Karli, India

Karli (also Karla) is a town on the highway between Pune and Mumbai in southern Maharashtra in India. It is on a major trade route that runs from the Arabian Sea eastward, into the Deccan. Karli's location in Maharashtra places it in a region that is the division between North India and South India.cite web
url=http://www.public.iastate.edu/~tart/arth382/lecture7.html
title=Later Andhra Period India
publisher=
accessdate=2007-01-24]

The small town is most famous for the Karla Caves - a 1st century BC Buddhist temple complex or "chaityas" cut out of stone. At 40m long and 15m in height, it is the largest such chaitya in India. The aisle of the temple is flanked by 37 pillars that are topped with kneeling elephants.

The outside facade is in bad repair due to stone breakage as well as the erosion of intricate details carved to imitate finished wood. The central motif is a large horsehoe arch. There is a lion column in front, with a closed stone facade and almost ruined torana in between. On one side there is a modern Brahmanical temple.

Notes

References

*"Lonely Planet India". Tenth edition pg 771.

External links

* [http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jsa3/362/karli.html Images of Karli]