is a rough cave with loose Jaina icons at Toranmal in Nandurbar district.
Thus, Jaina Caves in Maharashtra were excavated fur around 1500 years, from 1st century BCE to 14th-15th century CE. However, the highest number of caves were excavated between the period of 9th to 14th century CE (Fig. 77).
